Oh, good I was thinking of making a rant on this topic anyway.
I think it is kind of annoying that some people immediately jump to panic mode when MS announces something and act as if Sonys doomed if they don't "retaliate" to announcements like that.
That being said I find the people on Resetera acting almost like it's a personal insult to suggest that Sony could potentially expand and do more with their first party outside of natural growth, even more annoying. Sony could do more and it wouldn't hurt for them to look into acquisitions.
Insomniac (yes, I know they've reiterated regularly that they want to stay independent but still) and KojiPro are prime candidates, one is a studio that has had an incredible working relationship with Sony for more than 20 years now, proving that they are able to create successful IPs again and again, that has just recently made the most successful Sony first party game in their history and the other is headed by one of the biggest legends of the industry, while also being one of few studios that they currently have, that could have major japanese pull.
fudge Quantic Dream, don't buy them. They are capped out, I see absolutely no reason to believe that with the type of games they are currently producing, they will be able to significantly expand their playerbase beyond where they currently are. That's a serious problem considering that they insist on making their games on the bleeding edge of technology, their games are not getting cheaper. We've just witnessed what was assumed by many to be the most successful player in the niche that QD are making their games in, go bankrupt. That doesn't exactly instill confidence in QD longevity. It may sound harsh, but I'd say keep making projects with them until they stop being profitable and then drop them as a partner unless they show that they are able to branch out from what they are currently doing (which I doubt they are).
Other than that I'm sure there are a couple smaller western studios out there that could look into, maybe Bluepoint or Wild Sheep Studio (assuming Wild is actually turning out to be something).
The big problem area that I personally see for Sonys first party is Japan and I think I've said that before. The japanese market is important, like it or not, and while for the last few years Sony enjoyed a position of quasi exclusivity in the "high end space" over there due to Nintendo's home console being so terrible and MS being a non-factor, they do not enjoy that luxury anymore. If things continue as they are Nintendo is going to absolutely eat their lunch in Japan and it's going to be nobody but Sony's fault for taking that market for granted. Sony Japan has to expand and that can't just be this VR Studio, they need something AAA. And other than that I absolutely believe, that a studio acquistion or creation in Japan would make sense for them.
A developer that I would personally look at would maybe be Falcom (though I've just seen that even they have a market cap of $117m. How? o.O) for the simple reason that they are a dev that is critically well regarded but seems obviously limited a lot by the budget they are able to put into their projects. Other than for instance QD I would view this studio not only as one with serious growth potential but also as one, that could gain a certain level of strategic value that QD simply lacks and that I never seem them getting.
Rant over.
I think it is kind of annoying that some people immediately jump to panic mode when MS announces something and act as if Sonys doomed if they don't "retaliate" to announcements like that.
That being said I find the people on Resetera acting almost like it's a personal insult to suggest that Sony could potentially expand and do more with their first party outside of natural growth, even more annoying. Sony could do more and it wouldn't hurt for them to look into acquisitions.
Insomniac (yes, I know they've reiterated regularly that they want to stay independent but still) and KojiPro are prime candidates, one is a studio that has had an incredible working relationship with Sony for more than 20 years now, proving that they are able to create successful IPs again and again, that has just recently made the most successful Sony first party game in their history and the other is headed by one of the biggest legends of the industry, while also being one of few studios that they currently have, that could have major japanese pull.
fudge Quantic Dream, don't buy them. They are capped out, I see absolutely no reason to believe that with the type of games they are currently producing, they will be able to significantly expand their playerbase beyond where they currently are. That's a serious problem considering that they insist on making their games on the bleeding edge of technology, their games are not getting cheaper. We've just witnessed what was assumed by many to be the most successful player in the niche that QD are making their games in, go bankrupt. That doesn't exactly instill confidence in QD longevity. It may sound harsh, but I'd say keep making projects with them until they stop being profitable and then drop them as a partner unless they show that they are able to branch out from what they are currently doing (which I doubt they are).
Other than that I'm sure there are a couple smaller western studios out there that could look into, maybe Bluepoint or Wild Sheep Studio (assuming Wild is actually turning out to be something).
The big problem area that I personally see for Sonys first party is Japan and I think I've said that before. The japanese market is important, like it or not, and while for the last few years Sony enjoyed a position of quasi exclusivity in the "high end space" over there due to Nintendo's home console being so terrible and MS being a non-factor, they do not enjoy that luxury anymore. If things continue as they are Nintendo is going to absolutely eat their lunch in Japan and it's going to be nobody but Sony's fault for taking that market for granted. Sony Japan has to expand and that can't just be this VR Studio, they need something AAA. And other than that I absolutely believe, that a studio acquistion or creation in Japan would make sense for them.
A developer that I would personally look at would maybe be Falcom (though I've just seen that even they have a market cap of $117m. How? o.O) for the simple reason that they are a dev that is critically well regarded but seems obviously limited a lot by the budget they are able to put into their projects. Other than for instance QD I would view this studio not only as one with serious growth potential but also as one, that could gain a certain level of strategic value that QD simply lacks and that I never seem them getting.
Rant over.