Sony to Acquire Crunchyroll and Its Implications for the Anime Fans

There have been several reports that Sony is negotiating the final stage acquisition of Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service. If the recent updates are to be believed, it will be paying almost a Billion dollars to add Crunchyroll to its repertoire. It will be another step for Sony to become a Monopoly in anime since it already has a 95 percent stake in Funimation. Since Crunchyroll is such a huge name for the anime industry, the deal will have a significant impact on all the fans around the world.

 The recent deal has raised the question of whether we are going to see an anime streaming wars. As of now, the big names include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HiDiVE. All of these companies have a varying level of influence, but some have the upper hand, Netflix being the most prominent player. They have shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Crybaby, and Castlevania (inspired by anime). There are also a few shows licensed by Crunchyroll or Funimation that they stream. 

 On the other hand, streaming giant Amazon Prime Video has Vinland Saga, Abyss, and Banana Fish, to name a few. However, recently it seems that they are moving away from the anime genre. Hulu has been a Funimation partner, which gives access to both the platforms to share titles. So, when the deal is done, and Sony officially buys Crunchyroll, other streaming sites will have no other choice but to deal with Sony since its subsidiaries Crunchyroll and Funimation are everywhere in the anime industry.

 Four years back in 2016, there were rumors that Funimation and Crunchyroll might partner up; however, the deals were stalled when Sony acquired Funimation. Soon, AT&T bought Crunchyroll in 2018, and it seemed that the merger would never happen. Now that Sony is on the verge of acquiring both of them, we might see history repeat itself. It would make sense if Sony merges both the companies, but how the consumers will feel about it remains to be seen.

 As of now, the anime industry will have to wait to see what lies ahead for it. It is impossible to predict the long-term repercussions of the Crunchyroll deal. So, it is best not to see the acquisition negatively; although it’s true that Sony’s influence will undoubtedly increase, there is still room for others to make an impact. If Sony wants to think about customers’ interests, then all they need to do is bundle both Funimation and Crunchyroll together and offer them at a lower price. If they focus too much on profit-making, we might see a decline in the quality of the content since they will control such a massive chunk of the anime streaming services. 

However, the deal might fall through, and the anime fans’ present-day anxiety might just be needless overthinking. So, for now, what the fans can do is not overthink the repercussions of Sony acquiring Crunchyroll because it might turn out to be a good thing.

Source:-    Sony to Acquire Crunchyroll and Its Implications for the Anime Fans

 

Sony’s PlayStation 5: All You Need to Know

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is a very popular  gaming  console; Sony sold more than 110 million units. And Sony’s next entry in its PlayStation line of gaming consoles is almost here. Yes, Sony is going to release the PlayStation 5. Here are all the necessary details related to the upcoming PS5.

Sony is going to launch a next-gen gaming console that will be known as PlayStation 5 or PS5. Sony will offer more powerful specs and fantastic space-age design.

Design

Sony has revealed the design of the PS5. The console stands vertically, but it can be laid horizontally. It sports a black and white design that looks pretty cool and even matches the DualSense controller. The design of PS5 indicates that Sony will launch two versions of PS5, the standard console, and the other one will be a slimmer Digital Edition that will remove the optical drive.

Interface

PS5 will come with a detailed button menu system that will give users immediate access to the friend lists, audio controls, and more. The menu will offer you a set of cards that will shortcut users to a particular level or an adventure within a game. Users can use these cards to see the progress, various tutorials, tips and tricks, and more. You can even view the cards in a picture-by-picture mode. It will even let you join voice chats, join the game, and view the streams of other users.

Specs

PS5 will come with an upgraded 3.5GHz CPU in the form of AMD Zen 2 that will provide significant performance gains compared to PS4’s 1.6GHz CPU. PS5 will be upgraded to AMD RDNA 2 GPU that will be a solid upgrade over PS4’S custom GCN GPU. Additionally, it will offer 16GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, an NVMe SSD slot, support for USB HDD, along with 448GB/s bandwidth, and 4K UHD Blu-ray optical drive.

Games

PS5 will support almost all the PS4’S games, but you won’t be able to play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games unless they are ported to PS4. Here are some of the titles that you can expect on PS5.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, Dying Light 2, Gran Turismo 7, Godfall, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Watch Dogs Legion, Project Athia, Rainbow Six: Quarantine, Demon’s Souls, Maquette, Resident Evil Village, Heavenly Bodies, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, Hogwarts Legacy, and many more.

Price and Release Date

Sony has decided to launch the PlayStation 5 on November 12, 2020, in the United States of America and a few other selected markets. And after a week that is on November 19, Sony will release it in other major markets. The regular edition of PS5 will cost $499, and the Digital Edition will be available for $399.

The pre-orders for PS5 was launched on September 17, and it’s currently sold out as there were very limited quantities. So this is all we had to share with you about the upcoming PS5; however, you can follow Sony’s official page on Twitter to get the latest updates. Thank you!

Source:-  Sony’s PlayStation 5: All You Need to Know

 

PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Probably Has Fewer Stocks Than PlayStation 5 Standard Edition

Sony has started taking preorders for its upcoming gaming console PlayStation 5. However, Sony and its new gaming console, PlayStation 5, are once again in news headlines thanks to the quick selling of the Digital Edition of PS5 due to its massive demand in the market.

According to a report on the Eurogamer website, there is a great demand for the Digital Edition of PlayStation 5 in comparison to the Standard Edition of PlayStation 5. But despite this much demand for the Digital Edition of PS5, most big retailers don’t have enough stock of PlayStation 5 Digital Edition to meet this demand thanks to its limited production by Sony in comparison to PlayStation 5 Standard Edition.

One big retailer in the UK market said that they have a very limited stock of PlayStation 5 Digital Edition in comparison to the PlayStation 5 Standard Edition. According to them, their current stock allocation is around 75 % PS5 Standard Edition against 25% PS5 Digital Edition.

According to the results of a poll which was conducted by Ars Technica for GameStop Stores (in the US market), almost nine GameStop Stores in the US market had a stock allocation around 13% or 33% PS5 Digital Edition versus 87% or 67% PS5 Standard Edition.

Sony has never been in this kind of situation where it has to warn its customers that they might find it a little difficult to get their gaming console. But that’s history now.

Jim Ryan (President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment) has refused to give his comments on this situation and the availability of PS5 Digital Edition in the market. However, he has said that the company is planning to produce the necessary number of units to meet the current demand for PlayStation5 Digital Edition. But he can’t give specific information on numbers or availability ratio right now.

The new PlayStation 5 Standard Edition costs $4999, whereas the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition comes with a price tag of $399. Yes, it does not have a disc drive in it, but it is as good as and as powerful as the PlayStation 5 Standard Edition.

Our View

Sony PS5 is a great gaming console that has lots of great features in it, and there is an enormous demand for PlayStation 5 Digital Edition in the market.  Despite this, most retailers don’t have sufficient stock to meet this demand. But Sony is trying its best to meet this demand and is planning to produce the necessary number of units to meet this huge demand for PS5 Digital Edition.

However, if you can’t wait to get your hands on PlayStation 5, then you can buy PS5 Standard Edition at $499. But if you only want to purchase PS5 Digital Edition, then you will have to wait for some more time until the demand and supply of PS5 Digital Edition are stabilized.

Do you feel the PlayStation 5 Standard Edition is better than PlayStation 5 Digital Edition? If yes, then do share your thoughts or views with us in the comment section.

Source:-  PlayStation 5