MS to buy Bioware?

[FX]

Originally posted by Shin Johnpv
UGH!
WORST! IDEA! EVER!

Agreed.

[negitoro]

Originally posted by Box Drink
you... sick... bastard... but why? why would you wan't them to do that to the people who love sony and square's relationhip.. you want to take my lfe blood don't you? I know you do, don't even deny it...

What I meant is merely that MS is spending a lot of cash to 'buy' itself into the market. Quite frankly, regardless of the selling price, none of their recent acquisitions would impact the market anymore than a buyout of SquareEnix.

Rather than spending a few hundred mil here and a few hundred there, MS should be concentrating on a few choice acquisitons... SquareEnix may cost in the numbers of BILLIONS yet would do more to boost sales worldwide, improve brand recognition and give them more credibility in one move more than Bioware and Rare and whoever else could provide to them EVER.

I just think their plan seems to be flawed. And the fact they seem not to give a damn about the Japanese market is just frustrating. It seems like their intent on buying a bunch of developers anyway, I'm just suggesting they should be aiming a little higher. It doesn't have to be SquareEnix... just to stop wasting money on inconsequential acquistions.

[Jeremy]

MS could be trying to build the companies up that they acquire for more long-term revenue gain than short-term.

[negitoro]

I somehow just don't feel like that's a viable way to be going about it.

What guarantee is there that Xbox even survives for long enough that they'll gain anything from the acquistion ? All they got are a few secondary franchises and half their remaining development teams. Can you ever see Rare-made games re-couping that half a bllion or equivalent market impact ? Can you see Bioware-made games doing the same ? I must be quite frank in saying that I don't see it.

Is it such a bad idea for MS to buy SquareEnix ? Just half a thread ago, people say that MS nurtures their developers. So what's with the negativity ? Just because they'll stop developing for PS2 ? Or that Sony will be hit ? Perhaps a hit is exactly what Sony needs. It would even out the market and give them some genuine competition. The industry would improve as a result.

I'm thinking as a business move, none of what MS is doing makes any sense. I do think that a purchase of a huge Japanese developer would be a move that would benefit them greatly. The SquareEnix example is just an extreme of this scenario.

[GameHED]

All MS have to do is get tecmo to make heaps of DOAXBV sequels and they own the japanese market. Did you see the lines of horny japanese men on launch for that game?

Square/enix are busy enough on the other machines (GBA/GC/PS2) that spreading themselves too thinly might effect the balance. What MS need are a few ports (like suikoden 3 to xbox for eg) from other third parties, and some exclusive content from bioware (somehow I see the mmorpg thing getting real big - pso on dc was a taste of small diablo like rpg type games, but now people are ready for online mmorg rpgs through consoles that will sustain thier interest in the long term and make subscribing to live worth the customers money. Thankfully for them and unluckily for sony, the online final fantasy game was a flop. Perhaps online rpgs through companies like bioware are what they need to take on sony who have the everquest franchise with them. I personally don't think it would be a waste of money to aquire them. If they have the skills and talent and revered by fans then it's a worthy investment.)

[Jeremy]

Negitoro, I see what you mean. I agree that MS should do what they can to secure bigger names, but they probably want to buy some smaller companies to prevent their competition from getting them.

[Master]

Originally posted by mattvanstone
Meh, then. Nothing I like there.

Do you even like videogames?

[Drewbacca]

Originally posted by Box Drink
you... sick... bastard... but why? why would you wan't them to do that to the people who love sony and square's relationhip.. you want to take my lfe blood don't you? I know you do, don't even deny it...

Isn't that secretely the hope of every message board poster on the 'net nowadays. *sigh* Where's the love?

Originally posted by Jeremy
Negitoro, I see what you mean. I agree that MS should do what they can to secure bigger names, but they probably want to buy some smaller companies to prevent their competition from getting them.

Negitoro is right though. I mean, if they get SquareEnix and their market share goes up then sales on their userbase and such will sky rocket, thus bringing home the developers they crave. Would it not?

Also, they could then purchase the developers they want like Bioware, and Sega after a few choice years. Although I bet if the sales of the Xbox went up, Sega's titles would sell alot better, thus them not needing to be bought out.

[gamevet]

I had no idea, Bioware is working on Knights of the old Republic. This could help Xbox a lot with exclusive titles like KOTOR(Though it is exclusive).

[negitoro]

Originally posted by Jeremy
Negitoro, I see what you mean. I agree that MS should do what they can to secure bigger names, but they probably want to buy some smaller companies to prevent their competition from getting them.

Yeah, I get your point too. It seems like MS is overpaying to deprive these franchises from PS2 and GC. The only problem I have is that they've chosen pretty poorly on what they buy. For instance, an impact acquistion would've been like Rockstar or someone a similar calibur.

A medium sized developer with true killer apps/franchises under their belt. Stuff that makes playgrounds chatter or has some semblance of shock value... Bioware is a great company, but I mean, they have a decent track record but none of their games (Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights) seem to be geared towards the console market and does nothing to shock the world to buy Xboxes. I fail to even imagine a single game they produce to be elevated to the system seller status.

Plus they need far, FAR more help in the Japanese market than US. As it is, when Xbox2 and PS3 are released, they will be on a closer level than this gen's sales indicates already. They need to bolster Japanese support NOW and establish their reputation NOW before the next gen begins.

Originally posted by Andrew
Also, they could then purchase the developers they want like Bioware, and Sega after a few choice years. Although I bet if the sales of the Xbox went up, Sega's titles would sell alot better, thus them not needing to be bought out.

Exactly. Especially when they're dealing with potentially abandoned market like Japan, they need to break the vicious cycle somehow.

The lack of choice developers -> lack of exclusive killer apps -> lack of sales -> lack of support by choice developers... repeat.

Everyday MS does nothing to SIGNIFICANTLY gain ground in the Japanese market is another pile of dirt being removed from that hole they're digging.

Originally posted by gamevet
I had no idea, Bioware is working on Knights of the old Republic. This could help Xbox a lot with exclusive titles like KOTOR(Though it is exclusive).

I really have to disagree. Yes, Xbox (and every other system) benefits from exclusives. This is undeniable. But KOTOR ? Is this game/franchise a system seller ? A true killer app ?

Can you imagine KOTOR moving systems like Zelda ? FFX-2 ? GTA4 ? The answer is NO.

So my point is that while it would be good to have the exclusive, is it worthwhile overpaying to deprive the competition from it ? Why not just get an exclusive with money hats on choice titles ? Hell, pay them to build on Xbox and then port down, even. It doesn't even need to be a true exclusive. Pay people to optimize for the Xbox rather than port from PS2.

In the end, I just think it's misspent money on MS's part.