(PressFire.no): In last night’s gigantic leak of documents that were part of the US competition authority FTC and Microsoft’s lawsuit surrounding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, we find a number of internal e-mails that deal with other possible purchases.
In an e-mail, Xbox boss Phil Spencer and Microsoft marketing manager Takeshi Numoto discuss whether Microsoft should take a closer look at buying Nintendo.
– I completely agree that Nintendo is THE foremost value for us within games, and that games are currently our most likely path to relevance among consumers, writes Spencer.
– It would be a career highlight to get hold of Nintendo, and I sincerely believe that it is a good “move” for both companies.
The email is from June 2020, and thus before the acquisition of ZeniMax (which owned Bethesda).
A lot has happened since then, including Microsoft’s ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but the email reveals that Microsoft was also in talks with Warner Bros to buy their gaming division.
It may therefore be that all thoughts of buying Nintendo or others have been put on hold, but it still appears that the board of Microsoft has already given the thumbs up to pull the card if the opportunity arises.
Spencer further writes that the problem with buying Nintendo is simply that they have too much money.
– I have had many conversations with Nintendo about working together more, and feel that of all American companies, we are the one in the best position to have a chance with Nintendo, writes Spencer.
– The unfortunate, or fortunate for Nintendo, situation is that Nintendo is sitting on a huge pile of money, and they have a board that, until recently, has not pushed to increase growth in the market or share value.
He says that an investor company that previously had a representative on the board at Microsoft, ValueAct, has started to buy into Nintendo, and that he has maintained contact there – and that it could be an opportunity for the company.
– Without such an opportunity, I do not see an entrance to merge Microsoft and Nintendo in the near future, and I think an aggressive acquisition is a bad move, so we are playing “the long game”.
– But our board has seen the full presentation about Nintendo (and Valve), and they support the acquisition of both if the opportunity arises, and so do I.
– I love this discussion and that you are looking at the possibilities here, concludes Spencer.
– It just takes time for Nintendo to realize that their future exists outside of their own hardware. Long time.
This is not the first time there has been talk of buying Nintendo. Microsoft tried to do the same around the turn of the millennium, and was willing to fork over all the money the company had on its books.
You can read more about that in our large article on the subject here.
This article is written by our satire consultant Segata Satiro, and therefore only bamboo.
2023-09-19 18:14:00
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