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Something is going on at Nexon HQ from news
Comments
Do have to worry about Tencent and Kakao being likely the frontrunners.
Shame, I would've welcomed our new Amazon overlords. It seems they realized the depths of Nexon's prior branch history.
(I'm looking at you, EU. You died because KR simply didn't care.)
Netmarble would've been fine, but Tencent... I dunno. Seems like they have their hands full.
Kakao has an English site, they seem... wise. (Wise enough to prepare, at least.)
Regretfully... they seem to be more app focused.
I highly anticipate it would be unwise for them to lose profits off dumping the MMORPG teams.
My favorite line of the article:
"For the sake of the Korean game industry, it’s probably best if the company ends up in the hands of another game publisher rather than an equity firm."
2 companies with gaming experience and 3 equity firms. Kim is going to look at which option will give the least trouble but also the best value.
Because, yknow, regulators are cray cray.
Now all we do is wait for more news.
Oh yeah, that would've been genius. But also so dang costly. XD
I think Amazon actually won from pulling out in this race, oof.
(Who knows what problems were left behind unattended.)
*Mabinogi coughs up blood*
Mabinogi says: "Nexon... I don't feel so good. I'm old... and illegal... in Belgium. Possibly everywhere else too. Kill my gachapons... please."
"The bidding is expected to begin in early April"
This thread will go into a necro bump next month when we start to see the news.
It's like waiting for the next Animal Crossing, only so much worse. (There's so much that could go wrong!)
So let's end this month with memes!
Memes, all the lovely memes of Nexon over eleven years...
Yet only one we love with a passionate spite.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3451546-nexon-bids-coming-due-founder-reportedly-taps-disney-connection
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190417000561
A week ago, it looked like Tencent was in the clear.
https://www.reuters.com/article/nexon-ma/explainer-who-is-in-the-drivers-seat-in-battle-for-skorean-gaming-giant-nexon-idUSL3N21F199
Other news
https://www.ft.com/content/dafdca04-40b4-11e9-9bee-efab61506f44
https://newsarticleinsiders.com/atlanta-braves-owner-tried-to-buy-nexon
Your "Other News" link is a subscription paper.
Seems the bidding war hasn't affected collaborations in the slightest.
Oh snap, more Disney news.
"The anticipated price for the stake to go on sale is 15 trillion won ($13.2 billion), with premiums for business management rights on top of the Nexon Japan share price, which closed up slightly at 1,681 yen ($15) Tuesday, but slid to 1,558 yen as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday."
"But Disney reportedly has a special place in Kim’s heart."
-Things no business owner should ever openly admit, yet did anyways. (Bias over punctuality/turn over)
"Nexon Japan completely owns Nexon Korea."
*snickers* That explains how NA is able to negotiate with JP collaborations much faster these days.
Not a bad thing, but also maybe... not an okay thing?
It could go either way if the NA virtual market isn't the same as what JP is used to.
“What I envy the most about Disney is that they do not force money out of kids ... (consumers) gladly pay Disney. Nexon has a long way to go. Some people hate Nexon to death,” Kim Jung-ju was quoted as saying in an anecdote in Nexon’s foundation story, “Play,” published in 2015. He was referring to the common practice of effectively requiring players to make in-game purchases.
#NexonKnows #NexonIsWatching
Disney finds ways to squeeze money from consumers lol. ie ESPN+ and the new Disney+
http://www.businessreport.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=17235
So my prediction was near correct, rather than April, it's in May.
Knowing the current facts, Disney has already bailed or will likely bail with a lowball bid, so yeah... keep your eyes on Tencent.
(Probably due to recent anti loot box laws and no standard ESRB rating, which would equal more profit loss for Disney the moment they acquire a company like Nexon.)
I personally would've been interested in Amazon using their wide access to different technology and company connections in order to advance Nexon content like Mabinogi.
(Remember the graphics ten years ago? Yeah, that's either a B or C- rated game these days.)
Amazon has Twitch, which Nexon already partners with. There could've been more potential than just Twitch Prime Subscription bonuses, but alas... we have to wait for the final bids to see what happens.
If a company that hates/competes with Amazon wins, then you can kiss Nexon Twitch streams goodbye, and possibly welcome in more NA/Global Youtube content.
Tencent is likely to be the main player despite having one of their worst quarters lately. They are looking to consolidate business and costs of what they have now and then grow later. They'll also look for a lower price.
Then it's down to those Korean financial companies, in which one Netmarble has formed a consortium with. Netmarble really wants in, but I guess due to industry rivalry, they can't join in directly. Financial companies are able to get the capital to win the bid and then resell.
https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/04/20/disney-nexon-gaming-acquisition/?fbclid=IwAR13wcuJi7e8QOjfXVALhNOhp2RwLsKSIOOdulkMBQ181NNryooD3kSGWwc
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/disney-heiress-calls-bob-igers-total-compensation-insane.html
Let's just hope that the internal feuding at Disney doesn't lead to more American whambulances in the video game industry.
(If they beat Tencent in the bid.)
More of Disney's careless publicity is the last thing Nexon needs, especially with the way EA has been a hot topic of discussion.
(Lootboxes, Politics, Celebrity Drama.)
Marvel Comics has also had a negative press and selling point for rather obvious political stances, and since Disney also owns Marvel...
Well, why else would we be worried about Mabinogi?
There's so much that can go wrong, and having a bad yearly track record is never a good sign of investment.
I would hope that the Nexon KR being mostly owned by Nexon JP would have more impact on the development than Disney, if it wins and takes over the NA branch.
Guys, if Disney doesn't bail...
it will cost both sides so much money once news hits the web about Disney owning and renovating all of Nexon's games.
The servers would need upgrades for the increased traffic, and Mabinogi is still eleven years old.
It won't run as smoothly as something as fresh as Fortnite, and it likely never will.
Mabinogi probably can't handle new servers without the graphics upgrade.
(Servers developed in recent years for more advanced data. Very expensive.)
And then would come chat and forum moderation so heavy that you could swear you can feel the weight of gravity on top of you.
It's not going to be a pleasant experience when a child friendly company decides to do a full bulldoze of the current staff.
We won't know any of the replacement staff, and the new staff likely wouldn't care about the consumers as much as someone from KR or JP.
Disney is pure monopolizing nightmare fuel in the current industry.
They invest now, and improve profit through well placed effort... almost never in recent year.
Disney's stock market should be doubling, but it's at a slow snail's crawl. And what are those large dips?
And don't get me started on the investment cost of the Fox merger.
How is anyone supposed to spin a profit this year by chasing after Nexon like that?
Ooh, not that I should be slamming Disney... Tencent seems to need some stock market profit margin.
(But on the flip side, that's just how business works. You're never really even.)
"Though Tencent is notorious for its copying acts, it is also known for its own innovations in these copies to conform to Chinese consumers' tastes."
Huh. Okay... so Chinese fanboys exist. Not a bad backing, I think. As long as the KR fanboys like them too, everything will be fine.
"On 21 March 2012, Tencent launched Tencent Comic, and would later become China's largest online animation platform.[167]
In September 2017, Tencent has announced plans to introduce Chinese online comics to every market around the world, with the first being North America. It will be working with San Francisco-based digital publisher Tapas Media, a partnership that will see English-language releases of a number of popular online Chinese titles.[168]"
Okay... time out. Disney has actual competition now.
Tencent+Tapas Media vs Disney+Marvel. We got towering, mad money titans here!
Ain't nobody ask KR to get in the middle of this fight, especially in the video game section!
I will give Tencent the full benefit of the doubt, even though it's a Chinese company.
I would like to think that they are at least aware of how managerial work across multiple platforms and media is meant to be done.
I presume the forums would be moderated lightly by Tencent, since they'd have their own country's forums to be focused on.
In other words, if Tencent wins, Mabinogi is more than likely back to where KR left off with NA branch. (Fanart and Feedback Threads.)
If Tencent wins, it's still up to the global community to have a communicative platform in order for Mabinogi to be polished.
If Disney wins...
Nexon might lose the adult community over some unsavory political and in house argumentative jargon flashing the virtual papers.
If Nexon loses the adult community, they lose funding for Mabinogi. It's over when Disney takes over.
Tencent for the past quarter has been seeking to diversify its assets globally and able to sign some big deals with Nintendo, NBA, and other companies around the world. But also as a result, there has been a decline in profit through these deals.
Despite that, I think Tencent will still go after and be the major competitor for Nexon but will maintain that they will not be willing to risk a high bid.
In other economic news, South Korea's economy contracted the first quarter, unexpectedly as projections had originally showed growth. Tech companies took the brunt of the hit led by LG which fell almost 4.5% as they plan to suspend production of cell phones in S Korea.
Other factors that led to the decline in the economy included the impact of the trade war between China and the US and other neighbors. Also, experts say that the government's stimulus plans in the 4th quarter were not strong enough to boost growth. Capital investment fell nearly 11%, and exports fell by 2.6%.
These drops eliminated the strengths and boosts from domestic consumption which saw increases in private consumption as Koreans bought more durable goods.
The 0.3& decline to GDP is worst since the Great Recession in 2008. Compared to the same quarter last year, it is 2% off, and very bad versus the last 2 quarters. The Korean economy grew by 2.8% in the summer and 3.1% in the autumn last year.
So what does this mean? despite domestic confidence and spending, the Korean economy shrank as companies appear to scramble how to deal with declining revenue overseas as the trade disputes with the US is impacting the entire region. If the S Korean government is unable to provide sufficient stimulus, contraction could further increase this year. Some economic analysts have already slashed growth expectations for the year due to this result. Kim may have a desire to try to try to complete the sale of Nexon more quickly before buyers have a chance to lose appetite. Foreign buyers may get more leverage to get a more favorable price to bid on.