AT&T Looking to sell WB games.

Armchair quarterbacking:

At 4 Billion USD I'm not sure if that is a purchase MS wants to make. I don't know if those studio they intend to sell off are going to generate that much revenue to be worthwhile. Rocksteady are good, but they would still have to procure the Batman license from WB, who more than likely would request the product be multi-platform instead of exclusive to Xbox. And adding Neatherrealm would really give them another fighting stable since Capcom has all but abandoned them with Street fighter this generation, I don't see it being the game changer people think.
 
No reason for Sony or MS to pick up the entire publishing arm, unless they keep the games multiplatform it loses a TON of it's value. Hopefully they'd be willing to sell off studios and IP, I'd love Sony to pick up NRS. They've had a good relationship for a long time and I don't think Sony would interfere in NRS decisions.
 
those are really good studios but yeah without the DC/Comic/Moive IP i don't think there worth anywhere near 4 Billion.
I would assume Mortal Kombat comes with NRS, otherwise yeah they are just picking up another dev studio and have to pay for a license to do any IP that the studio doesn't own.
 
I would assume Mortal Kombat comes with NRS, otherwise yeah they are just picking up another dev studio and have to pay for a license to do any IP that the studio doesn't own.

Yup outside of MK i can't think of another IP those studios have worked on that didnt involve DC Comics or WB movie IP. I'm curios exactley what they're trying to sell exactly.
 
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Armchair quarterbacking:

At 4 Billion USD I'm not sure if that is a purchase MS wants to make. I don't know if those studio they intend to sell off are going to generate that much revenue to be worthwhile. Rocksteady are good, but they would still have to procure the Batman license from WB, who more than likely would request the product be multi-platform instead of exclusive to Xbox. And adding Neatherrealm would really give them another fighting stable since Capcom has all but abandoned them with Street fighter this generation, I don't see it being the game changer people think.
I disagree, but to a point. Not sure if they would make their money back soon, but Microsoft is no stranger to multi-platform (Minecraft on everything), and keeping an extra stable of always available Gamepass content is actually a VERY BIG DEAL! At a market cap if $1.42 Trillion (and literally climbing every day), I think they could afford $4B for WB Games.
 
Yup outside of MK i can't think of another IP those studios have worked on that didnt involve DC Comics or WB movie IP. I'm curios exactley what they're trying to sell exactly.
WB owns DC outright.

Any sale would VERY LIKELY include exclusive WB ip licensing (with stipulations on WB having approval of said properties) would also include Rocksteady and Neatherrealm studios, ALL of Midway ip, Mortal Kombat vg ip, and a lot more. This would actually be quite a huge chunk of ip, and if WB properties like Harry Potter, LoTR (WB owns New Line), and DC get exclusivity (I'm mostly sure they would), this would be a MAMMOTH acquisition for ANYONE!
 
WB owns DC outright.

Any sale would VERY LIKELY include exclusive WB ip licensing (with stipulations on WB having approval of said properties) would also include Rocksteady and Neatherrealm studios, ALL of Midway ip, Mortal Kombat vg ip, and a lot more. This would actually be quite a huge chunk of ip, and if WB properties like Harry Potter, LoTR (WB owns New Line), and DC get exclusivity (I'm mostly sure they would), this would be a MAMMOTH acquisition for ANYONE!
ATT owns em all and can decide what is included in the sale.
 
WB owns DC outright.

Any sale would VERY LIKELY include exclusive WB ip licensing (with stipulations on WB having approval of said properties) would also include Rocksteady and Neatherrealm studios, ALL of Midway ip, Mortal Kombat vg ip, and a lot more. This would actually be quite a huge chunk of ip, and if WB properties like Harry Potter, LoTR (WB owns New Line), and DC get exclusivity (I'm mostly sure they would), this would be a MAMMOTH acquisition for ANYONE!

If those are included, then it would be a great buy. Will wait and see.
 
ATT owns em all and can decide what is included in the sale.
"Buy our games, but not retain licensing" would make absolutely no sense as a proposal, imo. I've been actually reading very recently all about their acquisition of Six Flags, and subsequent selling of Six Flags, leaving serious IP rights to the new owners, including DC and Loony Toons properties.
 
If Sony could get it own new take on Spider-Man as their own with approvals of both marvel and Disney then why can’t MS do the same? MS was at one time going to have their own mmo base in the marvel universe.... https://www.shacknews.com/article/51245/confirmed-marvel-universe-online-canceled

I’m sure they, MS, would allow them to finish whatever WB had setup, contractually
Sony and Spider-Man is a little different because Sony used the motion picture license partnership deal with Marvel as leverage... I had no idea of the MS Marvel MMO. Interesting.
 
And just to elaborate on the WB Six Flags deal, it's not unlike how Disney's biggest park competitor in the US (Universal) has rights to use the 1st tier Marvel characters at its parks (east if the Mississippi), and that license is basically forever, and Disney cannot use those characters at their parks, even though They own the IP. Now if Universal craps on their characters, Disney has the right to pull the plug out of breach of contact. Same with WB characters and Six Flags. They do not own the rights, but in both cases, they pay licensing to the IP holders, and the IP owner has to uphold the contract.

In a perfect world, Disney would get the park rights to their own Marvel IP, (probably by paying through the nose) and Universal would get the DC rights from Six Flags, and then the park wars would REALLY heat up! Notice that Universal already scored the Harry Potter rights from WB...

Basically, it's all for sale, even the licensing rights for any amount of time, including forever. (or the legal term: in perpetuity)
 
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I disagree, but to a point. Not sure if they would make their money back soon, but Microsoft is no stranger to multi-platform (Minecraft on everything), and keeping an extra stable of always available Gamepass content is actually a VERY BIG DEAL! At a market cap if $1.42 Trillion (and literally climbing every day), I think they could afford $4B for WB Games.

We know they can do it but the purchases they have made the past couple of years shouldn't make anyone think they would do it.

Doesn't seem like that much value either when you consider all the licensed games you are getting. If you are spending that much money wouldn't you want to own the IPs?

Sony and Spider-Man is a little different because Sony used the motion picture license partnership deal with Marvel as leverage... I had no idea of the MS Marvel MMO. Interesting.

They didn't though. Marvel is the one who approached Sony and it was unrelated to he movies. Insomniac made the choice about it being Spiderman
 
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Insomniac obviously knows their S-hit, Everyone knows Spiderman is the best superhero. It may come as a surprise, okay, I am saying it, Spiderman is my favorite superhero.
 
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We know they can do it but the purchases they have made the past couple of years shouldn't make anyone think they would do it.

Doesn't seem like that much value either when you consider all the licensed games you are getting. If you are spending that much money wouldn't you want to own the IPs?
Yeah, I just disagree with that. The licensing would be pretty huge.

They didn't though. Marvel is the one who approached Sony and it was unrelated to he movies. Insomniac made the choice about it being Spiderman
Do you have a link to that? Seems kind of counter-intuitive that Marvel wouldn't request a cross-gen game, if they were shopping the license out. Edit: seems a hell of a happenstance that they purposefully went to the movie rights holder (of all game developers) and said we want YOU to make this game. Marvel has been trying to squeeze Sony for more Spider-Man movies, and you don't think this is related?
 
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As disappointing MK has been I can see this happening.

Disappointing? MK 9 was the best selling MK until MKX came along, now MK11 is selling at a faster rate than MKX did. The games are hugely successful, it has consistently sold better than any other fighting series this generation. MKX sold over 10 million copies btw, no other fighting game series comes close. Tekken 7 took a couple of years to hit 4 million, MK 11 did it in a couple of months, again no other fighting series touches MK in sales, MK11 was also the 5th best selling game of 2019 in North America only beaten by COD, NBA 2K, Madden and Borderlands.

WB made back all of the $33 million they spent buying Midway's assets just from the first couple of months of MK9 sales . MK has been a gold mine for WB games so I don't know where you think it's disappointing.
 
Yeah, I just disagree with that. The licensing would be pretty huge.


Do you have a link to that? Seems kind of counter-intuitive that Marvel wouldn't request a cross-gen game, if they were shopping the license out. Edit: seems a hell of a happenstance that they purposefully went to the movie rights holder (of all game developers) and said we want YOU to make this game. Marvel has been trying to squeeze Sony for more Spider-Man movies, and you don't think this is related?

Marvel games keep saying they wanted Sony to do it because of the quality of their exclusives, I think it has something to do with the movie rights too but there is no actual proof of that.
 
We know they can do it but the purchases they have made the past couple of years shouldn't make anyone think they would do it.

Doesn't seem like that much value either when you consider all the licensed games you are getting. If you are spending that much money wouldn't you want to own the IPs?



They didn't though. Marvel is the one who approached Sony and it was unrelated to he movies. Insomniac made the choice about it being Spiderman

Yeah almost all of their games are based on licensed IP, as I said before it seems like Mortal Kombat is the only IP they could actually sell, everything else they'd want an agreement for so you'd have to buy their studios from them and have to pay them some kind of licensing fee on top of it if you wanted the studios to continue working on projects that are already likely years in development and for any further sequels. Seems like a bad deal all around really, other than maybe just picking up NRS and MK on their own.
 
Marvel games keep saying they wanted Sony to do it because of the quality of their exclusives, I think it has something to do with the movie rights too but there is no actual proof of that.
Yeah, I'll bet it's on the contract for the 1st 2 Spidey MCU movies. If it isn't, I won't believe it without proof of someone flat-out denying it on Marvel or Sony's end. I think believing the game just happened to land on Sony's doorstep at the same time the movie rights slid toward Marvel is extremely gullible.
 
Yeah, I just disagree with that. The licensing would be pretty huge.


Do you have a link to that? Seems kind of counter-intuitive that Marvel wouldn't request a cross-gen game, if they were shopping the license out. Edit: seems a hell of a happenstance that they purposefully went to the movie rights holder (of all game developers) and said we want YOU to make this game. Marvel has been trying to squeeze Sony for more Spider-Man movies, and you don't think this is related?


“Sony came to us and asked if we wanted to work with Marvel,” the community director said on ResetEra. “Sony and Marvel let us decide what character/universe we wanted to make a game based on. We chose Spider-Man.”



Haven't found where the Marvel approached Sony story came from though but it is true. The story is that they wanted Sony to treat it like first party because of quality and the movie connection is a coincidence.
 
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Haven't found where the Marvel approached Sony story came from though but it is true. The story is that they wanted Sony to treat it like first party because of quality and the movie connection is a coincidence.
I'm sorry for not believing that story because it defies logic, that Sony owning the movie license rights is just a coincidence, and Marvel gaining 2 MCU Spider-Man movies at the same time is also coincidence. I'm sure there was absolutely NO sweetening of any pots going on there... riiiight.
 
I'm sorry for not believing that story because it defies logic, that Sony owning the movie license rights is just a coincidence, and Marvel gaining 2 MCU Spider-Man movies at the same time is also coincidence. I'm sure there was absolutely NO sweetening of any pots going on there... riiiight.


It has nothing to do with the movie deal. Period. End of Story.



Ted Price specifically says here that they had a choice and they chose for it to be Spider-man
 





Ted Price specifically says here that they had a choice and they chose for it to be Spider-man

I see no denial of contact involving movie IP in any of that content, or could you point that out to me?

Edit: and Marvel approaching Sony and asking them which property they want tells me that Marvel already knew what their answer was going to be.
 
I see no denial of contact involving movie IP in any of that content, or could you point that out to me?

What do you mean? The Resetera post is someone from Insomniac saying the movie deal had nothing to do with it.

Also


Marvel wasn't interested in having Insomniac work around a movie or comic tie-in either, they wanted Insomniac to create their own version of a character, and Marvel was willing to let the developer take their pick. "[Marvel said] 'Look, we've got a lot of characters. Pick a character that you guys think works for you, and then we'd love to hear your take on it.'"