In a new interview with The New York Game Awards on Twitch, former president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, Robbie Bach, delved into the company’s previous interest in buying Nintendo. Revealed by Bloomberg earlier this month, Microsoft approached Nintendo before the release of the original Xbox and GameCube, but Nintendo seems to have laughed at the company’s proposal. In the new interview, Bach downplayed the meeting, stating that Microsoft was talking to several companies and that with Nintendo “they were across the street from our offices, so it wasn’t like we had to do a long travel to see them. “
“So we had a conversation and the reaction we got was probably what we expected,” Bach said. “You know, Microsoft didn’t have much to contribute, Nintendo was successful and has always been a kind of standalone company: it makes a lot of content of its own, but Bob [McBreen] and his team explored every angle. “
While it seems like Microsoft had a clear idea of how the conversation would progress, it’s interesting to think what it could have been! Following Nintendo’s rejection, Microsoft created the Xbox brand. Interestingly, Bach revealed that Microsoft had also considered competing with Nintendo in the handheld market.
“There were at least three groups that presented Xbox portable presentations. They were always called X-Boy for some reason. I’m sure it would have been a trademark issue. All three times we decided not to,” he said. Bach.
“It would have meant launching another computer; it would have been like starting Xbox, except creating a handheld device, and we just didn’t have the bandwidth to do it.”
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Xbox brand, so clearly, Microsoft didn’t need to use Nintendo’s model (or its IP) to achieve success. Meanwhile, Switch has been a massive hit for Nintendo. The two would never form any official partnership, but Nintendo and Microsoft later merged with Banjo-Kazooie and MinecraftSteve appears both in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Later this year, Banjo-Kazooie will even receive its own Nintendo-produced amiibo, showing how far the two companies have come over the years.
Would you have liked to see a partnership between Microsoft and Nintendo? Are you disappointed that X-Boy hasn’t been made? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all the games!