EA’s blockbuster $55 billion sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners sparked sharp commentary on Yahoo Finance from Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter—and he didn’t mince words about Sony’s gaming future. Asked whether investors should buy Sony stock as consolidation reshapes the industry, Pachter replied, “No, Sony for sure not, Sony is a terrible company, and they actually are blowing it in the games business.”
The remarks quickly spread after being flagged on gaming forums, reigniting debate around Pachter’s long-running bearish stance on traditional console makers. He has previously compared Sony unfavorably to Nintendo and even suggested the PlayStation business was “doomed.”
Pachter’s core thesis is that the next decade of gaming belongs to cloud-delivered experiences on connected TVs rather than dedicated consoles. “Look, games are moving to connected TV,” he said. “Think about all the participants that are going to deliver games the way we get movies via Netflix… Just think about iOS becoming available on your TV. So free-to-play games on your TV—who’s going to deliver that? Cloud providers, AI, anybody who’s investing in making that happen is where you want to be.”
For investors, he argues the smart money avoids the console giants and looks to mobile-first publishers. His pick: Playtika Holding Corp., a social casino specialist in which he personally holds 500,000 shares. He noted the stock trades at “about a four and a half multiple” of earnings and claimed an “EA-level multiple” could make him “several million dollars.”
Pachter has long championed subscription and cloud distribution, frequently pointing to Xbox Game Pass as the closest model to his cloud-first vision. He once predicted that, following Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition, Game Pass could soar to 100 million subscribers overnight and reach 200 million by 2034. He later tempered those forecasts in July 2025, citing the gravitational pull of PlayStation exclusives as a drag on growth.
Meanwhile, Xbox is still pushing to expand its cloud footprint. Microsoft announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to select vehicles through a partnership with LG, enabled by webOS ACP—another step toward gaming on more screens in more places. At the same time, Microsoft’s drive for profitability has brought price increases for Game Pass and cuts across parts of Xbox Game Studios, moves that could invite backlash from both developers and consumers.
Pachter’s take underscores a broader industry crossroads: as cloud gaming, connected TVs, mobile monetization, and AI-powered delivery accelerate, the traditional console cycle faces mounting pressure. Whether you agree with his assessment of Sony or not, his argument is clear—he believes the biggest upside lies with companies building the infrastructure and business models for a cloud-first gaming future, not with the legacy hardware incumbents.
