Microsoft wanted to buy Nintendo and Warner Bros. And a valve. Appropriate conversations took place

Subsequent materials revealing the course of the case between the Redmond giant and the FTC focus on the very interesting plans of the American company. Phil Spencer investigated the possibility of acquiring not only Warner Bros, but Nintendo as well. However, when considering the acquisition of Mario’s creators, the company does not intend to rush.

Can you imagine a world where Mario is a brand owned by Microsoft? There are many signs that Phil Spencer’s plans go further than just buying Bethesda and Activision Blizzard.

In June 2020, the head of the Xbox brand sent an email to Chris Capossella, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer, and Takeshi Nomoto, Microsoft’s vice president and chief marketing officer, admitting that It has already held talks with Nintendo about closer cooperation, and Microsoft bosses have given the green light for further activities.

Takeshi, I completely agree that Nintendo is a major asset for us in gaming, and gaming today is the most likely path to gaining ground among consumers. I’ve had many conversations with LT Nintendo about working more closely and I feel that if any US company gets a chance with Nintendo, we’re probably in the best position. The unfortunate (or fortunate) situation for Nintendo is that Nintendo is sitting on a big pile of cash, and has a management team that, until recently, has not pushed for further market growth or stock consolidation.

Spencer explained that a former member of Microsoft’s board of directors was involved in purchasing Nintendo shares and “could have created” an opportunity for the company. However, a key Xbox representative ruled out a hostile takeover.

Without this catalyst, I don’t see Nintendo and MS merging anytime soon, and I don’t think being hostile is a good move, so we’re playing the long game. But our board has read the entire description of Nintendo (and Valve) and is fully supportive of either if the opportunity arises – as I do.

As the content of the revealed letter indicates, at the appointed time, Microsoft’s management became aware of certain details and expressed its approval of the possible acquisition of Nintendo and Valve, but these were not the only things that were of interest to the Americans. In 2020, the giant from Redmond handled the acquisition of Warner Brothers Interactive and ZeniMax – as we know, Bethesda was finally bought out.

Phil Spencer explained the difficulties for Warner Bros. From possession. – The main problem was the inaccessibility of the most popular IP addresses. At the same time, the advantages of Zenimax were evaluated:

Secretly, there are fairly active discussions about mergers and acquisitions currently underway in the gaming industry, Warner Brothers Interactive and ZeniMax. I took ZeniMax to a board meeting last week and before the discussion, I asked Amy and Satya if they wanted me to fire one or both of them in light of the TikTok discussions, and they both firmly told me no. They don’t mind doing all three if the deals make sense. I wouldn’t say WB or Zeni are Nintendo, but they are on sale and we might buy them if all goes well. The biggest hurdle for WB is ownership of intellectual property, we won’t own any intellectual property that will hurt long-term flexibility, the only hurdle for Zeni is the founders’ valuation expectations. However, I think it’s likely that one or both will come to fruition, which will help us continue to double down on our importance in gaming. To give you an idea of ​​the size, ZeniMax is roughly the size of our current first-party studio, so it will double our content inventory. The downside is that it is more centralized, less expansive, immobile, more so than North America/Europe, etc.

At the end of the exchange of words, the head of the Xbox brand confirmed this The Nintendo acquisition is seen as a “defining moment in the company’s career”:

I enjoy this discussion and appreciate you considering the possibilities here. At some point, a Nintendo acquisition could be a career moment, and I really think it would be a good move for both companies. It takes Nintendo a long time to figure out that its future exists outside of its own hardware. a lot of time….