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Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

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Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#101

Post by callalex »

jrockway wrote: post #77
reactordev wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Virtual Set Production is almost entirely Unreal engine. Fortnite is just a marketing platform. The real meat is the digital production pipeline that made Mando cool. That enabled Star Trek’s recent series’, and provides a “holodeck” for their just unveiled holo-floor.

I don't think Fortnite is just a marketing platform. They wouldn't have bothered suing Apple and Google over app stores if it were merely a loss leader to remind film execs that Unreal Engine is a thing.

While I agree with you that Fortnite shouldn’t be considered a loss leader, the strategy behind challenging Apple in court is more nuanced. Epic also operates a rather large software/games store and I am sure they would love to see it grow.

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#102

Post by jncfhnb »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #94
Aeolun wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find the prospect of Disney characters shooting at each other with guns mildly disturbing.

That thought genuinely did not occur to me. That feature alone will pay 1.5b back within moments of becoming available.

Been there for a long time already

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#103

Post by totetsu »

sublinear wrote: post #86
resolutebat wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kids already think many recent Fortnite collabs (Star Wars, Marvel, etc) are lame. Hasn't stopped them from playing though. https://www.dexerto.com/fortnite/every-fortnite-collab-cross...

I had the same reaction 20 years ago to Kingdom Hearts. Disney is definitely at risk of becoming irrelevant with their stale IP.

When kingdom hearts was released I got my first glimpse of how some people seem to throw their logic and taste out the window for Disney. It just seemed the dumbest thing to me. And why was the sword a key.. [edit: this was my teenage selfs opinion]

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#104

Post by codexb »

hmcdona1 wrote: post #68
gamepsys wrote: post #51

Disney gets more IP in front of more 13-25 year olds. This is a very impressionable age group, and can create life long fans. This is a good value proposition for Disney. Epic probably gets an increase in valuation -- lifeblood for tech companies. Collaboration skins are massive for revenue. However, I'm concerned this relationship will force uncool collaborations with Fortnite and reduce it's appeal. Disney has had…

No, Disney uses Unreal for their rendered real-time sets. This is about more than just Fortnite.

They use it in their rides as well -- https://web.archive.org/web/20200311075335/https://blogs.nvi...

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#105

Post by mynameisvlad »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #98
sublinear wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same reaction 20 years ago to Kingdom Hearts. Disney is definitely at risk of becoming irrelevant with their stale IP.

If instead of buying IP and stealing from public domain works they invested more into creating new IP they could actually make a lot of money. I'm sick of them being allowed to increase their entertainment monopoly on children instead of being told to just create new original works. It's not like they have a shortage of talented people...

What public domain works have their recent movies been based off of?

Outside of their reimaginings/reboots, I can't think of a single recent movie that isn't an original work.

And that doesn't include things like LucasFilm, Marvel and Pixar which are, obviously, original and still part of Disney.

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#106

Post by callalex »

BooneJS wrote: post #20

Disney is diversifying. This comes on the heels of their subsidiary ESPN creating a new sports streaming service with Fox and Warner/Discovery ( https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/espn-fox-warner-bros-discov... )

I wonder how long it will take them to morph into a financial services company.

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#107

Post by Apfel »

er4hn wrote: post #39
bitvoid wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> get back in to gaming FTFY. They had their own game publishing arm since 1988, Disney Interactive Studios, and owned first-party studios like Avalanche Software, which was sold off to Warner Bros. They shut it down in 2016.

Don't forget Lucasfilm Games, nee LucasArts. They published a lot of games, both star wars properties and otherwise. They're now owned by Disney as well.

Interesting to bring this up - always wondered which way the creative influence went between Monkey Island and Pirates of the Caribbean (if i recall correctly, the game is based off the ride, but the film was allegedly inspired by the game)

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#108

Post by ethbr1 »

totetsu wrote: post #103
sublinear wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same reaction 20 years ago to Kingdom Hearts. Disney is definitely at risk of becoming irrelevant with their stale IP.

When kingdom hearts was released I got my first glimpse of how some people seem to throw their logic and taste out the window for Disney. It just seemed the dumbest thing to me. And why was the sword a key.. [edit: this was my teenage selfs opinion]

Some people like goofy mashup fun.

There's a ton of people who apparently really liked Kingdom Hearts.

It's pretty elitist to consider some IP too sacred to remix.

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#109

Post by araes »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #41
paxys wrote: post #23

Will be interesting to see what % stake Disney got. Tencent currently owns 40% of Epic and Sony has another 5%. Given their last valuation of $32B it doesn't seem like Disney will end up with more than 3-4%. Still a good chunk, but not quite enough to call the shots.

Pretty sure Epic took a big haircut in valuation too, just like its peers. Money is a lot more expensive now, so perhaps Disney got a nice deal.

Probably, they had to let 830 (16%) go to reach financial stability and got rid of Bandcamp and SuperAwesome for another 250. [1] Apparently they were "spending way more money than we earn" to try and turn Fortnite into a metaverse concept. However, lately they say they've been getting by on low margin creator content revenue sharing that seems to not be enough. Based on the letter, the layoffs and divestitures brought them to financial stability again.

[1] Sept 28, 2023 https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/layoffs-at-epic

Re: Disney to take $1.5B stake in Epic Games

#110

Post by spartanatreyu »

Aeolun wrote: post #73
A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #67

Well now.. it is not like I need another reason to avoid Epic, but.. I am obviously not the target demographic here. I personally think, from Disney's perspective, this is not a wrong move to make.

I find the prospect of Disney characters shooting at each other with guns mildly disturbing.

Deadpool is a Disney character.
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