According to a new oral history report, Microsoft apparently planned to acquire Nintendo to secure first-party games for its Xbox gaming division. But in response to the proposal, the Japanese video game company not only turned down the offer, but also laughed at Microsoft executives.
‘Steve [Ballmer, Microsoft’s former CEO] brought us to Nintendo to see if they would consider acquiring it, ”said Kevin Bachus, Microsoft’s former director of third-party relationships for Xbox. “They just laughed at their asses. Imagine for a second you were transposed into the karmic driven world of Earl. That was kind of how the meeting went. ‘
During the early days of the Xbox, Microsoft met numerous developers with offers to expand the range of games for its flagship console. The report further notes that Microsoft was at one point in talks to enter into a partnership with Nintendo that was used by its advanced technology.
“We had Nintendo in our building in January 2000 to work through the details of a joint venture, where we gave them all the technical specifications of the Xbox,” said Bob McBreen, then head of Xbox business development. . ‘The pitch was stinking their hardware, and compared to Sony PlayStation did. So the idea was: ‘Listen, you’re much better in the game parts of it with Mario and all that stuff. Why not allow us to take care of the hardware? “But it did not work out. ”
Go to Bloomberg to fully read the oral history of Microsoft Xbox.
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