Pemalite said:
src said:
Perhaps the engine and VR tech will come in handy later but atm Bethesda seems overpriced. I would estimate their revenue to be 1-1.5B annual so you're looking at a premium of x5-8. Warner bros pulled in 2B revenue was was seen as overpriced for 4B although that's probably due to their IP still being with Warner.
From a user acquisition point I wonder if it is efficient. Going by games sold in a period (BGS afaik only works on two games at a time)
BGS1: Skyrim - 30M
BGS2: Starfield - ??? Lets say 15M
Doom - 5-6M ?
Arkane, Tango, Machine games < 3M.
60M games sold at 8.1B
Insomniac at $220M will sell 40M (SM 20M, RC 5M, Wolverine 15M) in a similar if not shorter timeframe.
MS needed Bethesda for their big IPs so it makes sense. Was it an efficient user acquisition move? Imo no. I will say it is a lot more efficient than going after a public company that trades stock.
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So whilst yes, Insomniac will be able to release a ton of quality games that will sell extremely well and likely even shift consoles (Not that anyone has issues on that front at the moment!)
Technology, I.P and services are where the value of the Zenimax purchase is.
Microsoft is building a "game development framework" with Azure Gamestack, shoe-horning in iD Tech and the Creation Engine for example would be a massive boon to that service as it was missing a performant and flexible game engine.
Gamepass is the flag that Microsoft is waving prominently at the moment... Having Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake, Fallout on Gamepass isn't something that can be understated.
Sony's purchase of Insomniac was just about the games... And as a PS5 owner, I am happy about that purchase considering how highly I rate Insomniac games, they have made some of my favorite games of all time.
So from "just a games perspective" was the Bethesda acquisition efficient? Probably not.
But what I am trying to convey is that it is more than just games that Microsoft gained here.
Robert_Downey_Jr. said:
A very general definition you pulled out to address a very specific situation. And then worded in a very passive aggressive way.
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Look. You are trying to dance around the definition, I am not going to play that game.
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Did MS pay a premium for Zenimax? maybe on face value but like Pemalite said, Zenimax is more than just it's big name game brands, now we could argue whether those components are enough to shift the value proposition in Microsoft's favour but to me that's a debate that isn't needed, because what Pemalite demonstrates when talking about Game pass is how well the purchase fits in with Microsoft's needs and that Game pass situation means the monetary value is there just on the brands alone because those Zenimax IP's will drive Game pass and increase those subs,the rest is cream on top.
Last edited by mjk45 - on 11 September 2021
