The Xbox game console is the subject of a Bloomberg piece entitled ‘Xbox: The oral history and an American video game empire’ that explores Microsoft Corporation se (NASDAQ: MSFT) decided to go play – and some failed acquisitions.
What happened: Before the release of the Xbox console, Microsoft has approached several gambling companies about acquisitions so that it can have exclusive to compete Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE).
Microsoft approached Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), which at the time was considered one of the top gaming companies. Microsoft has met with Electronic Arts more than five times, but left empty-handed over an agreement, the report said.
After Microsoft did not acquire electronic arts, Microsoft turned to Nintendo Co. (Pink: NTDOY).
“They just shot their asses off. Imagine for a second you were transposed into the karmic driven world of Earl. That was kind of how the meeting went, ‘says Kevin Bachus, then director of third-party relations for Microsoft.
Microsoft apparently met with Nintendo again in January 2020 to give the company a joint venture. The highlight was that Nintendo was not good with hardware, but that it was strong in the game industry with Mario and other brands. Microsoft said they would take care of the hardware. Nintendo also turned down the joint venture.
Microsoft also tried to acquire Square, now known as Square Enix, the makers of the “Final Fantasy” franchise games, and Midway, known for the “Mortal Kombat” games.
The acquisition that Microsoft completed before the Xbox release was from Bungie, the maker of the popular Halo franchise. Microsoft acquired Bungie and was able to enjoy the success of the exclusive Halo games for many years.
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Why it’s important: Exclusive games can be a major difference for video games. The success of the Playstation 5 may be due in part to exclusive things like ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ and ‘MLB The Show’.
Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media in 2020, giving it control over franchises such as ‘Dishonored’, ‘Fallout’, ‘Doom’ and ‘The Elder Scrolls’. The company can look forward to exclusive titles to complement its “Halo” games and compete better with Sony.
Microsoft may have failed to acquire one of the listed companies 20 years ago, but the Xbox was a hit for the company, and Microsoft now has a gaming division worth billions of dollars a year.
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