Which developer should Sony buy, Konami or Capcom?

[Symbolic]

Neither. Not only because they'll be too expensive (both to buy and to then try to fix) and too useless, but also because, at least in my opinion, there's too few large publishers already. Because of all the acquisitions, mergers and failures over the last decade -- where Square and Enix merged, Koei and Tecmo merged, Eidos was swallowed by Square Enix, Atlus was swallowed by Sega, Midway failed, and THQ failed, among others -- we're left with only a handful of large publishers, a few of which are struggling with financial problems and/or software output. I guess I just don't like the concentration and would prefer more larger publishers capable of releasing mid-size and big-budget titles using various distribution methods.

In saying that, Konami looks like it's pretty much done with the industry and it is hoarding a bunch of beloved IPs -- Bomberman, Castlevania, Gradius, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Suikoden, etc. -- so I really wouldn't mind a buyout of its gaming assets by another party. It just depends on whether or not Konami's gaming IPs are actually beneficial to its pachinko and pachislot division -- do the Castlevania or Silent Hill branded machines perform better than the non-branded ones? If they are beneficial, then it's going to have to be a licensing deal to bring them back to gaming; if they're not, then maybe they'd be willing to sell them.

Capcom, although it is struggling both financially and with its release schedule, looks like it's still very much interested in the industry and wants to make a comeback. It's been relying mostly on re-releases/remasters for the past few years, with its main new titles being released in partnership with platform holders (Microsoft for Dead Rising, Nintendo for Monster Hunter and Sony for Street Fighter), but it is still actively trying to recover. If it needs to partner with the platform holders to do so, that's fine, but I'd rather it recover as an independent company than be bought out by another.