I found this at Gamers.com, haha, turnes out Microsoft was trying to buy out Nintendo this winter. Heres the article. and heres the link if you want it.
gamers.com
Following last month's rather shocking revelation that Microsoft had originally tapped Sega to develop the Xbox, it's now been revealed that at one point Microsoft was dealing with Nintendo too. In fact, Microsoft was all but set to outright buy the company.
According to a new book called Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, Microsoft was at one point all set to plunk down 25 billion for the Japanese game giant. As the book describes, Nintendo's U.S. president Minoru Arakawa wasn't sure what to think when Microsoft made the offer. "I was surprised," Arakawa admitted. "We didn't need the money. I thought it was a joke."
Nontheless, Arakawa and Nintendo of America took the offer seriously and brought discussions to its corporate office in Japan. "Some Nintendo executives seemed interested and the meetings went on through the winter," the book describes. "The parties met six or seven times. Microsoft wanted Nintendo to drop its GameCube console and get behind the Xbox. But Hiroshi Yamauchi, the aging CEO and Nintendo, didn't like the idea. By January 2000, the talks were over."
The two companies parted ways and wished each other luck. "Our ability to remain independent was unquestioned due to our financial status," Nintendo of America executive vice president stated in the book. "And it became clear that our objectives and their objectives were not the same."
So while Microsoft discussions with Sega and Nintendo ultimately both broke down, the games industry sure would be a different place had they led to something. To read more about Microsoft's attempts to partner with both Sega and Nintendo, check out the book.
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