Xbox: Nintendo did not even consider being acquired by Microsoft for a second, but letters were exchanged for a possible partnership that did not materialize.Now that Xbox’s twentieth anniversary has passed, the Microsoft division has fully entered the festivities. The company has reviewed its history in a virtual and interactive museum that all players can access. The North American giant was planning the launch of its first console and they feared they did not have the necessary software to convince the most voracious gamers. Thus the things, they considered the purchase of Nintendo and sent a series of letters. Two decades later, Microsoft itself has shared one of them in the aforementioned museum.
The letter was sent by Rick Thompson, then vice president of hardware at Xbox, to Jacqualee Story of Nintendo of America. Although much of the content is unreadable, the first brushstrokes are offered and Thompson’s willingness to meet in person with the two great Nintendo executives of the time, including its all-porous president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, is shown.
This is the excerpt from the letter
“Dear Jacqualee, I appreciate that you have taken the time to try to organize a meeting with Mr. Takeda and Mr. Yamauchi to discuss a possible strategic alliance between Nintendo and Microsoft for future gaming platforms,” can be read in the letter, which is sent in a distant spring of 2000. “I understand Mr. Takeda’s concerns about a possible collaboration, so we are going to try [text blocked] the requested guidelines.”
The truth is that Nintendo’s response was laughter, as narrated by Bob McGreen, responsible for Xbox’s relations with external studios at the time. “We met with them to see if they considered the idea of being acquired and they broke their asses.” Of course, people from Nintendo went to Microsoft’s headquarters to study a possible association. From Xbox they raised the possibility that they would take care of the hardware, while the Big N should focus on games. They did not accept, of course.
