In recent news, we learnt that Media Molecule, the once independent studio and developer of LittleBigPlanet, was acquired by Sony for an undisclosed amount. Many hailed the move as a great one by Sony, because now the only Platforms we’ll ever play said title and the others the studio will undoubtedly forge will be Sony’s.
The giant already owns more than triple the amount of first party studios than Microsoft, it’s closest competitor and with Media Molecule bagged, Sony will only continue to widen its lead over Redmond.
As mentioned, Microsoft does not own many first party development studios, it relies heavily on third parties, cutting deals with them to either make a title exclusive, or bring content first to the Xbox 360 to make its users happy. But how long will the software giant keep spending cash to buy exclusives and exclusive content? A better strategy must be devised.
The best one? Start acquiring first party studios to bolster its ailing lineup. The first buy should be Epic Games; yes Mark Rein and the gang.
It’s a no-brainer really, Gears of War has been one of the most successful franchises on Xbox 360. In fact it’s the second most successful exclusive on said system after the Halo franchise. Why is Epic Games still independent? The studio has admitted it wouldn’t be able to promote its games properly without the help of Microsoft. Recently, Epic Games president, Mike Capps, told Gamasutra that, “there are some really difficult financial situations in this industry,” and “You can make a game like Shadow Complex, be a 10- to 12-man team for a year, get to be a best-selling game on [Xbox Live Arcade], and then still have money be tight.”
He also said Microsoft has been a good partner of theirs for a long time, why? Well “somebody’s got to put up a billboard in Hong Kong, and it’s not going to be me,” Capps said.
Why be just a partner and risk the possibility of one of the franchises that adds value to your console going multiplatform? That’s too risky. PS3 fans would love to give GeOW3 a run on their Black behemoth and Sony would love nothing better but to announce that said title will be gracing its system.
By now you guys should know that Gears of War 3 is under development, Epic’s latest unreal engine was demonstrated at GDC with some amazing visuals on display. Many now believe the best selling game will head over to PS3.
The other big question is whether Epic Games wants to be bought out by any company at all. The firm doesn’t only develop games, its unreal engine business is worth hundreds of millions, therefore MS must take all these different aspects into consideration before it can make a move. However citing what Capps said, it could be only a matter of time until things get too rough forcing them to change their minds.
And if that happens, we all know who’ll be the first in line making its bidding; if I were in control though, I’d make a move right away, you never know what Sony has cooking in its pot.
Nice read, however Epic is a huge company, it’ll cost MS a lot to acquire that studio.