• Home
  • Games
  • Games News
  • Sony Shares Slide as Microsoft Buys Bethesda Owner ZeniMax to Boost Games Lineup

Sony Shares Slide as Microsoft Buys Bethesda-Owner ZeniMax to Boost Games Lineup

Sony's PlayStation 5 is expected to outsell Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console, according to analysts.

Sony Shares Slide as Microsoft Buys Bethesda-Owner ZeniMax to Boost Games Lineup

Sony's stronger games pipeline including exclusives like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Highlights
  • The Xbox Game Pass is central to Microsoft's counterattack
  • It will take time for the deal to feed through to Xbox's games pipeline
  • PlayStation Now from Sony has a dominant hardware install base
Advertisement

Sony's shares slid as much as two percent in Tokyo trade on Wednesday after Microsoft said it would buy the parent of games publisher Bethesda Softworks, in a deal to bolster its games slate as it eyes cloud gaming expansion.

Sony's PlayStation 5 is expected by analysts to outsell Microsoft's next-generation Xbox consoles when the devices launch in November, bolstered by Sony's stronger games pipeline including exclusives like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Microsoft's $7.5 billion (roughly Rs. 55,223 crores) acquisition of the publisher behind hit franchises like Doom, and Fallout helps close that gap, as it pushes into cloud gaming with the launch of a subscription service last week for Android devices.

The Xbox Game Pass is central to Microsoft's counterattack, with the rival PlayStation Now service from Sony, which has a dominant hardware install base, seen as lagging in terms of games on offer and by being limited to PlayStation and PC.

It will take time for the deal to feed through to Xbox's games pipeline, with Bethesda contracted to bring titles Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo to PlayStation 5.

The concentration of studios in the hands of established players puts clear blue water between a wave of challengers like Amazon and Google parent Alphabet that are moving into gaming but lack killer titles.

"Given the expansion of streaming services as we enter the era of next-gen consoles, we expect this industry consolidation to continue," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a client note.

Japan's markets reopened on Wednesday after national holidays. Sony's shares have risen by almost half since March lows as the gaming industry benefits from demand brought about by stay-at-home policies during the coronavirus outbreak.

© Thomson Reuters 2020


Are Apple Watch SE, iPad 8th Gen the Perfect ‘Affordable' Products for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Sony, Microsoft, Bethseda, Xbox, PlayStation 5
Rogue One Prequel Series Taps Black Mirror’s Toby Haynes as New Director, Begins Filming in October: Report
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »