Ha. But in reality, how *could* this possibly work? Were they to buy the brand name or take all the employees from SOE, or what?

Also, what'd be the benefit?

hmm, i wonder if the indian company would have done better than SOE right now..

Wow! I can't believe this whole deal. It shook me to my core. And I mean, huge - HUGE!- waves in the video game industry. Activision and Viv - oh wait... SOE? Pfft.

And we have no idea how this story got started.

Well it is the internetz ... it always is the bane for all that is rumors.

Sony Computer Entertainment is being bought out by MS and turned into an Indian call center!

Can't believe people believed this crap. It's the same people who ask why doesn't Nintendo release Super Mario Galaxy on the XBOX 360.

It's a sad shame. The un-educated FTW!

Its like internet saying Microsoft Game studio was being bought by Sony *rollseyes*

Does this mean I have to return the party favors?!!

What a strange and random rumor.

@EnigmaNemesis: I think you mean the internetz is the catalyst for all that is rumors. :)

Yeah, about as believeable as Sony selling its Cell fab plant to its main rival in the high-def format war, Toshiba, because its hard up for cash. Oh wait, that did happen...

It's the 24th at where I live now, and I just wanna wish all and everyone a merry Christmas and happy holiday. :D

Microsoft is being bought by a company thats a front for an extra terrestrial evasion force set for galaxy domination they will be used to continue its work of brainwashing humans! so unite against them! its true cause i said so and its on the net so there!

Clearly this rumor was started by some M$ XBotz fanATIic RROD scratched discs! They hate the fact that PSN is free and Halo 3 suckz!!

Seriously, I joke around like that but I never even heard of this rumor and it freaks me out. Say what you will about Sony online strategy but something like this happening would be equal to corporate suicide (if such a thing exists) and even I'm not will to buy that story.

People need to give Sony more credit as a company. This is the kind of thing I would expect Infogram (Atari) to do, not an established brand like Sony.

@Draconis:

Right on!

...a week later...

Headline: SOE Being Sold to Indian Company CONFIRMED

I want to see more of The Agency. Slightly off-topic I know, but still.

@Maleficence:
GREAT COMMENT. Thanks for sharing!

Heh. Since when does John Smedley's word mean anything? The only thing he's known for is lying through his teeth.

Plus, compared to all the other companies that have been bought out this year, SOE makes a relatively small profit. That section of Sony is pretty much composed of dying MMORPGs for the PC that they've boughten off other companies to expand their Station Access library. And then there's Star Wars Galaxies and the Everquest games. Of everything, Everquest II is the only game they have that's still fairly active.

They don't even advertise most of their games anymore. I mean, Vanguard? The Matrix Online? Is it really that hard to believe that they'd sell off the rights to these titles in order to focus money on bigger departments? SOE already went from being active developers to publishing games for other companies. This would be the next step down.

The only thing that makes it really hard to believe is that it would be a pretty smart move, considering that they could use that alleged $300 million to help patch up the PS3s losses. But their entire legacy is composed of a chain of f**k ups.

SOE's Polite Indignation Knows No Bounds!

What an odd rumor.

@ashcraft: Such harsh sarcasm for such an innocent comment. Are you having a bad crhistmas?

I mean Christmas of course.

in the world of internet everything is possbible! HA!

SOE is owned by Sony Pictures so unless Sony Pictures fails (which would be one hell of a feat), SOE isn't going anywhere.

Shit, Zapak is buying SOE?!?!

Shit!

"Hello"

"Yeah?"

"SELL ALL ZAPAK STOCKS!!"

@ashcraft: ASHCRAFT!!! You're back!!!

We've missed you greatly.

The same thing was said by my company's CEO before we got bought out by another company a few months after he said that :p....

Gotta love that CEO double speak.

@TrettOff:

Yes becaue Sony and Toshiba are enemies now because of this format "war". Get some intelligence, fast

ahh, I love the internet. remember the "Celda, Ridley, and Baby Bowser in Brawl" rumor that lived for over 9 months? It would take just thirty seconds of thought anywhere to end this, but no...
also, Maleficence hammerbait'd *wince*

There is one upside to such a deal being accomplished: SOE's Tech Support quality would increase tenfold.

@Draconis: Increase? O_o

Does this mean EA isn't buying Sega and MSG? Peter Moore wants to make a Dreamcast 720 that shoots out flames and turns a ring in your carpet. It must be true it's on the Internet.

Straight from the horse's mouth:

[www.eq2flames.com]

Am I reading this correctly? SOE being sold to ZAPAK Digital and Super Mario Galaxy on 360 are both confirmed? Who would have expected that?

@TrettOff: Ah, yes, because the cell processor has so much to do with Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD. If anything, that comment comes at an irony against Toshiba because by producing cell processors they are helping to create the best selling Blu-Ray player.

@ceilingfanboy:

You my friend... put it into a whole new perspective.

Good Stuff!

The one thing that this site has taught me is that a gaming company saying that a rumor is 100% false is about 80% proof that the rumor is 100% true.

I'm still waiting for Sony Pictures to get a movie deal on a game that is either Nintendo or XBox exclusive and then exploit their movie licensing to create a game of that exclusive on the Playstation. They wouldn't even have to make it a good game. If they made a really crappy Halo game for Playstation, you would get the Halo freaks that would buy a PS3 and a copy of the game just because it is Halo. If they make the game crappy enough, maybe it will taint the player's view of the game and then they won't think Halo is such a great game anymore and Halo won't be as strong of a sales pitch for the 360.

I wonder how strong the protection of parodies is in the video game industry. I could so see Baio 3 coming out for PS3. The game would be exactly the same as Halo 3 but instead of fighting whatever it is that you fight in Halo 3, you fight a bunch of Scott Baios running around.

Are we still pretending that HDDVD has a chance in this "war"?

They still have some chance. However, if they don't strongly turn things in their favor by the end of February, I doubt they will win, but could have a draw. The time for this war to be won is the holiday season and the couple months after when people are buying things for their new players that they just got or buying players with their Christmas bonuses or cash gifts. HD-DVD has been riding on lower prices and their PIP/web content as their way of winning the war. However, as displayed by Sony's players and Samsung's players, the Blu-Ray players will be hitting those rock bottom prices soon, as well. As it is, all new Blu-Ray players must have PIP and as more movies come with online features, more players will start to support online features as well. I doubt that HD-DVD can win in the middle of the summer because there just isn't as much of a demand for buying electronics that time of year and people aren't spending as much time in the house watching movies. If the war goes to next Christmas, Blu-Ray prices may be low enough that HD-DVD won't be able to undercut them anymore. Also, by that time, dual format players may become affordable. If dual format players get to an affordable price, we may actually wind up with both formats surviving.

Wow...kotaku never make a mistake about news before...especially rumors. Come on guys...don't be a hypocrite.

@AverageJoes: more so then blu ray, would you pay $60 for a blu ray movie? i'd rather get HDDVD coz lets face it...its so much cheaper then blu ray.

@invictus2006: U must be one of the few who thinks that cause HD DVD is being ass kicked all the way.

oh w8 maybe its because the HD DVD is by default on the X360 oh it isnt, my bad, its a lowsy add on that costs alot and it aint getting 1 single release.

The Zapak? I had heard it was the Zoq-Fot(..Pik), guess my dreams of playing Frungy 2008 have been torn to shreds like so much Zebranky fodder.

MY my my the amount of none sense people will believe these days. I should post something that says : Give me a 100 bucks and I will give you eternal life. I would be rich.

@AverageJoes: HDDVD lost before it was released.

SOE isn't Sony's whole game division, just the MMORPG makers. So it's not as strange (couldn't think of the word that goes here, so strange will have to do. ;) ) as some of you seem to think it is.

@invictus2006:

Actually Blu-Ray movies are cheaper than HDDVD in general, and only games cost $60. I guess you feel really ripped off when you pay $60 for a 'DVD' then on other consoles. In fact there is a 5-disc set with Blu-Ray for $30 I might pick up soon. It cost $4 more than the DVD set, and there is no HDDVD set. One of the reasons Blu-Ray will come out on top is PS3, and the other is lower priced movies with more selection. :3

What idiot pays $60 for a Blu-Ray movie? I paid less than $60 for the entire Planet Earth series on Blu-Ray. Also, there are always BOGO deals going on or half off deals, so you never even have to pay the $25-$30 that the movies usually cost. Furthermore, have you ever looked at what the actual list prices of movies are? DVDs are supposed to cost about $5 more than you ever pay for them and high definition discs whether it be BR or HD DVD are always the equivalent of those special edition 2 disc packs that stores charge $24 for.

@invictus2006: You should really know what you;re talking about before you comment.

@MingTheMagnificent: Awesome reference.