Sony Buys Sucker Punch

Sony has plenty of development teams under their direct control, including the studios behind such mainstays as God of War and Gran Turismo. But many of their best franchises, especially since the PS2 days, have been made by independent companies they partner with like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, and Sucker Punch Productions. They bought out the first back in 2001, but in the decade since Insomniac and Sucker Punch have remained independent. The fan-favorite series they created like Ratchet and Clank and inFamous are owned by Sony, but there's no reason the companies had to stay faithful.

Recently Insomniac revealed their first multiplatform venture published by EA, and that may have prompted Sony to get a bit more controlling with their partners, announcing that they have acquired Sucker Punch, the team behind the aforementioned inFamous and the dormant-but-returning (though with another developer) Sly Cooper. Neither series has exactly blown the doors off retailers, but their creative drive is strong and it's nice to see Sony acknowledge that by making sure only PlaySation systems will carry their games. And this buy out will not result in current management being pushed out, which is a nice plus. Maybe the acquisition will result in some more resources for the studio to make sure their games are as good as possible, but even if the quality is pretty much the same, it seems to be a good move for both sides of the deal.