Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, Jim Ryan, has said that the company will continue to expand development studios organically but will consider “selective” mergers and acquisitions where they make sense.
In an interview with Reuters, Ryan said that AAA development is “incredibly complicated and difficult,” and Sony has learned “many lessons over many years” that all fed into the PS5’s launch lineup. “Where we can bolster our in-house capability with selective M&A, that might be possible,” he added.
When asked how long gaming companies can bank on the boost from customers locked indoors during the pandemic, Ryan said that Sony is “definitely looking upwards and thinking that we can do better than we thought we could.” “The initial concerns about the impact on the 2021, 2022 roster were really legitimate but are probably slightly assuaged now,” he concluded.
The lockdowns triggered by Covid-19 boosted Sony’s quarterly profit. The company reported a 459.6 billion yen ($4.4 billion) profit for the period between July and September, up from 188 billion yen in the same period last year. As a result, Sony has increased its forecast for the full fiscal year to 800 billion yen ($7.7 billion) from 510 billion yen ($4.9 billion).
Sony’s shares have also seen significant gains since March, and climbed 1.8 percent on Wednesday alone following the announcement of its profits.
Going by the status of PlayStation 5’s preorders, it looks like Sony is well on track to meet its revised sales, revenue, and profit forecasts for the full fiscal year.
Is there any studio that our readers think Sony should acquire?
[Source: Reuters, Business Insider]
