On the afternoon of November 19th, shocking news broke. Reuters reported that “Sony in talks to acquire Kadokawa, sources say.” According to sources, Sony Group is in talks to acquire publishing giant Kadokawa, and if the negotiations go through, a deal could be reached within a few weeks. In response to this, Kadokawa’s stock price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange hit the daily limit on the same day, closing at 3,745 yen, 23% higher than the previous day’s closing price. Sony already entered into a capital alliance with Kadokawa in 2021, holding approximately 2% of the company’s shares. The company has also strengthened its relationship with FromSoftware, a subsidiary of the company that develops globally popular games such as “Elden Ring” and “Armored Core.” Sony, which has been strengthening its IP (intellectual property) business such as movies and music for some time, is expected to aim for further growth by acquiring Kadokawa, which has multiple IP including games and anime. (Omitted) “Kadokawa will supplement the original work parts that Sony lacks, so I think it’s basically a plus. At its shareholders meeting in June this year, Sony said it was interested in acquiring intellectual property, and they already collaborate on a lot of areas such as anime and games, so it should be a good fit compared to Kakao or Tencent.”
More than anything, Kadokawa has set out to accelerate its global expansion in its mid-term management plan. There are many things that can be learned from Sony, which has already expanded globally, making them an ideal partner. “Nico Nico Douga” disappearing…? However, there are some concerns. In particular, users who have enjoyed Kadokawa’s services may have to accept major changes if Sony’s acquisition goes ahead. “One concern is the relationship with companies that Sony has traditionally collaborated with, particularly Nintendo, which is a competitor of Sony. Kadokawa should have a considerable sales of Nintendo-related books, such as strategy guides for the Animal Crossing series, one of Nintendo’s most famous works, but there are doubts as to whether the company will be able to continue as before even under Sony’s umbrella. The format of Famitsu magazine and website may also have to change. As has also been pointed out on social media, Niconico, one of Japan’s largest video services, which owns Niconico Video and Niconico Live Broadcasting and has only survived thanks to the country’s lax regulations on freedom of expression, does not seem to get along well with Sony, a global company. The web services division to which Niconico belongs has a small share of Kadokawa’s sales and profits, so it will be important to keep an eye on how Sony decides to handle this.” (ibid.) Niconico has built its own unique culture up until now. Much of the content that is created in this way is at risk of being eliminated through global censorship of expression. Depending on Sony’s decision, it is entirely possible that the former “Nico Nico Douga” will disappear. Read the full story at the source.
I used to think that logs and videos from the online world would last forever, but in the end they just disappear at the whim of the operators. In the end, analog media was more effective.
>>26 Astute It looks like it will suffer the same fate as Boston Dynamics, which was taken over by Softbank and sold to Korean capital for next to nothing.
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