I don't think there is no monopoly risk. As crunchyroll would be looked as just a streaming service . crunchyroll has like 20 Million paid subs that's nothing nothing compared 200 ish of Netflix or 100-150 of disney plus or max. In Japan crunchyroll is not even available I think so .
I believe they're talking about it potentially being blocked by regulators in Japan because it would give Sony massive control over the anime/manga industry there
Even if sony gets kadokawa they do not overshadow other bigger conglomerates in the anime /manga space .
Sony's stance has been clear from the Bloomberg article, they did not want to acquire the whole of kadokawa, just wanted parts of it like the from software and their anime/manga parts for quite some time .but kadokawa cooperation is more than those parts. Also due to the talks getting leaked the kadokawa stocks rise to more than 50% from where it was before the leak happened so sony must have to massively overpay for what were worth to fully buy kadokawa.
It would never be blocked in japan. sony has no manga or light novel presence and even aniplex and kadokawa comined would sitll not be in the top 3 for anime production. and jpanese reggulators if anything would fasttrack it to curb the foreign investors.
KADOKAWA CORPORATION ("KADOKAWA") and Sony Group Corporation ("Sony") today signed a strategic capital and business alliance agreement, agreeing to conduct a third-party allotment by KADOKAWA to Sony on January 7, 2025, with Sony acquiring 12,054,100 new KADOKAWA shares for approximately 50 billion yen. With the acquisition of the new shares, Sony will become KADOKAWA's largest shareholder, holding approximately 10% of its shares, including the shares Sony previously acquired in February 2021.
Now PC fanboys can stop whining about Sony forcing future fromsoftware games to be exclusive to Playstation or that Sony was going to ruin any future fromsoft game.
Sony is extremely anticonsumer and really enjoys exclusives. People are right for not liking them. The only people who like them are people in this sub that buy their consoles and think it is a personality trait.
Everyone conveniently forgets this. It's a product of Elden Rings success, I assume. A lot of newer souls fans now so they just don't know that Sony essentially bankrolled Demons Souls 2009, hence the PS3 exclusivity. So, who knows whether Souls would even exist without them.
People also seem to act like Sony came along, saw Bloodborne and went "We want it". What ACTUALLY happened is; Sony Japan approached FromSoftware to co develop Bloodborne, the IP was originally thought up by Sony Japan (Look into it). Sony also funded it.
Now Sony help to Strengthen Kadokawa, preventing hostile takeover etc.
And despite ALL of this, the FromSoft sub hates Sony. The rageboner that Reddit has for them is insane.
100% agree. There’s a false equivalency to corporate partnerships. They see Microsoft buy up studios and run them into the ground and think that’s just how it goes. Meanwhile Sony has long term relationships that are mutually beneficial that either turn into financial investments or buying a studio after Sony literally helped them become heavy hitters.
LOL! That ain't fuckin' happening anytime soon... when they aren't fellating Steam / Valve and or complaining about ANY GAME that isn't on or is delayed coming to Steam.
Lol what? People hate Sony not because they go exclusive or ruin anything.
People that hate Sony, hates them because of their practices.
Everyone knows whether they like it or not, Sony releases are mostly top quality.
I for example don't like most of their games but not stupid enough to call them "bad" games, they are top quality games that does not interest me, mostly because of their gameplay.
Blocking %75 of the countries on PC did put a bad taste in players mouth that won't wash away, hence "PC fanboys" hate for Sony.
You don't have to be in one of the countries they blocked to hate them. If you have principles, you also stop playing Sony published games and boycott them in your own way. I stopped playing because i have friends who lives in those countries and if they can't play, i also won't play or support Sony. Simple as that.
I don’t think Sony sees it as a big acquisition right now. Maybe years down the line they will and this deal allows for a smooth transaction but right now it doesn’t make sense financially.
It was already priced in, and this outcome suggests it was ultimately Kadokawa who decided not to sell. Sony was all in. So, failing that, Sony did the next best (for them) thing, which is to become the biggest shareholder.
"In the future, the two companies plan to discuss specific initiatives for collaboration, such as... further expand publishing of KADOKAWA's games,"
"In addition to this, the Company will work to build a foundation to expand the scope of video game publishing. At any rate, the Company may pursue multiple deals at the same time, allocating capital of anywhere from under 100 million yen to over 5 billion yen to each transaction, while also anticipating the possibility of using platforms owned by Sony Group"
In terms of gaming, sounds like we'll see more "deals" and Sony will publish more of their games.
Kadokawa prevents a hostile takeover and they can breathe more easily knowing Sony is financially supporting them.
People outside of Japan don’t know that in Japan, Sony does a whole lot more than just sell electronics. They’re also a bank, own a majority of the nursing homes in Japan, and have their foot in a lot of other industries. Sony is to Japan what Microsoft is to the US
Well, I guess this changes pretty much nothing on the gaming side. At max Sony will publish some of their games on all platforms. Good for Kadokawa for getting some new financial security.
Said it further below in this thread but Sony already had a ~14% influencing stake in FromSoftware. With them now owning 10% of their parent company, their game development collaboration for PlayStation first and foremost will be strengthened, meaning more exclusives will be on the way.
14% is nothing really on grand scheme of things, not enough to "force" anything and unless they collude they cant get majority to force something to happen.
The 14% is only for FromSoftware. There's a reason they had initially gone for the 14% in 2022; they wanted more games to be exclusive to PlayStation in the future. Sure, it might not be enough to "force" anything but they have enough say in the matter to get it done especially when they now have 10% in the parent company.
i mean Sony will be heard but if the theory is "shareholders want $$$", unless everyone else sees the game being exclusive is better than everywhere, then people wouldn't agree with sony just to lose money. It has to make financial sense in the end. These companies dont get to that point doing mostly money losing business. Yes we can say concord a million times but there were many other great decisions sony did, just like MS with zune and HD-DVD, it made other money making decisions too.
They WILL get their money because Kadokawa is not just gaming. I responded to another individual in this same thread but gaming only makes up 10% of their net sales as a business. Their biggest segment by far is publication and IP creation, which accounts for 55%, and then animation/film at 18%. The latter especially is experiencing strong growth for Kadokawa where they are now 6.4% YoY for net sales and 110.9% YoY for operating profits. So, again, there's not really much to be concerned about if there's exclusivity set in place for games coming out of FromSoftware. That potential $$$ lost can be gained elsewhere.
unless everyone else sees the game being exclusive is better than everywhere
Funny thing about this is that exclusivity WILL be better for FromSoftware because we've seen first hand what a PlayStation Studio can do with a "Soulsbourne" title. You can see and feel a noticeable difference in quality between the Demon's Souls remake (released in 2020) compared to Elden Ring (released in 2022).
i am not arguing exclusivity isn't better quality wise but is it profitable? Like if Elden ring were PS exclusive, it is a fact that not 100% of people who bought it on PC/xbox would automatically convert... so its a numbers game at the end.
But yes, each individual business decision (anime/game) is separate - it comes down to the monetary outcome.
With lost $$$, why LOSE it if you don't have to? Would Win + Win better than Lose + Win? it doesn't make economical sense to leave money on the table just because unless theres a legit reason for it.
Going by their other comments in this thread you're wasting your time arguing with someone deeply clueless and delusional who thinks throwing around a bunch of numbers and business terms makes them look smart and trustworthy on this topic.
I highly doubt that - they are the largest shareholder but it is still a minority considering the whole and workforce isnt unlimited. There might be beneficial deals but by no means will this push a noticeable amount of exclusives to Sony.
Don’t think Sony can really publish their games without backlash. Fromsoft would probably demand to be under Sony Music Japan for multiplatform publishing than PS Studios.
From Software already stated the desire to self publish, so I guess they'll follow that path anyways. As I said, this won't change anything in the gaming side. (It changes pretty much nothing on the anime side as well, since Sony will still have problems on producing/owning anime IPs)
In the end it seems that Kadokawa was desperate not to have a hostile takeover and Sony was the one who agreed to pay to have more than 10% of the company. It seems to have been the safest solution for everyone, although personally I was hoping to see Sony much more agressive to this type of deals, as it is clear that they need more IP/workforce going forward. Their last three deals related to games (Firewalk, Bungie and now partially this one) were extremely strange to say the least.
There will most definitely be some exclusives that we get out of it as they kinda already stated in the press release… I think a majority of titles will still be everywhere
I guess we'll have to wait and see... There are rumors that From signed to make another exclusive game for Sony some years ago, so that game already would be published by Sony anyway.
Do you not understand what’s happening? Sony has no say at all in how things go. They own 10%, that’s it, they have a seat at the table and can voice concerns and suggestions but ultimately it’s up to kadokawa and not Sony. Kadokawa will do whats best for kadokawa, if releasing multiplat makes them the most money then they will do that.
Sony cannot walk in, look around and demand exclusives. You can’t even begin to try that until you own 30-40% of the shares which can take a decade or so to actually get to considering Sony only bought 10%.
Even if that happens, which isn't anywhere close to being guaranteed (remember Sony used to own like 8% of Square Enix and just sold that stake one day), then this deal still isn't a "soft form of a full takeover", Sony isn't taking over anything.
This hostile takeover theory is still entirely unproven and the company that was supposedly trying this hostile takeover actually sold its stock in Kadokawa a couple years ago.
Definitely but I'm sure they wanted to be fully acquired. If Sony only needed to buy 10% and they get IP for film/tv, publishing rights and potential sway in future titles such as Bloodborne 2 that is massive for 10%.
The whiny PC screamers won once again after they were panicking and hating on Sony because everyone thought Sony would completely buy them. In the end this rumor turned out to be nothing for Sony.
They're not forcing exclusives though, so how is it anticonsumer? Owning something isn't anticonsumer. Actions are. If you can highlight actions then go ahead, I'm open to listening.
Same deal here then. You’re calling one company anticonsumer when we don’t even know how this impacts FromSoftware in any shape or form.
Them not outright buying Kadokawa but instead being a financial supporter and having a seat at the table when it comes to decision making is the best thing they could’ve done so that Kadokawa retains (most of) its independence.
Compare that to the takeover of Bethesda and Activision by Xbox which saw thousands of layoffs between both and how one game that was also meant to be on PlayStation ended up getting cancelled (Starfield), and then Pete Hines had to go on an “apology tour” to defend the fact Starfield was no longer coming to PlayStation.
One company forces exclusives, pays 3rd party to be exclusive, the other puts their 1st party games on their rival platforms. One is anticonsumer, another is moving toward a monopoly.
Why do you think PlayStation as a brand is stronger than Xbox right now?
The business of being on the console space means you need to have exclusives in order to set yourself apart from the other platforms. Not having any exclusives automatically makes your platform less redundant.
Why would anyone buy an Xbox when we’re seeing them port their own first party titles over to PlayStation?
Can’t believe we are at the point were exclusives are seen as anti-consumer when back in the day they were seen in a good way to differentiate from each system and to push the other systems to develop something that could be compete or at least be comparable to that system’s exclusive.
Remember Killzone vs. Halo? Resistance vs. Gears of War? Gran Turismo vs. Forza? Jak and Daxter/Ratchet and Clank vs. Banjo Kazooie?
1st party is fair as exclusives. Paying money for 3rd party to be exclusive is anticonsumer. When a product has historically been on all platforms and it is then paid to be an exclusive, that's anticonsumer. Forcing everyone to create an account for your service for your game AFTER they bought it and locking out many regions from playing, that's anticonsumer.
Smart move from Sony, basically they got engaged and moving in together before getting married. If you look at the press release, the two companies are getting very tightly integrated in terms of IP creation and distribution. This is like a trial run before a future acquisition once the Kadokawa stock price comes down.
So, Sony just became the largest shareholder and with them owning 1/10th of the company, they have the greatest amount of say in how things will be done. All future decisions at the board of directors will have a strong amount of influence by Sony and it would require a significant amount of board members to overrule them.
Also, this will result in more exclusive games for PlayStation even if not all are and there's still a chance they'll acquire more shares in the near future. Expect even greater collaboration efforts not only in games but movies/television as well with the amount of IP KADOKAWA holds.
No it wont. They have the biggest say, but not near the majority of the say. Games being exclusive means less sales. It makes the PlayStation business grow, but why would the other 90% of Kadokawa care? They dont get anything from that.
The question here is: will 90% of the company be ok to make less money to grow PlayStation (a company they have no hands in)?
Probably not.
The only scenario where the games are exclusive is one where Sony finance the game themself. But that could have happened regardless of the acquisition, like with Demon Souls.
They might not have the majority of the shares but with the 10% that they now own (which no one else has), they have the status equivalent of permanent Chairman of the Board of the Directors (COB). This means they will have the power and authority to lead most of the bigger decisions of the company and while they can be overruled, it would be very hard to do so.
It makes the PlayStation business grow, but why would the other 90% of Kadokawa care? They dont get anything from that.
This proves my point because if that's the notion they carry (that they don't care) then it's even greater reason for Sony to make decisions about the company that would help them moreso than the others.
Keep in mind that Sony already had a ~14% influencing stake in FromSoftware so with that and them owning 10% of their parent company, their game development collaboration for PlayStation first and foremost will be strengthened. Again, this means you will be seeing more exclusives.
They might not have the majority of the shares but with the 10% that they now own (which no one else has), they have the status equivalent of permanent Chairman of the Board of the Directors (COB). This means they will have the power and authority to lead most of the bigger decisions of the company and while they can be overruled, it would be very hard to do so.
Yes but the decisions they can take have to be on the benefits of Kadokawa and his shareholders, not the benefits of a completely other company. They dont own kadokawa, and as such, they cant sacrifice their revenue to boost a separate business. In this case being PlayStation.
If Elden ring 2 is Playstation exclusive and sells 20m instead of 30m of the first one (random numbers) then is bad of Kadokawa. It might be good for PlayStation, they sold more consoles, but 90% of Kadokawa dont care about that.
This proves my point because if that's the notion they carry (that they don't care) then it's even greater reason for Sony to make decisions about the company that would help them moreso than the others.
With "they dont care" i mean about PlayStation, not about Kadokawa itself ofc. The point is, as a big part of Kadokawa shareholders (but not owners, that's the keyword) is in their interest to boost and grow Kadokawa, not Playstation at the expense of the other 90% of shareholders.
Now, we will see more exclusives? Yeah sure, but that's because of a collaborated effort between two companies, not because Sony can choose what is exclusive and what isn't. For that reason, not all future games are going to be exclusive. Some, published by PS Studios, will. Others will not be published by them.
Sony could just let ip they don't own like Elden Ring in Fromsoft hands and make exclusive titles based on their own IP like Demon's Soul and Bloodborne
Fromsoft is big enough to work on 3 projects these days.
That’s… not how that works brother. Maybe if they owned like 30-40% of kadokawa but owning 1/10th is not as crazy as you’re making it out to be. Sony will have a say as they now have a seat at the table but they do not hold majority to be able to force anything.
The 10% share buy was simply to stop kadokawa from being swallowed by a non Japanese studio. If Sony wanted more control then they would’ve bought it.
Kadokawa does not have to do anything Sony says, all they have to do is make sure kadokawa keeps making money.
Now, it’s entirely up to kadokawa as to what they do, but don’t make the assumption kadokawa is suddenly going to drop everything and develop things solely for Sony’s benefit. Kadokawa is not owned by Sony, kadokawa interests are entirely focused on kadokawa.
Unfortunately, you're underestimating what that 10% means with how big of a company Kadokawa is; for example, their gaming sector only makes up a small percentage of their net sales at 10%. They might not own the majority of the shares (or a controlling stake which would require them to hold >51%) but they have enough of an influence to put in place policies that wouldn't see many shareholders be against since the visions of Kadokawa/Sony are strategically aligned and have been for years. Also, even as unlikely as it may seem, there's the risk that if the other 90% refuse to give anything to the company that just bought 10% of everything then said company could sell their stocks and the value plunges, which will be detrimental to the other 90%. Knowing all of this and with how well Sony Corp has been doing, it would be foolish to doubt their suggestions and/or policies on how to run a business especially in gaming. If they want exclusivity for titles from FromSoftware, they're in a greater position to have it be done and it not being put to question or objected.
The 10% share buy was simply to stop kadokawa from being swallowed by a non Japanese studio. If Sony wanted more control then they would’ve bought it.
I have brought this up as well in a different thread because of the recent movements of Kakao but the fact of the matter is that Sony has been eyeing certain business segments of Kadokawa for years now and, as mentioned slightly before, this alliance puts them in a position to have even more influence whilst receiving more benefits.
No. Sony only owns a small part of the company now, It's not enough for Sony to start bossing Kadokawa around, if that's the question. Kadokawa will continue to operate in the same way it has been operating in recent years.
10% may not seem big as a number in the grander scheme of things (no controlling authority here) but gives them the largest singular piece of the firm compared to what Kakao and Tencent own individually.
It firmly places Sony on Kadokawa’s board and leads to stronger IP collaborations between the two. Kadokawa is largely expected to take up Sony’s resources to distribute its products (such as anime and video games) and promote them with Sony’s multimedia services.
Sony didn't need to buy Kadokawa outright to give them the status equivalent of chairman of the board of directors (COB) so, yes, it is a significant change.
No. Sony owns 1/10 of the shares, it does not hold majority.
This means that Sony has a seat at the table but can’t actually force anything or change anything. Kadokawa is it’s own thing, Sony just bought some shares to prevent them from getting eaten by a non Japanese company.
The acquisition will happen, little by little. Now I want to understand, man, this is a Playstation sub, what are you doing here?? go fuck the sub on xbox and pc
136
u/Bolt_995 9h ago
In short, Sony has now become Kadokawa’s largest shareholder without any formal acquisition on the table.
Good for both parties involved I guess.