NetEase invests in Quantic Dream. (Off-Topic)

by narcogen , Andover, Massachusetts, Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 16:42 (1921 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Then nobody is independent…

JFC man.

Make a console game? Sony or MS could refuse cert and now you can’t sell.

That does not give them ownership of your company.

Make a mobile game? Apple could pull it from the store.

Yes, but that does not transfer shares in your company to them.

Make a PC game? You rely Microsoft APIs and windows software.

Yes, but that does not mean they own you. That's why you actually have to pay to buy something, and why Bungie went to such lengths to extricate itself from being owned by Microsoft.

Or else, hey, why bother-- since everybody you're engaged with in the industry exercises some level of control or influence on you, then one is just the same as the other, right? Ownership, control, influence, what's the difference, right?

Unless you control literally everything then someone owns a piece of you in a sense.

Only in the sense that words mean nothing. I mean, in a sense, we all own Bungie. Unless, you know, the word "own" actually has a specific meaning, one that was very clear.

So let me make what I mean, exactly, clear.

MSFT owned Bungie. They still own a part of it. Bungie went to considerable efforts to become independent enough-- to not have enough of its shares owned by another developer, publisher or platform owner.

The Activision deal was consistent with that, because unless Bungie seriously missed milestones, they had control over their own corporate governance and their intellectual property.

The NetEase investment is not consistent with that, because it was an investment, not a development deal. Because Bungie is private and closely held, we don't know how much interest or control they have, or how much of their control and influence they intend to exercise.

With the ATVI deal over, and Bungie now has to self-publish, we don't know if Bungie will have to continue down this road-- as they did in the 90s when they sold shares to TTWO.

That said, I think Bungie has shown considerable savvy in this area and I think they know what they are doing. I hope their agreements with NetEase are airtight is all.

Whether Quantic is savvy enough to protect itself well enough remains to be seen, and I also think we have not really seen NetEase try to exercise all the influence they could over their Western development holdings. That may come yet.