Microsoft Buyout of Ailing Sony Possible 363
imashoe writes "BonaFideReviews has published an interesting article stating that a Microsoft buyout of Sony is quite possible sometime in the not-so-far future. From the article: 'All this added up, you have to ask yourself. Will the next Playstation you purchase post-PS3 run a Microsoft operating system and have backwards compatibility for PS1 PS2 PS3 Xbox and Xbox360? Putting your rabid love for Sony aside, this doesn't seem as far fetched as it once did, when the Sony name wasn't covered in enough red tape to fill the Grand Canyon.'"
Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:3, Insightful)
But that article was horrible. 'Thrown' instead of 'throne', a bunch of they're/there mistakes. 'Hurtle'?
I am starting to see the advantages of the print media- at least they had editors.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:3, Interesting)
"Like many of you, it's hard for me to remember a time when the word "Playstation" was synonymous with gaming."
KFG
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Fixed that for the author.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Credibility (Score:5, Insightful)
If this article had been written more thoughtfully, I might have said he had some points worth considering, but as it is I find them easy to dismiss. If the author doesn't care enough to check over his own work or isn't bright enough to see the numerous glaring mistakes, I can't help but think that his analysis is equally careless.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Take a look at the difference between 'hurdle' and 'hurtle'...and the aforementioned 'throne' problem.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:3, Funny)
Am I the only one who finds it ironic when those too-lazy-to-type-yo fucks try to go grammar/spelling nazi on someone?
Re:Print media editors (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2, Funny)
You can go on correcting some people until the cows come home to roost - and they just never learn
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:4, Informative)
Here in England (you know, home of the English language) "Red tape" is a very common term for excessive bureaucratic processes that one sometimes has to go through. I've never heard the term "Red ink" being used to describe this.
Refer to Wikipedia for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tape [wikipedia.org]
And you claim to be a native English speaker? Well, I guess even England has ignorant and uneducated people.
Red ink refers to the accounting practice of recording finacial losses in red ink.
Please see this article [economist.com] for an example of use of the term in English financial journalism.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:4, Informative)
Cutting through red tape means having to make a big issue to be able to enter somewhere (as in cutting the red tape across the street of a new bridge).
So it should be "red ink" and not "red tape" when talking about Sonys losses of lately. Though the two idoms sound simular, they bouth mean different things.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:3, Funny)
Though the two idoms sound simular, they bouth mean different things.
<politely>
Dear sir, you made a mistake right there. Best Regards.
</politely>
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2, Informative)
Is that a German idiom as well? I'm certainly not familiar with it in English, where 'red tape' is always used to refer to bureaucratic requirements which are considered burdensome by the user. (It's frequently used by company directors and managers wanting tax concessions, or complaining about things like human rights legislation or health & safety re
Nope, I'm afaid you're the idiot (Score:3, Insightful)
Try this well known reference site [wikipedia.org]; you might find it useful in future.
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Red Ink, not red tape. (Score:2)
Rabid love (Score:5, Funny)
Or is that different on Saturdays? Hmm.
Re:Rabid love (Score:2)
Re:Rabid love (Score:5, Insightful)
Sony has been around way too long (60 years this May 7th [wikipedia.org]) for one simple launch will kill these guys. That is like saying that Itanium would kill Intel. Just short sighted reporting.
IMHO, what this is is nothing more than Just Another ailing Tech Site that is trying to bump up their hits by posting some crazy article that speculates some crazy stuff and then get it on a site that will generate some traffic. Hell, the name of the guy who reported this is a freaking LINK to that crappy sites front page.
Now that I see this - this is bogus, nothing but what I said, trying to boost readership at the expense of slashdoters.
RonB
Re:Rabid love (Score:3, Informative)
And that's just the hardware side of the business. Don't forget that as well as Sony Electronics there's Sony Music and Sony Pictures.
To quote from Sony Corporation Of America's website [sony.com] (not Sony Japan, not Sony Europe, etc.)
Revenue for last fiscal (ending March 31, 2005):
Sony Corporation: $67b
Music Group: $2.3b
Pictures Group: $6.9b
United
Re:Rabid love (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Rabid love (Score:2)
Re:Rabid love (Score:2)
Article (Score:3, Funny)
Seems like he's really positive on the idea.
-Grey [wellingtongrey.net]
Anti-Trust (Score:2, Insightful)
This would be a major anti-trust issue. Then Microsoft would own almost the entire console market.
It's true nintendo is around... but it is such a small share holder in the industry.
If Nintendo's "Revoltion" does well, this could happen, if not, i doubt it.
Re:Anti-Trust (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Anti-Trust (Score:3, Funny)
Even if MS bought out Sony, they would still have to worry about competition from these guys [phantom.net]
Re:Anti-Trust (Score:3, Insightful)
Whatever. I don't think anti-trust laws do any good when Microsoft can use their Windows monopoly to ship "free" (read: subsidized by Windows sales) software which come preinstalled on all Windows machines. Or when they can offer such cuts on "MS-only" shops that it is cheaper to pay a Microsoft tax on all machines than to actually pay for what you ship. If
Re:Anti-Trust (Score:3, Insightful)
I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Antitrust laws obviously don't work under the current administration since MS lost the trial and then the DOJ essentially asked for the case to be dropped.
Hopefully the reason for dropping the case is the one you state. The other reasons aren't as happy.
anti-competitive? (Score:3, Funny)
You mean like taking a $4 billion dollar loss in the console market to wreck their competitors? No, nothing anti-competitive there.
Re:Anti-Trust (Score:2)
They would own Sony Pictures, Sony Music, BD-DVD, home entertainment appliances.
That would put MS exactly where they want to be. In the living room and own content.
There are no MS Televisions, Web-tv (oops, MSN-TV) and Media Center are niche markets, and nobody understands or cares about "Plays for sure". With a brand name that takes care of all of that already entrenched, that positions them right where they want to be.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Anti-Trust (Score:2, Insightful)
Fanboyism at its best (Score:4, Informative)
Secondly, why do we all have a "rabid hate" for Sony? They make excellent midrange CD players, for instance. I have an actual Walkman from back in the day, which still works.
The "news" slant would be something like "Wow, this article says that MS might by Sony".
Apparently the "accept trollish submission text" method is what we have here.
Re:Fanboyism at its best (Score:5, Informative)
DRM rootkits.
Where have you been?
Don't forget SWG (Score:2)
Re:Don't forget SWG (Score:2)
Just an FYI; Sony's corporate structure is aggressively divided. It makes for no surprise that the different groups often end up at odds with each other.
Re:Fanboyism at its best (Score:5, Informative)
DRM rootkits.
Also, The NeverEnding Format Wars (MemoryStick, BlueRay, etc.), PS3 Delays And High Price (Save Up Suckers), MP3 Players That Really Only Play ATRAC, Trying To Get Us To Buy MD Even Though We Told Them A Zillion Times That Tape Sucks Come On Philips Dumped Their Digital Tape Ages Ago, and last but not least Every Kind Of Hardware They Make Except For Playstation Is Being Made By Some Other Taiwanes Or Korean Company For Less Money And Higher Quality.
They're a company in decline.
Re:Fanboyism at its best (Score:2)
Secure Digital ... (Score:2)
Secure Digital and xD is just a proprietary as Memory Stick. Why does everyone blame SONY for disagreeing on formats?
Oh BTW, MiniDisc is a great recording format. It just never took off as a distribution format in the United States. Sony's previous market introduction was too successfull
"Back in the day", Sony was great (Score:2)
Now they rely on their name to squeeze out mediocre hardware that suffers dearly from incompatibility and DRM.
Re:Fanboyism at its best (Score:3, Insightful)
If you are in business, it looks real funny when you read things like "Sony can't sell iPod things, they are doomed".
There is "Sony" involved somehow in the production. Always.
They should start to advertise the "Professional" Sony to end users/customers so they don't get false impressions. There are people thinking "betacam" or "digital betacam" has something to do with beta video tapes
(beta was better of course!)
B
Rootkit support will be double plus good (Score:5, Funny)
Huh? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
We should all have Microsoft's problems. No debt. Forty billion or so in spare change. A 90% share in our core markets.
read TFA with a grain of salt (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sorry, but with an error like that in the second sentence, I'm guessing the author is not an informed source and likely not an authority on predicting future console market trends.
Re:read TFA with a grain of salt (Score:2)
I, for one, am interested in seeing this piece of hardware which was thrown 11 years. I mean, was it thrown forwards in time? Backwards? Is Sony sitting on some really cool hardware from 2017?
More details dammit!
Seems unlikely (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Seems unlikely (Score:2)
Re:Seems unlikely (Score:3)
Microsoft typically invests in companies, in return for licenses to use their technology. They don't typically buy entire companies, certainly not ones the size of Sony that have a diverse product line.
Re:Seems unlikely (Score:3, Informative)
Sure, they've purchased plenty of software com
Sony is not PlayStation (Score:5, Insightful)
If M$ buys the console part of Sony, so be it. But I doubt that even Microsoft can absorb something as big as Sony. Sure, they may have the cash on hand, but that is a really, really large operation.
Even the console piece difficult to swallow... (Score:3, Insightful)
Continuing PS3 under Microsoft doesn't make sense (Score:3, Informative)
MS + Sony = ??? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:MS + Sony = ??? (Score:2)
What a load of crap (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if this was true, I expect a purchase would be blocked by one or more governments.
Re:What a load of crap (Score:2)
Re:What a load of crap (Score:2)
Why would any government block Microsoft form purchasing a company that does business in arenas that Microsoft doesn't already, especially when there are numerous competitors worldwide? There's a possibility that the EU or US DOJ might get testy and demand that SCEE/SCEA be divested first to keep Microsoft from controlling the Playstation in Europe and the states, but aside from that, Microsoft buying Sony wouldn't really put Microsoft in
Re:What a load of crap (Score:2)
Re:What a load of crap (Score:2)
Mis-categorized (Score:2)
MS will only help their death spiral (Score:3, Insightful)
DON'T RTFA. (Score:5, Informative)
Rabid hate? (Score:3, Insightful)
An example of how they could get a clue and repair some of the damage they've done to their reputation. A slashdot article a week or so back suggested UMD (for Video) might be on its last legs. This would be a defeat for Sony but they can gain a lot of kudos and a lot sales if they did something when it went bye-bye. That thing is simple - uncripple the PSP. The PSP is already excellent at playing movies, but uncripple it so rippers can use the full display resolution. For extra points Sony could give away something akin to iTunes that helps people rip / convert music & clips but also buy titles online.
Re:Rabid hate? (Score:2)
Nah, that title belongs to GM. Sony has a lot going for it with some great products, and is quite profitable. Sony also has a new CEO who seems to be making some headway in clearing out a lot of the underbrush that is preventing Sony from achieving what it is capable of (which is a LOT more than Microsoft).
Apple has lots of cash too ... (Score:3, Interesting)
Apple has lots of cash too, but I doubt you'll be seing anyone buying/merging with Sony at all.
1st it's a Japanese company, and I don't see those guys allowing Americans to come in and wreck their management structure. Second, years of losses does not necessarily equate to going under. Sony is a powerhouse consumer electronics giant that is arguably the leader in the field. GM has been posting record losses lately as well, but do you really think that anyone could buy GM?
Yes, Sony does have to get those Playstations out the door this year. And when they do, it will be an incredible success regardless of costing $150 more than a stripped down Xbox360. Sony has way too much mindshare out there and tons of fans waiting to buy the machines. Once the PS3 goes out the door the videogames get sold to those rabid fans and thats how Sony makes their money. Oh yeah
GM is a LOT worse off than you think (Score:2)
Speculation != Value ... (Score:2)
We know what the speculators think of GMs near term value. But is the second largest employer in the United States (only recently being eclipsed by Wal-Mart). The brand, the factory and it's assets have tremendous value and they are only a bankruptcy proceeding away from shedding all those pesky pension and healthcare obligations (unfortunately).
No, GM has lost billions in past years and they will likely lose billions in the future. GM is just to big to fail, they have too many assets and some one will b
M$ does not have that kind of money. (Score:2)
Re:M$ does not have that kind of money. (Score:2)
Objectively speaking, I have no idea of whether this would be possible or not, but if I had to bet right now, I'd say "no".
Huh? (Score:2)
I've heard of mixing metaphors before, but that's a doozy. It really takes the cake and eats it too. I'm between a rock and a hard place trying to sort out this barrel of monkeys.
Much obliged to any word wizard out there who can 'splin me the bit about red tape all over the Sony name, and the grand canyon. I mean, tape doesn't take up a lot of space. That'd be a lot of tape. Did the writer mean red ink? Is it environmentally a
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Funny)
Well, that would explain Red River then...
Anyhow, this article is as insightful as my dog's arse. Reading your average penis cream spam is more enlighting than this. Is there a way to moderate down the submitter and approver of this drivel?
--
*Art
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
But IBM should buy out the PS3 division. (Score:2)
Such a takeover could certainly be on the cards though, because Sony really is in trouble, for many reasons. (Many of them actually boil down to the old and very buoyant product-oriented "Sony Manufacturing" having been invaded and crippled by the regressive hoards of "Sony Legal". They've destroyed a great company.)
However, the only way a tak
Predictions..... (Score:2, Interesting)
Not much of an article... (Score:4, Insightful)
Like many of you, it's hard for me to remember a time when the word "Playstation" was synonymous with gaming. Sony has held the all mighty hardware thrown for an astounding eleven years at the time of writing this.
I would have said it's hard to remember a time when the word playstation wasn't synonymous with gaming. After all, Sony has held the console throne for a fair time.
I'm not sure I agree that a buyout is on the cards myself. If Sony's only product was the playstation, maybe, but look at their financial highlights [sony.net]; gaming only represents 10% of their income. Would Microsoft want a record label, a film studio or a consumer electronics business?
Sony's market cap is $48 billion [cnn.com]. Granted, Microsoft might be able to stretch to this, but why not spend a little more and buy Apple for $59 billion [cnn.com]? Apple is in the computer industry, and has the iPod. Seems like a much better purchase to me.
Just my $0.02,
Michael
Re:Not much of an article... (Score:2)
Re:Not much of an article... (Score:2)
TFA = Smoking crack gives nice visions. (Score:3, Interesting)
Also sony corporation happens to have huge assets. As for cash flow statements, sony corporation made quite good operating profit they just invested it. So basicly they are probably not interested in selling their self to microsoft, it would be hostile take over probably.
And this kind of buy out is going to be killed by either japanese or american goverment by monopoly issues.
Finally the speaking of weak stock price for sony is *bull*. Check out the 10 year graph, if we ignore the bubble spike the stock is relatively high price.
These fan boys just look the part they understand and assume that part of picture is what matters.
uh, no (Score:2, Insightful)
Hey Kids, How About A Rumor History Lesson? (Score:2)
Do we all remember where those rumors went?
In all fairness to Sony, like most industry rumor rags, this article completely and totally forgets to look at the other Sony divisions. Even if the PS3 is gonna tout a $500 price tag, they can probably afford to sell at a loss for a large
omegacorp ? (Score:2)
but what did strike me when i read it, what were they called in robocop ?
Omegacorp ? one mega corporation controlling every aspect of your life, was that it ?
its funny, all we're shown in the movies, with the big corporations controlling our lives, we can see it coming now, not so sci-fi now heh ? is it
Re:omegacorp ? (Score:2)
Why I think this is bullspit: (Score:3, Insightful)
2. Sony > Playstation. Sony has its fingers in consumer electronics, cellphones, content industry, computers and a few more branches that I can't think of right now.
3. Antitrust. A direct result of 2., if MS only THOUGHT about buying PARTS of Sony, this would immediately bring the antitrust witchhunters on them. And I doubt MS wants more attention from the feds concerning their monopoly situation, especially in areas like Korea (south) and the EC.
4. Price. Another result of 2. Sony isn't some local company they scoop up on their road to market domination, I'd guess if anything it would be merger, but not buy-out. And merging would again bring a beehive of antitrust lawyers on them.
What I can see is an attempt to support the games of other consoles. They might try that, yes. For the simple reason that this IS undoubtedly a killer argument for one console over the other (when you can play PS and XBox games with one, why buy the other one that can play just one of them?).
But a buy out? Doubt it.
Not gonna happen. (Score:2)
But, even if there werent, there is NO WAY that the japanese government would let a foriegn company like Microsoft buy a company as big as sony.
Piffle (Score:2)
- Sony's business and products
- Japanese business culture
- The English language
Yes, Microsoft might buy _______ as well. Fill in the bank with what ever you want. I thinking Victoria's Secret.This would save me the trouble... (Score:2)
I hope it happens cause I'd love to see both fail much in the way AOL/TimeWarner are right now. We were scared when it first was announced but now it looks like a huge mistake.
I don't think so (Score:2, Interesting)
There are 1,001,633,000 Sony Corp shares on the market.
In order to get controlling interest of the company, Microsoft has to buy 50% plus one. That's 500,816,501.
Sony stock today is trading at 5,700 yen/share. Total = $24,220,719,970.31
In August of last year, it was 3,640 yen/share. Total = $15,467,266,788.07
So in other words, Microsoft could have saved 9 BILLION dollars by buying it last August.
But I'm no business expert, and I haven't read the article, so e
memory schtick (Score:2)
and a r00tkit, to boot!
Nutty idea (Score:5, Insightful)
In addition, there would be a serious cultural and probably political offset: the Americanos operating in the heartland of SE Asian electronics. That would go down like a lead balloon in many quarters.
When you've got $40 billion in the bank, anything can sound like a good buy. Quite why Micrsoft should get into manufacturing cameras and alarm clocks is a bit mystifying. There are many other things they could spend more wisely on, unless Sony goes so tits up that it is sold of piecemeal and bits can be bought separately.
How fitting... (Score:2)
The perfect marriage!!! One could almost say a marriage of reason!!!
If Apple can buyout Disney than what are the MS .. (Score:2)
The same thing MS does, boast about something that ain't.
root kit (Score:3, Interesting)
Quit bad article (Score:2)