By Luca Newton
Although many intentionally ignore the possibility, I want to go over what would happen if Disney bought a gaming company. It's more possible than you'd think..
Today, I tackle the scary prospect, that Disney could buy a gaming company, and what exactly they'd do with them. Additionally going over specific companies that Disney could potentially eye up to purchase. This is all, of course, hypothetical. And I don't claim to be knowledgeable in the business side of this hypothetical, nor do I know if Disney will buy a gaming company. This is just a bit of fun.
Would Disney Buy A Gaming Company, And Why?
There is no way of knowing whether or not Disney would buy a gaming company, as I've never been within Disney's board, so I don't know what they're discussing or are interested in doing. However, I can make some educated guesses. Do I think they will buy a gaming company? Maybe. Not for a while though, because they literally just bought Fox. However, in the future, could they? I think they easily could. It just comes down to why they would want to.
I believe that Disney would want a gaming company because gaming is a form of media that Disney don't dominate, or even compete in. It's not like they'd even invest in an in-house studio to do gaming for them. They've tried before, with Avalanche Software - this company made the Disney Infinity games, as well as a few other licensed games for Disney. However, Disney deemed the figures for Disney Infinity too expensive to produce, with not enough profit. At that point, they kind of gave up the whole video games thing. From that point, they said they were done with games, because they didn't understand them. From that point, they've been giving their IP to other companies to make their games for them. However, if Disney wants to go after the gaming industry, after pursuing the film industry, theme park industry, and the streaming service industry. They own several of the biggest franchises in the world. Is it impossible to assume they'll want to make sure they have every bit of media covered? Perhaps, buy a company that are already competent at games. This way, Disney now own gaming too now.
I can see it happening, honestly. But who would they specifically want to buy?
Which Gaming Company Would They Buy?
Out of any video game company, there are a few options Disney would have when in the market for one. However, I've narrowed it down to 3 companies. Some which I actually do think could happen, others I have reason to doubt, but would be one of Disney's prime targets I feel.
Square Enix
First choice, Square Enix. A long-standing Japanese video game company, very well known for a few iconic video game properties. They're the creators of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Tomb Raider. Oh, and Kingdom Hearts - the Final Fantasy and Disney crossover. Square Enix have also developed 2 recent Marvel games.
From that, you can see the already existing relationship between Square Enix and Disney, with something as big as Kingdom Hearts being a full-on crossover between their IP. Not only is it a one-off, it's a franchise with huge popularity. Square Enix being a largely respected gaming company, with plenty iconic IP, and established relations to Disney with games already made for Disney, as high profile games, not just the typical licensed games. Additionally, as a company, Square Enix would probably cost around $4B, which is a lot - but to Disney that is absolutely nothing. Buying Square Enix to them would definitely take no large expenses, and probably pay off in the end.
On top of having more Disney games made by Square Enix, just like they're already doing, except with much larger budgets, and more properties. Alternatively, Disney could make new film franchises and shows based on Square's properties. Tomb Raider has had plenty of films, but a Disney Tomb Raider franchise could make for an even larger hit than the previous ones. Final Fantasy could also make for a good movie franchise. Dragon Quest animated movies or animated show on Disney+. We already know they're making a Kingdom Hearts Disney+ show. Even expansions to their theme parks with Final Fantasy world.
Although, it has to be said that Square has very recently shut down any rumours of them being acquired by any company. You could also argue that taking Square Enix wouldn't be flashy enough. Sure, it's most affordable and includes an already established relationship between companies, but they already have taken a lot from Square Enix before, maybe they don't think it would be as big of a deal as other companies.
Activision-Blizzard
This one is currently my front-runner, and I'm not sure how to feel about that. Unlike Square Enix, Disney and Activision don't have as close of a relationship. Activision is a large American video game company, that is merged with Blizzard, and has 3 main sections of the overall company; Activision, Blizzard and King.
Activision are behind Call of Duty, Skylanders and Crash Bandicoot, CoD being a huge deal among younger audiences, and a generally well selling series that would probably make Disney a lot of money as a film franchise. Crash Bandicoot is also a very iconic character, as a mascot. He'd fit right in with the Disney family. Toys for Bob put on Disney games based on their animated properties. Blizzard have Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and more. Those are a lot of big names, with potential for a lot with Disney. Overwatch would definitely be a huge asset for Disney. Marvel and Star Wars games by Blizzard could be huge possibilities. Finally, King are behind, most famously, Candy Crush. Disney would have a field day with using King for their own mobile games.
Nobody has denied any acquisitions, and it would still be within Disney's ball park. You could make an argument that maybe with recent controversies with all 3 sections of Activision-Blizzard could deter Disney. I think most likely Disney wouldn't care if they were actually interested. There are enough new IPs they're getting to make successful properties, there are enough studios with enough reach across the industry to make their games, and they're American. Maybe the fact they're American could draw Disney to them more.
Nintendo
Thankfully I don't think this will actually happen in a million years. Like absolutely no way. I say this because Microsoft did reportedly try to buy Nintendo when they were getting into the gaming industry, and Nintendo laughed them off. Microsoft is a monolithic company, and so if Nintendo weren't interested then, I doubt if they got approached by Disney, they'd accept that. Add the fact they're already in collaboration with Universal, through the theme parks and a Mario movie. I truly believe Nintendo aren't going to let themselves be bought out, and Nintendo is probably the most expensive company here. Just can't see this ever realistically happening. But if it did, it would piss people off. However, it would also be THE biggest deal for Disney. Getting Nintendo, would probably be the best acquisition for Disney in terms of what they get.
Unlike these other companies, Nintendo have a console of their own. Disney technically owning one of the big three would be a big deal. And since the other 2 are Sony and Microsoft, companies far more than just games, and companies Disney wouldn't buy, Nintendo is purely gaming. To Disney, it's the best avenue to get really into the gaming market. Not only are Nintendo known for making great games, with genuine passion. They're also known for their IP. Just like Disney, their IP is their asset. And, boy, would their IP be an asset.
Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon alone are massive gets for Disney. Pokemon is literally the biggest media franchise of all time, you think Disney wouldn't desire to be the owner of the most successful media franchise? They could make a movie franchise out of it, a part of their theme parks around it, have the Pokemon anime be a Disney+ exclusive. And that's just Pokemon. Mario is not too far from Mickey Mouse's iconicity. Mario and Mickey Mouse teaming up to symbolise the buyout, would really mean business. Zelda would make an incredible movie franchise. There's plenty more properties that Nintendo have, which Disney could take advantage of. Could Smash include Disney, Star Wars and Marvel characters now? It's an odd thought, but an extremely lucrative one for Disney.
However, it is extremely unlikely to ever happen, which is a good thing (or a bad thing, based on how you view this). This seems more of a pipedream for Disney, something they could only imagine. But with how huge Disney are, there's the odd chance they sell Nintendo on a buyout with a ridiculous sum of money. But maybe Disney don't want to pay so much so soon after the Fox merger.
If Disney Bought A Gaming Company...
They'd probably buy Activision-Blizzard, in my opinion. They have enough IP lucrative for Disney, as well as enough teams to constantly work on new games for Disney. They're also much more realistic than Nintendo, yet flashier than Square Enix.
Thanks for reading.
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