Some important bits:
Sony is in talks to acquire Kadokawa, the Japanese media powerhouse behind the “Elden Ring” game, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the technology giant looks to add to its entertainment portfolio.
The talks between the two sides are ongoing and, if successful, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks, the sources said. Kadokawa’s shares closed up 23% at their daily limit. Its market capitalisation was around $2.7 billion prior to the Reuters report. Sony’s shares closed up 0.6%.
Sony declined to comment. Kadokawa said it cannot comment.
Sony already has a 2% stake in Kadokawa and a stake in Kadokawa controlled FromSoftware, the developer of the hit fantasy action role-playing game.
No.
FromSoft has been doing great, I see no reason they would need to sell, and Sony will just shutter them the instant they make a game that misses their arbitrary mark.
People who played the Gravity Rush games loved them, but since they didn’t do numbers, Studio Japan still got shut down. Same for WipEout and Studio Liverpool.
Sony would not have gone for the risk of bringing back Armored Core, for example. They shutter niche studios, and FromSoft makes niche games.
It’s just that they’ve gotten so good at them, they aren’t niche anymore. Sony would have thrown that baby out with the bathwater.
If the souls-like goes out of fashion, the way mecha games went out of fashion, FromSoft would just keep on trucking making good games…
But under Sony, they’d just get killed.
They aren’t trying to buy FromSoft, they are trying to buy FromSoft’s parent company Kadokawa, which may want to sell themselves.
There’s a lot of anime and manga publishing groups under this company as well. Kadonawa produced Dungeon Meshi, Sword Art and it’s spinoffs, Made in Abyss, Overlord, and tons more that weren’t familiar to me. This works well for Sony because they bought Crunchyroll and Funimation, so monopolizing on more of the anime industry is probably the real driving force.
That’s an even bigger “no” from me.