According to the book Opening the Xbox, recently published in the US, Microsoft made a serious attempt to buy Nintendo.
Apparently, Microsoft’s fledgling home console division met up with Nintendo and, out of the blue, offered $25 billion for the entire corporation.
The offer was made in late 1998 or early 1999, right at the point that Nintendo saw record revenues and profits, riding on the back of massive sales of Pokemon and Game Boy Color hardware. Microsoft couldn’t have chosen a time period in which Nintendo was less likely to sell if it tried.
"I was surprised, we didn't need the money", Nintendo Of America's Minoru Arakawa is quoted as saying. "I thought it was a joke."
This news comes in the wake of the confirmation that Microsoft made a similar bid for Sega, a fact that book somewhat worryingly doesn’t detail too well.
Microsoft initially whetted its appetite for the home console market when working collaboratively with Sega to supply Windows CE for the Dreamcast. It made an offer to Sega for its business as a whole, and was knocked back. Seemingly, Microsoft then went off to put a similar proposal to Nintendo.
Does this mean that going it alone with the Xbox was Microsoft’s third most favoured option for entering the market? Apparently so…
Apparently, Microsoft’s fledgling home console division met up with Nintendo and, out of the blue, offered $25 billion for the entire corporation.
The offer was made in late 1998 or early 1999, right at the point that Nintendo saw record revenues and profits, riding on the back of massive sales of Pokemon and Game Boy Color hardware. Microsoft couldn’t have chosen a time period in which Nintendo was less likely to sell if it tried.
"I was surprised, we didn't need the money", Nintendo Of America's Minoru Arakawa is quoted as saying. "I thought it was a joke."
This news comes in the wake of the confirmation that Microsoft made a similar bid for Sega, a fact that book somewhat worryingly doesn’t detail too well.
Microsoft initially whetted its appetite for the home console market when working collaboratively with Sega to supply Windows CE for the Dreamcast. It made an offer to Sega for its business as a whole, and was knocked back. Seemingly, Microsoft then went off to put a similar proposal to Nintendo.
Does this mean that going it alone with the Xbox was Microsoft’s third most favoured option for entering the market? Apparently so…
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