[Grisham]

Back in 1999, before the original Xbox, Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo. It didn't go so well.

Now, more than two decades later, Microsoft has published a letter sent between the companies at the time, revealing plans for what might have been.

The document was sent by Xbox's then-hardware chief Rick Thompson to Nintendo of America's then business boss Jacqualee Story, and discusses Microsoft's attempts to meet with Nintendo legends Hiroshi Yamauchi, then boss of the company, and Genyo Takeda, Nintendo's hardware chief. Again, it sounds like Microsoft was having a tough time.

The letter is part of the new browser-based Xbox interactive museum, which went live yesterday. Much of the document is sadly censored by big green text, but you can work out a few phrases.

"Dear Jacqualee, I appreciate you taking the time to try to arrange a meeting with Mr. Takeda and Mr. Yamauchi to discuss a possible strategic partnership between Nintendo and Microsoft on future video game platforms," the letter begins. "I understand Mr. Takeda's concerns about the possible partnership and will try to [obscured] the guidelines that he has requested."

The rest of the letter is mostly obscured, but there's a brief mention of Microsoft still continuing development on its "Xbox project", alongside the suggestion it would "help make Dolphin the best". Dolphin, of course, was Nintendo's codename for GameCube.

Microsoft detailed its bid to buy Nintendo in an oral history of the original Xbox's creation published earlier this year. Kevin Bachus, former director of third-party relations, recalled how the eventual meeting went poorly.

"Steve [Ballmer, ex-Microsoft CEO] made us go meet with Nintendo to see if they would consider being acquired. They just laughed their asses off. Like, imagine an hour of somebody just laughing at you. That was kind of how that meeting went."

A later pitch, the year after that letter, was for Xbox to simply focus on Nintendo's hardware while Nintendo itself focused on games. Nintendo returned to the table for talks.

"We actually had Nintendo in our building in January 2000 to work through the details of a joint venture where we gave them all the technical specs of the Xbox," then head of business development Bob McBreen said.

"The pitch was their hardware stunk, and compared to Sony PlayStation, it did. So the idea was, 'Listen, you're much better at the game portions of it with Mario and all that stuff. Why don't you let us take care of the hardware?'."

Microsoft reveals letter from that time it failed to buy Nintendo

Back in 1999, before the original Xbox, Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo. It didn't go so well.

www.eurogamer.net

 

[HeresJohnny]

Try to arraign a meeting

 

[Cravis]

Historical significance is cool but it's played up for more than it actually is.

"Hey guys! I failed to marry Kate Beckinsale"

**provides email asking her out on a date as proof**

 

[regawdless]

"Steve [Ballmer, ex-Microsoft CEO] made us go meet with Nintendo to see if they would consider being acquired. They just laughed their asses off. Like, imagine an hour of somebody just laughing at you. That was kind of how that meeting went."

After dealing with a bunch of Japanese and Korean companies over the years, I'm laughing my ass off right now. Can literally picture it. Great stuff.

 

[Arkam]

Cool to see some of the comms from the this. Was such a big deal 20years ago. MS was dead set on buying their way into the home video game console market. Looking back I think we can all agree it would have been much cheaper. But Nintendo gonna Nintendo.

I fondly remember Bill Gates saying something analogous to "They have my number and they know my intentions. Whenever they want to sell all they have to do is call."

This is another one of those alternate timelines I would be curious to visit to see how it played out.

 

[HE1NZ]

I wonder if they dropped a fuckton of money to Sega to drop Dreamcast and move all development to Xbox.

 

[Arkam]

I wonder if they dropped a fuckton of money to Sega to drop Dreamcast and move all development to Xbox.

I could see that for sure. I remember working at EA at the transition from Xbox to 360 and MS formally asking us to stop making Xbox games and focus on 360. When they are focused, they are determined.

 

[HeresJohnny]

Bill Gates was probably like, "Wait'll I microchip all your asses, then you'll do as I please!"

His name wasn't as toxic back in those days, but if today someone came out and said, "Hey Bill Gates wants to sell you a console I'd be like I'm good."