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Sony Sells Off Sony Online Entertainment
donniebaseball23 writes Sony Online Entertainment is to become Daybreak Game Company and turn its focus to multi-platform gaming. The company has been acquired by Columbus Nova and is now an indie studio. "We will continue to focus on delivering exceptional games to players around the world, as well as bringing our portfolio to new platforms, fully embracing the multi-platform world in which we all live," said Daybreak president John Smedley. But why did Sony shed SOE? Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes an online gaming company "isn't a great fit, particularly as games are shifting increasingly to a free-to-play mobile model."
A large market of people who buy and play games on phones is worth more than the smaller market of people who buy and play games on computers. Phone games cost much less to develop, but also provide much larger margins when they hit. This lower cost allows more nimble execution by smaller development teams and more product portfolio diversification. Why wouldn't I copycat a successful game design? It saves me money. As for outsourcing, what business wouldn't provide a particular quality point at a lower price point? And as for overall quality, why would they provide more than the consumers demand without charging more?
More importantly, why do the gamesters think their little fantasy world should be more immune to economic impulses in the real world than any other software product? In reality, your entertainment software is of much less importance than a lot of other software out there (or that could be out there) that costs less to develop and probably provides a lot more benefit. And, if you're too lazy as a customer to do anything about it, why come bitching to us?
TL;DR version: Gamesters be hatin' on the big C - Capitalism - and their lack of power under its system.
That is all.