What exactly are Sony Interactive Entertainment and NCsoft doing together? Painting each others’ nails? Plotting the destruction of their most hated of all animals, the rock-wallaby? Making video games? It’s probably the last one, but the two companies have announced a strategic partnership moving forward that is “jointly evaluating global collaboration opportunities in various business fields,” which reads less like there’s a distinct plan in place and more like they’re going into the studio together and seeing what happens. Maybe an album will drop; we don’t know.
Of course, we can speculate to at least one element of what the partnership is meant to accomplish, as the announcement specifically notes that mobile gaming is an area of particular interest. This makes a certain amount of sense from Sony’s perspective now that Microsoft has finished acquiring Activision-Blizzard, but in lieu of a solid announcement beyond the strategic partnership, all we can do is speculate. It could be the rock-wallaby thing.
NCSOFT, a global premier developer and publisher, today announced that it has signed a strategic global business partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE).
The two companies’ CEOs – Taekjin Kim of NCSOFT and Jim Ryan of SIE – have met and jointly signed the partnership.
Under this partnership, NCSOFT and SIE will collaborate in various global business fields, including mobile.
The two companies are evaluating a range of potential opportunities with an aim to foster strategic synergy, leveraging NCSOFT’s technological prowess and SIE’s global leadership in the entertainment field.
“This partnership with SIE is the beginning of our efforts to build various synergies together, utilizing both companies’ core competencies, technological capabilities, and expertise,” said Taekjin Kim, President and CEO at NCSOFT. He added, “We will deliver a new and enjoyable experience to our audience across and beyond genres and regions.”
“Partnering with NCSOFT advances our strategy to expand beyond console and broaden PlayStation’s reach to a wider audience,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO, SIE. “Like SIE, NCSOFT shares a similar vision in creating high-quality, impactful entertainment experiences for players everywhere, and together we’re excited to collaborate to push the boundaries of gaming further.”
