It is no secret that Microsoft is continuously looking to expand their first studio offerings with acquisitions of other major studios. In a recent email exchange, which was shown as part of the proposed Activision- Blizzard merger, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, said to a colleague that acquiring Nintendo would have been “a career moment” for him. It seems that he has been trying to court Nintendo but the company refuses to be bought out by the American tech company. Here’s what was said in the new email published today,.
“Takeshi, I totally agree that Nintendo is THE prime asset for us in Gaming and today Gaming is our most likely path to consumer relevance. I’ve had numerous conversations with the LT of Nintendo about tighter collaboration and feel like if any US company would have a chance with Nintendo we are probably in the best position. The unfortunate (or fortunate for Nintendo) situation is that Nintendo is sitting on a big pile of cash, they have a BoD that until recently has not pushed for further increases in market growth or stock appreciation. | say “until recently” as our former MS BoD member ValueAct has been heavily acquiring shares of Nintendo and I’ve kept in touch with Mason Morfit as he’s been acquiring.”
“It’s likely he will be pushing for more from Nintendo stock which could create opportunities for us. Without that catalyst I don’t see an angle to a near term mutually agreeable merger of Nintendo and MS and I don’t think a hostile action would be a good move so we are playing the long game. But our BoD has seen the full
writeup on Nintendo (and Valve) and they are fully supportive on either if opportunity arises as am I.”
I love this discussion and value you looking at the opportunities here. At some point, getting Nintendo would be a career moment and I honestly believe a good move for both companies. It’s just taking a long time for Nintendo to see that their future exists off of their own hardware. A long time…. -)
Maybe the stupidest thing he’s said. Really? A deal like this is less likely to happen than the sun blowing up tomorrow. Has he lost his marbles?
As the email is titled Random Thought, it seems to be more musing than anything. Still there’s a clear intent to purchase 😊
I don’t think Nintendo is willing to give up on making consoles as they’re doing too well to back down.
I see them partnering with Microsoft to get maybe Game Pass on Switch and their Next Gen Switch console, but that’s about it
They would design the next Xbox.
Yeah I can agree to that.
This is the stupidest and dumbest thing, I have read and heard in years. Before God completely obliterates Satan, I would rather have Nintendo merge with PlayStation than Xbox anyday. With both having a 100-100 or 1 to 1 play on releasing their studios software. We would have Spider-Man and Metroid on the same console. The thought of Microsoft would make me quit gaming forever eww 😷. Gaming needs Nintendo and PlayStation, not so much Xbox. Article has me upset, I shall not read mynintendonews for months.
F=ma.
No thank you, I would rather Nintendo go bankrupt and close its doors than to merge with Sony. Don’t is the only one competing anymore while the others just do their own thing and they are making crap games anymore. We do not need them and do not want them.
Woke Microsoft can take a fooking hike! Microsoft has ruined gaming not improved it.
Get bent Spence
Seems the hostile takeover method is the main strategy they are willing to use once enough stocks are bought up by close associates.
Sad they plan to snatch Nintendo up, no matter what, probably in the late 30s, I’m guessing.
Once enough stocks are bought and they make a deal with those shareholders, Nintendo will be Microsofts little bitch.
Sad. And no stopping it.
The 2030s look grim.
Although a deal seems incredibly unlikely, I do appreciate that Nintendo and Microsoft are close enough that they have allowed games like Banjo Kazooie and Goldeneye to come back over to the switch from Rare. It might be nice to dream, but I think the reality is that they are close enough for now, and if any big developments happen in the future, it may end up as a Saga and Nintendo relationship.
Pros:
1) Nintendo games would be put on recent hardware, therefore visuals would improve and hardware limitations would only be walled off by the latest tech rather than dated tech or what’s possible on handhelds.
2) Not only would Nintendo games come to X-Box, but likely to PC and PC handhelds like the Steam Deck.
3) Nintendo games would be added to Gamepass making the already great service more desirable from a larger audience.
4) The collaboration of the two giants could result in amazing tech and fun crossover games.
5) Microsoft has a strong backlog of their older games and game preservation on Nintendo’s end might be handled much better than it is right now.
6) Online play would be a lot smoother on X-Box or PC than it is with Nintendo.
7) Better sales on Nintendo games.
Cons:
1) We don’t know if this acquisition would slow down production of Nintendo games.
2) Aside from portable PCs like the Steam Deck, we don’t know if this would halt games coming to dedicated portable gaming platforms. This also means future Nintendo games wouldn’t be catered to the portable devices capable of playing them and performance wouldn’t be optimized for the device they’re being played on similar to the Steam Deck’s verification system for example.
3) Nintendo might lose some creative freedom.
4) X-Box platforms and of course gaming PCs are more expensive than typical Nintendo platforms.
4) Losing a major competitor in the Video Game space isn’t good for competition. And good competition is what drives the industry forward.
Despite listing more pros than cons, I’m not sure this change would be for the better. There are a lot of good things that could come out of this, but the cons outweigh the positives that would come of this transaction. Although, Smash Bros. 6 on an 85% off Steam sale and plays at 60fps with adjustable graphical settings does sound enticing not gonna lie, lol.
In order…
1) unfounded argument…the hardware has never been a barrier to the creation of excellent games, the Game Boy is proof, the graphics have NEVER made a game
2)How would it be good for Nintendo games to be on all platforms?!
3)Which “broader” audience? Nintendo already reaches people aged 7 to 77 quite well, no need for a gamepass to broaden the audience, as proof: the switch has been selling very well for 7 years
4) Pure speculation, just see what Microsoft did for fable
5) Nintendo doesn’t need someone to preserve its games, they’ve been in this business for 40 years and have existed for over a century, no lessons to be learned
6) Pure speculation once again and for my part, I do not see any difference between the 3 online game levels, Nintendo’s service needs to be improved, I agree with that
7) Stupid argument: Nintendo makes more sales with a game on a single machine (animal crossing, zelda) than the others on 3 supports combined…few third-party games can boast of having reached such a score (and none on a single machine)
1) Nintendo would disappear in time, Microsoft closes the acquired studios in order to keep the licenses….
2) If you want Nintendo, buy a Nintendo console, that’s all
3)No one “could lose” they lose it
4) So no interest for them to release their games elsewhere, QED
5) So yes, imagining a buyout is stupid
6) Nothing attractive and nintedno already offers discounts on the eshop but they are free to do them or not and with the percentage they want
Pros:
1) Not unfounded. They make excellent games, but on dated hardware. Maybe the best example is Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity. The game chugs on the Switch hardware. And what about Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom loading times. These are all excellent games that I’ve put hundreds of hours into, but with better performance, faster load times, and even better visuals these games would be elevated!
2) What do you mean “How would it be good for Nintendo games to be on all platforms?!”? It would be more easily accessible to a wider audience being on multiple platforms! Most middle class people have a computer, so many of those people don’t even need a Nintendo device to play Nintendo games anymore.
3) I wasn’t talking about the age group. Yes, the Switch is the 3rd best selling platform of all time. But they don’t always have a hot selling platform. The Wii U was a failure for example. Like I said above, most gamers have a computer in their house, so a point of entry is very high at all times every year if their games came to PC.
4) Key word I used was “could”. I’m not saying great things would come of their collaboration, I’m implying that there is a possibility. And yes, the possibility is really there!
5) Really? You don’t care about game preservation? I could make paragraphs on why this one is important. But to keep this somewhat short, this issue is the biggest cause for video game piracy. We live in an age where digital distribution is a thing and the preservation of video game history could be legally accomplished. But often times its not the case. I would love to play Smash Bros. Melee again to give an example, but to do that I would have to buy an adapter for my monitor, find shelf space that doesn’t exist and hope my Wii still works. And if I didn’t already have a Gamecube/Wii and the game itself, I would have to shell out hundreds of dollars to buy it online and hope it works. This could be easily solved by simply having it available in an online store on their latest hardware, but they refuse to give us their Gamecube library, and other platforms like the Wii, DS, and 3DS. Its very frustrating and if Microsoft owned Nintendo game preservation on Nintendo’s end could be handled better.
Just because you don’t care doesn’t mean others don’t care about seeing these games properly preserved for people to play again. There are a ton of older games locked away that I would happily rebuy to play again if they weren’t locked in the vault.
6) “Nintendo’s service needs to be improved, I agree with that” Yes, if it were improved I wouldn’t put it on this list! If I could play Smash Ultimate on Steam I guarantee it would have less lag and I could enjoy matches with my friends. We literally don’t use the online service to play with each other because when it lags the match is unfair and we can’t time our moves correctly. No speculation about it!
7) I’m talking about temporary price cuts, not sales figures. To give an example, if Nintendo games were on Steam they would likely have sales along with the rest of the games especially the summer and winter sales. Their games do go on sale from time to time but being on another platform would almost certainly mean it would happen more frequently.
Cons:
1) That would be a worst case scenario. But I find it hard to believe they wouldn’t want to utilize these franchises. They would have some of the most iconic IPs in video games, why wouldn’t you take advantage of these brands to fight against PlayStation?
2) Um, what? We’re talking about if Nintendo were bought out to Microsoft. The only Nintendo consoles at that point would be vintage. All future Nintendo games if this unlikely scenario were to happen would be on X-Box and PC. There wouldn’t be a dedicated modern Nintendo platform anymore.
3) They lose a lot of creative freedom with this sure. But I’m talking about very specifically about their creative freedom with their games, release schedule, and advertising.
4) …what?! Not sure what you mean at all! I’m saying Nintendo platforms are usually fairly cheap. The Switch ranges from $200, $300, and $350. A PC capable of running modern Nintendo games going forward would be pricey and with the exception of the Xbox Series S, the entry point is higher than the typical Nintendo platform.
5) I agree, which is why this is in the cons section, lol.
6) There are a lot of attractive things that could happen if they handled these IPs properly. They likely wouldn’t though which is why this wouldn’t be a good acquisition for us gamers. I also said this in this paragraph when I said, “Despite listing more pros than cons, I’m not sure this change would be for the better.”
I chose my words carefully in my first post in case someone wanted to challenge me, lol.
1) You, you seem to swear that by the power; if you want to buy a pc equipped with an RTX 4090, an I9 13900K and 64G of Ram …, never the consoles can be at the level of a pc now the visual “improvement” you talk about is only a gadget … If we listen to you, would it mean that Minercraft, Undertale or other games in pixels are “bad” because not visually pleasing? So I repeat myself, invalid and stupid argument
2) I repeat: Nintendo does not need to expand its audience…. The sales of their games and consoles are there to prove it! Moreover, there is absolutely no evidence that going anywhere else will generate such high sales. And I remind you once again that emulation is illegal since Nintendo’s software and hardware are copyrighted!
3) If this were the case, Nintendo would already be cross-platform or one of their strength is precisely the originality and gameplay, something you have neither on pc on other consolesYour argument is based just on your desire that Nintendo becomes a simple publisher and not a pragmatic argument. In addition, why are Nintendo consoles not interesting sales platforms? I have to remind you of their console sales?
4) The possibility that you rather hope for
5) Pure speculation, you have no proof of what you claim; Microsoft can very well cancel everything on the contrary, you do not know. I’m the first to be frustrated by what you quote but the Switch Online is here and we can play our old games, as to why they don’t put all their games, that’s the one to ask. What annoys me with you is that you seem to say that with Microsoft “everything will get better” but lol… No evidence, no argument
6)Oh? Yet I have no problem playing online…. Your case is not the generality
7) But Nintendo is already doing discounts!! What are you telling me? And they are free to do it or not, it’s not up to you to decide….
1)Inquire, Microsoft has closed a significant number of studios and some licenses do not reappear, I do not even talk about some licenses that have become frankly bad. Microsoft’s goal is to make money, they make fun of the players.Nintendo makes money too but they are looking for other ways to entertain their fans, you only see that at home. Nintendo does not need them to fight against Sony on the contrary it is Microsoft who needs it, so again: no interest for them to ally with Microsoft
2) Precisely, so in the long term, the disappearance of Nintendo, is that what you want?
3) And so how did being bought by Microsoft improve that?! They don’t need it
4) It is just because their console is cheap that it reaches a wider audience! I have to remind you of the slap that Sony took with a PS3 at 600$ ?! It took them repeated declines to sell it, which led them to the brink of bankruptcy! But do you think a little?!
5) Precisely, where I think you do not understand is that Microsoft has absolutely not the same mentality as Nintendo; they just think about money and being number 1; nothing more.Those who believe what they said if they buy Activision are naïve… I won’t be surprised if Activision closes in a few years….
“Challenge” you, you have the big head you….
Pros:
1) Even the latest X-Box would help improve visuals and performance. You don’t need a $3000 computer to improve on the Switch which is comparable to the seventh generation hardware (PS3 & X-Box 360) or even the rumored Switch 2 which seems to be comparable to the eighth generation (PS4 & X-Box One) if rumors are to be believed. Point is Nintendo games on Nintendo hardware will always be a generation or two behind the competition. Personally, I don’t mind as I appreciate the handheld aspect of the Switch family, but it does bother other people who don’t want portability and just want Nintendo games to reach their full potential.
2) They don’t need to expand their audience at the moment as the Switch was a massive success. But its convenient for the consumer to not have to buy multiple platforms to play their favorite games. I don’t have a PS5 or an X-Box Series X and yet I’m still playing some of their games on Steam and I love that they’ve made these games playable on other hardware. If I could play Nintendo games on my PC too there would be a bit of convenience to it. I wouldn’t have to buy their dedicated hardware to play their games and I could save shelf space next to my monitor.
Also, I never supported or condoned piracy. Reread what I posted, because I only briefly mentioned it and I considered it an issue not a solution. But its true, piracy is at an all time high because of how accessible it is and its due to the continued issue of a lack of legal preservation of video game history. It would likely not be as much of an issue if these games were more available to the public in a legal and modern way rather than being locked away in the Nintendo vault.
3) If you’re talking about their janky gimmick based gameplay, I don’t want it anyways. I think even most Nintendo gamers would rather their games be simple play with a normal controller. The only time it is useful is when its subtle like aiming a bow and arrow in Tears of the Kingdom. Even then, the new X-Box controller will have motion controls, and you can already use a PS4, PS5, Switch Pro controller on Steam.
4) If the unlikely event that Microsoft would acquire Nintendo, then yes. The best outcome of the transaction would be the two working together and collaborating on hardware, accessories, and even games, be it new IPs or crossover games with their IPs. Having a Metroid X Halo game would be pretty cool.
5) You’re right, I don’t really know how they would handle it. But I can tell you that you can play literally every generation of X-Box games on their hardware even X-Box original games can be played on their latest hardware. I’m personally frustrated with the lack of games past N64 and GameBoy that aren’t available on the Online service. And there are a ton of games on platforms that are available that still haven’t come to their service yet. Your darn right I feel more comfortable with the company that has every generation they ever had playable on one platform versus the company that continually restarts their legacy games every generation and slowly drip feeds us games we already paid for on original hardware and again on virtual console and now expected to pay a monthly fee for as we watch the snails pace of releases.
6) I can’t speak for X-Box as I’ve never had one of their consoles. But if they were to acquire Nintendo then it would be very likely Nintendo games would be made available on PC. And as one who plays Steam games online, its much smoother than the online PowerPoint framerate I’ve seen with Nintendo games. And I’m not the only one, well known Nintendo YouTubers have also complained about the garbage online service Nintendo has. Mario Maker 2 online was so broken it was borderline funny a company as big as Nintendo allowed it to release in that state.
7) They have much less frequent sales than their competition and their older games are still sold at full price. What if I told you most other platforms have more frequent sales and the base price of their games becomes cheaper over time? Nintendo is the only brand that does it differently to my knowledge. A game like Mario and Rabbids Kingdom Battle if released on Steam instead of Nintendo Switch would release at $60 and by now it would sell for $30 or $40 without a sale attached to it.
Cons:
1) And bigger acquisitions like Bethesda and Blizzard seem to entail a partnership rather than them shutting them down. Starfield, love it or hate it is a Bethesda game now owned by Microsoft. Nintendo games would continue to release. The issue is, would the pace slow down under new ownership, that’s what I would worry about.
2) No, if you’re asking my personal opinion, I rather Nintendo stay the way they are. I’m trying to look at this outcome as objectively as I can pointing out the positives and negatives if this actually happened. But personally, despite some of my gripes with Nintendo’s online service and lack of preservation of games, its better left in their hands. I fear that the quality of their games would be lacking as their philosophy of creativity and patience with release schedules might butt heads with Microsoft’s new management. We won’t know for sure unless it actually happened, but I don’t want to find out either.
3) Do you understand the concept of a Pros and Cons section? This is the Cons section where I point out the negative outcome of this transaction happening. Nintendo losing creative freedom is a negative hence its listed in the cons section.
4) Yes, a cheaper console does reach a wider audience. Nintendo’s consoles are known for being affordable. And thus, without a modern Nintendo console people would have to shell out bare minimum the price of the current X-Box. At the moment the Series S is an affordable option. But there’s no guarantee they’ll have a cheaper option in future generations. So the point of entry could be more expensive which is why I’ve listed this under the cons section.
5) I again agree this transaction wouldn’t be good. Losing a major competitor in the video game space would negatively affect the industry. And repeating myself here, but competition drives the industry forward.
I think for the most part we agree this wouldn’t be a good thing if it were to happen. I’m merely trying to see how it potentially could benefit Nintendo’s many shortcomings. I love their games and I’m excited for the next generation. Even started putting money aside so I can pre-order it along with games and accessories to get started.
In the end, this won’t happen and this will remain speculation. Just a fun what if exercise. But I would never actually want it to happen. The biggest positive on my end is having Nintendo games on Steam, a pipe dream, but not worth Nintendo being bought out.
This is one of the stupidest things that Microsoft is trying to do. Buying off a gaming giant industry just to increase there market value and take control of Nintendo’s IP. We all won’t allowed it to be one with Microsoft.
“We all won’t allowed it”
As if you or anyone here has ANYTHING leverage in the situation, hell 90% of the comments here are just idiots either dooming or randomly calling something “woke”.
I think Microsoft just wants to join up with Nintendo so that they both make hardware that carters to all demographics, so Nintendo can continue doing their stuff, whilst Microsoft does theirs.
I can imagine maybe Microsoft putting Game Pass on Switch whilst Nintendo Switch Online service can be used on Xbox and PC so you can play like games like Tetris 99 or F-Zero 99
Because of Japanese law they need acceptance from Nintendo’s management and various entities in the Japanese government also a big Memorandum of Understanding between US and Japan this is very hard to achieve.
I can see it now.
NINTENBOX
Yo…did they just publish Phil Spencer’s work email address?
“Getting Nintendo would be a career moment”. What a d-bag.
This makes me wonder; Is this the reason why Phil Spencer has been speaking so highly of Nintendo and allowing them to work together? Was he just buttering them up in hopes they would later accept their proposal of being purchased?
Well he did express his love for Nintendo a few times and he loves the company very much. But, I didn’t even imagine that Phil Spencer will go this far on buying out the company as a whole. It’s like buying out stock markets from another big industry.
Man, Microsoft buying Nintendo would be a nightmare for so many reasons. “Their future exists off their hardware”. Oh for sure, cause prioritizing graphics over gameplay would definitely be a good move for their IP’s already established playerbase. If Xbox bought Nintendo, they’d woke-ify everything and quality would go down while quantity would go up. About the same if Nintendo was bought by PlayStation, I trust neither of them to do a better job than Nintendo is already doing. Phil is just delusional.
The issue is something to do with them “woke-ifying” anything haha. Nintendo have been making moves in that direction for years at any rate and will continue to more and more, to zero detriment of their games. No, the issue is that Microsoft would look to move Nintendo away from producing lots of great games for a variety of IPs that typically focus on single-player and local multiplayer experiences that you pay a fixed price for, and more towards behemoth “AAA” releases complete with DLC, microtransactions, and unnecessary online features. They would also be more inclined to rush development to meet their schedules etc.
But the obsession with “woke” is amusing to me.
What exactly is Phil Spencer’s goal by publishing this email on the Activision-Blizzard merge? I see it more as how Microsoft wants to buy its competitors and monopolize the industry. I don’t see this message as a good thing for their deal.
Probably as evidence that they see Nintendo as a competitor and as having value in the gaming market, which is one of the things they were trying to prove in the trial.
Could be looked at in multiple ways. He could potentially be creating the platform of all platforms where it’s the hub that EVERYONE goes to for gaming. Not necessarily to monopolize, but to bring everyone together. OR they could be doing all of this to destroy SONY, I’m of the firm believe that’s it’s the latter.
Lmao, good luck with that.
Xbox would finally be worth buying if that were to happen, but chances of it happening are less likely than finding two full shiny swarms back to back in Pokemon XY.
Please god , this should have happend ages ago since Nintendo refuses to make proper consoles. Would prefer if there games are on Playstation.
This is even less likely.
If Nintendo could still retain their innovative prowess while Microsoft helped with the more technical stuff it could be amazing. I never see it happening but it’s fun to think about.
Nintendo should buy Microsoft instead
Yes, because we all know that thanks to microsoft, Rare is much better than it was with Nintendo… oh, wait!
By the way, sickr don’t forget the big date: april 2024!
Rare was the main reason Nintendo was so good. After they left all we get is Mario games and a Zelda now and than. In fact Rare single single handedly carried the N64
Sure, Jan. Good luck with that.