In a new interview for The New York Game Awards on Twitch, former president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, Robbie Bach, spoke about the company’s previous interest in buying Nintendo. Revealed by Bloomberg earlier this month, Microsoft approached Nintendo before the launch of the original Xbox and GameCube, but Nintendo apparently laughed at the company’s proposal. In the new interview, Bach downplayed the meeting, stating that Microsoft was talking to several companies, and with Nintendo “they were across the street from our offices, so it wasn’t like we had to take a long trip to go to see them.” them. “
“So we talked and the reaction we got was probably what we expected,” said Bach. “You know, Microsoft didn’t have much to offer, Nintendo was successful and has always been something of an independent company – it makes a lot of its own content, but Bob [McBreen] and his team explored every angle. “
Although it seems that Microsoft had a clear idea of how the conversation would happen ahead of time, it is interesting to imagine what it could have been! After Nintendo’s rejection, Microsoft went on to create the Xbox brand. Interestingly, Bach revealed that Microsoft had considered competing with Nintendo in the notebook market as well.
“There were at least three groups that presented portable Xbox presentations. They were always called X-Boy for some reason. It would have been a big trademark problem, I’m sure. All three times we decided not to do that,” said Bach.
“That would mean starting another team; it would be like starting the Xbox, except creating a portable device, and we just didn’t have the bandwidth to do that.”
This year marks the Xbox brand’s 20th anniversary, so Microsoft clearly didn’t need to use Nintendo’s model (or its IP) to succeed. Meanwhile, Switch has been a huge success for Nintendo. The two would never form any kind of official partnership, but Nintendo and Microsoft have become closer recently, with Banjo-Kazooie and MinecraftSteve is showing up at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Later this year, Banjo-Kazooie will even receive its own Nintendo-produced amiibo, showing how far the two companies have advanced over the years.
Would you like to see a partnership between Microsoft and Nintendo? Are you disappointed that the X-Boy was not made? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about games!