Would you like to see it? (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
A reader is worried about Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard and suggests a merger between PlayStation and Sony to counter it.
I don’t think I’m the only one that had plenty of misgivings, when hearing that Microsoft would finally be completing their purchase of Activision Blizzard. I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to help their business, given Call Of Duty isn’t exclusive, but I assume they didn’t spend $69 billion for nothing.
I’ve seen a lot of people say that Sony would do the same thing in their place and I’m sure that’s true. But Sony aren’t in their place and never will be. Microsoft is the only company with that much money to spare and after years of dithering they seem to have thrown caution to the wind and are now committed to buying up as many companies as they can.
I don’t like it. They’re increasingly acting like a rich bully, while pretending they’re actually some kind of charity, looking out for the rest of gaming. I don’t know how many people believe that, but I certainly don’t, and I much prefer the status quo of three, more or less, equal companies trying to outdo themselves on a fair playing field. But those days are now over.
I’m sure I’m not the first person to suggest this but what I would like to see happen now is for Sony and Nintendo to team up. I don’t think they’ve ever had a particularly close relationship, except for that ill-fated CD-ROM business back in the 90s, but I don’t think they hate each other either. They seem more like respectful competitors, while Microsoft is the creepy stalker who won’t take no for an answer, as revealed by that disturbing email about Xbox wanting to buy Nintendo.
That would be an absolute worse case scenario, which would destroy any sense of fair competition in the games industry, so my suggestion of a merger between Sony and Nintendo would have two purposes: to create a single company big enough to take on Microsoft and to keep Nintendo out of Microsoft’s clutches.
If it was a merger Nintendo would be an equal partner and in my mind they would handle all of PlayStation’s Japanese studios and relationships, while Sony handled the Western side of things. Sony could do the consoles, but Nintendo could help out with suggestions on controllers and form factors; both companies have their specialities in those areas and I believe they could work together well.
Sony lacks almost any family friendly games, especially ones that are popular, and yet that’s Nintendo’s speciality so there is a very obvious synergy there, with little overlap. None of Sony’s first party games are similar to Nintendo’s and yet I feel there is a lot they could learn from each other, and share.
Who wouldn’t want to see a Naughty Dog game with Zelda’s physics system or Mario with graphics as good as Ratchet & Clank? Or maybe a F-Zero and WipEout crossover, that would finally allow both games to make a comeback. Or how about Smash Bros. with PlayStation characters and online multiplayer that isn’t a complete shambles?
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I know what you’re thinking and I’d rather they stay separate too, despite the potential benefits. But we’re past that point. Microsoft has made its move and it’s going to make more. Sony has to respond and while Nintendo, or at least its fans, may feel it’s safe, it’s not. Especially as we know Microsoft very much has them in their sights.
In order to counter Microsoft, and keep both of them in the business, and relatively independent, I think a PlayStation and Nintendo team-up is the only logical way forward.
By reader BossMan
The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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A reader is worried about Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard and suggests a merger between PlayStation and Sony to counter it.
