Almost two months ago, Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, appeared in a Microsoft stream and, in that stream, had a shelf. This may not seem very important, but in the past, Phil used his shelves to provoke or even shyly reveal various Xbox surprises, such as the Xbox Series S, which he had on his shelf long before the official revelation. Bethesda’s big dog, Todd Howard, even pulled out a page from Phil’s book in September 2020, provoking Indiana Jones ’new game with a relic on the shelf.
So when Phil showed up in a stream, fans of eagle-eyed research scoured the shelves to find anything they could find. Two elements stand out: a Ludens figure from Kojima Productions and a Nintendo Switch. At the time, we didn’t say anything (we’re not about to get all the news from a head of a video game company enjoying other companies ’video games), but as time went on, the Switch started to look like maybe a clue, too.
In a recent GamesBeat podcast, journalist Jeff Grubb stated that “almost everything” on Phil’s shelves meant something, included the Nintendo Switch. Similarly, a well-known (according to Reddit) semi-reputed leaker named “Shpeshal Ed” said that the “cat seems to be out of the bag” as far as Xbox and Nintendo are concerned, and that we would hear more in the fall. Sure, it’s still a rumor, but evidence is piling up that Phil was actually hinting at something.
But just saying Xbox and Nintendo work together could mean anything. No master in Smash. Xbox Game Pass on Switch. An Xbox-Nintendo hybrid console called the Xbox Series N. A new Zelda set in the world of Halo. Or maybe Microsoft is willing to sell Rare to Nintendo and finally get a new Banjo-Kazooie.
Not to get everyone’s hopes up ahead of time, but … what do you think this potential Xbox / Nintendo collaborator could be? And, if I could have your most unlikely wish, what do you expect beyond what hopes were? Let us know in the comments.