A regulatory body should be allowed to block Sony's aquisition of Kadokawa, not for the monopoly concerns, but so that we don't have to see any more gamer posts that talk about it like this shit is about Elden Ring. The guy who's only seen Boss Baby of nerd economics - ThreadSky

yuyucow.bsky.social • 76 days ago

A regulatory body should be allowed to block Sony's aquisition of Kadokawa, not for the monopoly concerns, but so that we don't have to see any more gamer posts that talk about it like this shit is about Elden Ring. The guy who's only seen Boss Baby of nerd economics

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nanashrew.bsky.social•76 days ago

maybe gaming sites etc. would treat the situation with concern if it was tencent instead. because kadokawa is not far removed from them with all that they own and have their many hands in.

therealjarkes.bsky.social•76 days ago

What's most baffling IMO is that Kadokawa themselves are the ones who have been pushing most strongly for this.

yuyucow.bsky.social•76 days ago

I guess it technically sounds less nefarious from that perspective than "we're trying to swallow a massive publisher that is involved in various fields where we're also a sizable chunk of that whole industry"

therealjarkes.bsky.social•76 days ago

As well as "Kadokawa would rather Sony swallow them up than Kakao Corp swallow them up" (that's apparently the main reason - another company has been attempting a hostile takeover more or less).

bigonanime.bsky.social•68 days ago

Way too many people really don't realize the ramifications of a potential merger. Like there was this on the PlayStation subreddit. I even got a downvote when I tried to explain it to people.
https://www.reddit.com/r/playstation/comments/1guqqzl/sony_in_talks_to_buy_from_software_company/ly21q9t/?context=3

bigonanime.bsky.social•68 days ago

On another note, even after today's news of Sony becoming the largest shareholder, reporters are still refusing to learn what a Kadokawa actually is.
https://bsky.app/profile/bigonanime.bsky.social/post/3ldnzpbrjmc2c

tyson.chemicalsora.moe•76 days ago

Genuine question: how educated should a gaming commentator be regarding Kadokawa's main business?

Us anime people are legitimately scared of Sony owning one of the biggest print publishers in Japan currently, whereas gaming people have only seen their name in an Elden Ring boot up screen.

yuyucow.bsky.social•76 days ago

Perfectly reasonable (especially if it's not your job) to have no idea who they are, but the second time this topic has been in the news cycle I wish people who should know better had realized how goofy this angle is. More than a few people already explained it the first time around too

ennuitcg.bsky.social•76 days ago

It should be pretty important to know what you’re commentating on, as a commentator.
They don’t need a PhD in Japanese econ, but should be able to answer the “Who, what, where, when, how, & why?” for what’s happening, even if the main thing doesn’t affect them and their audience as much.

tyson.chemicalsora.moe•75 days ago

See, your last sentence is what I’m finding frustrating to reconcile. Even if a commentator outside our community does the legwork, they won’t be able to grasp the *why* unless they’re already familiar. Only insightful commentary they can do is “consolidation / merger / monopoly bad” which we agree!

ennuitcg.bsky.social•75 days ago

In that case, they'd probably need to find someone (or multiple people) who are better informed, and either interview them or get some quotes. That's how journalism used to work. The person reporting might not have a lot of knowledge on medicine, but someone working in medical research will.

ennuitcg.bsky.social•75 days ago

Probably getting off topic from the original post, but that's what I think a bunch of these issues come from. A bunch of people trying to compete in a stupid 24-hour news cycle. Report now to get in on what's trending; fact-check and research never.

tyson.chemicalsora.moe•75 days ago

Agreed that big outlets who cover multiple entertainment beats - think IGN, Polygon, Verge, among others - should've focused on the publishing side more. However, the dunk posts I've seen this time are on smaller outlets, whose gaming is their one beat.

xx-prov.bsky.social•75 days ago

Well, FromSoftware, Inc. is a company that in a recent quarter has "accounted for only around 12% of [KADOKAWA's] sales" while contributing "almost a third of the overall operating profit": https://www.gamesindustry.biz/does-a-sony-bid-for-kadokawa-make-sense-opinion

They sure pose margins and a RoI enviable by any C-suite on the block!

xx-prov.bsky.social•75 days ago

The specific purchase from a Sony division like SIE of FromSoftware shares on its own in 2022, months after the KADOKAWA × CyberAgent, Inc. × Sony Group capital alliance (https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/9468/tdnet/1926901/00.pdf), shows there's a particular interest within the corporation for that side of their business.

xx-prov.bsky.social•75 days ago

Of course, the bribery scandal just made the M&A opportunity ideal now from the perspective of several Sony Group companies' interests, SME(J) and Aniplex Inc. included! Excessive focus on the gaming side is misguided, mind you, but it is a business of undeniable importance.

xx-prov.bsky.social•75 days ago

On the other hand, I like the implication of recent moves by Toho Co., Ltd. being a motivator for Sony Group to act, and how further investments by the former are expected for them to actually try to better compete in that (hypothetical) future: https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/842453?page=4

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