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After much talk of an acquisition, Sony and FromSoftware parent Kadokawa announce “strategic alliance"Sony now Kadokawa’s largest shareholder
Sony now Kadokawa’s largest shareholder
Image credit:Bandai Namco
Image credit:Bandai Namco
It’s been rumoured for a while that Sony are about to buy Kadokawa Corporation, a monolithic Japanese media conglomerate that means nothing to the bulk of you unless I append the magic words “parent company ofDark Soulsdevelopers FromSoftware” and possibly also, “parent company of Spike Chunsoft”. Sony and Kadokawa werereported to be in talks last month, fomenting all sorts of speculation about, say, the PC version ofBloodbornebeing ritually sacrificed to consecrate the PS6-exclusivity of Dark Souls 4. Now, the pair have emerged from the Cave of Haggling and announced… “a strategic capital and business alliance agreement”. What does this mean? Is it safe to scream yet?
Kadokawa and Sony have collaborated on projects in the past. The agreement paves the way for more of that collaboration. According toan announcement release, future team-ups might include “potential joint investments in the content field, joint discovery of new creators, and joint promotion of further media mixes of both companies' IP”. More specifically, they’re looking at “initiatives to adapt Kadokawa’s IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, expand global distribution of Kadokawa’s anime works through the Sony Group, further expand publishing of Kadokawa’s games, and develop human resources to promote and expand virtual production.”
Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno is cock-a-hoop about the agreement. “This alliance is expected to not only further strengthen our IP creation capabilities, but also increase our IP media mix options with Sony’s support for global expansion, allowing us to deliver our IP to more users around the world,” he observed, with a slap of his thighs and a twinkle in his eye.
I can’t speak to Kadokawa or Sony’s recent handling of such things, as we’ve been more focussed onevents in North America and Europe, but the non-merger is presumably good news for sustainability in the short term, inasmuch as no Kadokawa or Sony developers will lose their jobs to post-acquisition “due diligence”, aka cost-cutting. As of August, Kadokawa had26 games in development.
