So, uh, under our noses, Microsoft wanted to buy Nintendo again.

@blaznwiipspman1: And it's like even Sony fans somehow forget, PlayStation has the capability to take down Nintendo. They showed this since console 1. Didn't matter if the N64 had the four players out of the box, let alone give 3D gaming the push it needed. Audiences chose platformers that weren't all 3D with a Bandicoot, or an Indiana Jones-like that controlled like a tank over a plumber controlling full 3D.

Didn't matter if the GameCube gave us one of the most prolific local multiplayer games of that gen. Audiences still picked the one with the most fighters (even ones based on the most popular anime of the time).

Sony still smoked Nintendo two gens in a row and they were newcomers at the time.

Didnt MS attempted to buy nintendo before but Nintendo just laugh at them.

Correct! Link is even in my OP!

At the end of the day Gamepass and availability across more devices is a level of pro-consumer the industry isn't used to and the Judge said this herself.

@nintendoboy16: What Scott said is not entirely the case. The Gamecube lacked storage capacity compared to DVD, therefore some games wasn't released on the platform, lack of buttons on the Gamecube pad didn't help and Nintendo's online service then and now is still pretty shit.

I don't give a bucktooth **** about what that judge said. Judges, like police, can be compromised. Doesn't go against what I said about MS wanting to consolidate the industry and a move like this would piss off the Japanese government.

Scott addressed that in that same video cited. Hell, every console had bottlenecks back then (DVD's be damned, PS2's hardware was overall weaker than both GCN and Xbox, and you can tell when games like RE4, Killer 7 and Sonic Heroes had to be ported out of business obligations). Doesn't stop the fact that the sales and attach rate of the GameCube was among the worst that gen and that too was a major factor.

Try getting Rogue Leader or F-Zero GX to run on something like PS2. It would be a disaster.

That's convenient.

I don't really care tbh. To be fair this was never going to happen.

Listen, I also don't care about MS buying companies up. The way the console industry works right now, is anti-competitive and is anti-consumer. So MS buying companies up is just moving the shit show in a different direction, not a worse or better direction, just side ways.

Listen you know the console industry is deeply unhealthy when it would be impossible for a new comer to get involved. And that's what the console industry is.

Imo, third party exclusivity, needs to be made illegal. We've been conditioned over the decades to celebrate it on behalf of Sony, MS and Nintendo. But it's anti-competitive. A company can never grow or prosper when they can't even get their hands on the big brands of games.

If all companies involved could only compete with 1st party content and share 3rd party content, the industry would be about quality, not power.

The main reason MS is buying studios up now, is limit the impact of third party exclusives. MS has money, Sony has the market share. Honestly what can MS do? No matter what games they release, if they're losing out on big brands like SFV, Final Fantasy etc, there'll never be any growth. The worst thing is, Sony didn't need to do this. They have the market share, they didn't have to strangle the competition too.

You're right. But damn do I love me some F-Zero :(

@nintendoboy16: Sometime ago I did watch Scott's vid as I was for most part, referring to his end summary points. Furthermore, what didn't help Nintendo is their image on how the system looked, having no DVD and most people purchased Nintendo games.

Microsoft are delusional, for a few reasons:

1. Nintendo laughed out Microsoft's buyout offer back in the early 2000s, when Nintendo were in a pretty bad financial shape. Nintendo is now way bigger than they were back then, so they're going to laugh even harder today.

2. Any foreign buyout offers for a big Japanese company would have to be approved by Japanese parliament. They would almost certainly never allow a big Japanese company like Nintendo to be brought out by a foreign corporation.

3. Even in the extremely unlikely scenario that Japan somehow allows a foreign buyout, MS would have to compete with the Saudis, who also have their eyes on Nintendo. The Saudis are filthy rich and worth trillions, just like MS.

4. The FTC and CMA tried to stop MS from buying Activision due to monopoly concerns. They're almost certainly going to block a Nintendo buyout to prevent a monopoly.

5. It could potentially unravel their Activision purchase. That was reluctantly allowed to go ahead because MS cited Nintendo as evidence against FTC and CMA monopoly claims. If MS makes moves to buy Nintendo, that would prove the FTC and CMA were right all along, potentially unravelling their Activision purchase.

I think MS were just throwing names out there. It was always highly unlikely. But I don't get number 5, the chances of MS going after anyone anytime soon are tiny. A lot of what was leaked is old so probably before they even got or went after Activision. I think MS will just go after studios or small publishers now. I honestly don't see them going after anyone big for a long, long time... I'm talking 10 years.

This is false.

MS would be wasting billions and for what kids games. Yeah pretty dumb, but its not going to happen, so all this is for nought anyway.

I doubt this is real. Whomever wrote that letter to Takeshi is writing like a child.

@tjandmia: it's real, Spencer's statements and all. These are revelations from the massive leak recently.

Most posters in this thread are not even touching on the most striking aspects, such as Microsoft's ex board of directors member, investment company ValueAct, purchasing shares of Nintendo and encouraging them to make business decisions that will lead them into a vulnerable spot for a Microsoft acquisition offer

@X_CAPCOM_X: I noticed the wording that made me think of a hostile takeover.

Yeah that's fair; they might not make much, but at least they're not as bad as Sony. That platform is a barren wasteland right now.

Their plan could possibly arrive there. Notably, Spencer said that was a last resort they wouldn't like it to come to. In his words, he would rather play the "long game" with Nintendo.

@Pedro:

Wrong.

Japan tightens rules on foreign stakes in 518 firms

The list of Japanese companies protected from foreign buyouts include big Japanese game companies like Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Konami and Square Enix. Any foreign buyout offer would have to be approved by the Japanese government, which will almost certainly block any foreign buyout attempts.

in terms of developer activity as of now. It is Nintendo > MS > Sony in terms of output.

Nintendo has had 5 notable releases and 4 notable rereleases. The notable releases are Fire Emblem Engage, Bayonetta Origins, Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4 and F-Zero 99. Not giving them any credit for the rereleases though, no matter how well recieved Metroid Prime Remastered was.

MS has had 3 notable games in Hi Fi Rush, Starfield and unfortunately Redfall. Forza Motorsport coming soon.

Sony has been a desolate wasteland since GoW:R last year, hopefully Spiderman 2 redeems them but I am not into superhero games.

Is this the first year in a long time that MS has had a higher first-party output than Sony? But can't say I'm too surprised, given how Sony nowadays only make expensive cinematic AAA productions and don't make mid-tier AA productions anymore.

I think they beat them in 2021 as well.

Age of Empires 4, Halo Infinite, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5, Flight Simulator.

vs Ratchet and Clank and Returnal

They easily had the best output of all of the big 3. Hell, I would argue that of any 1st party they had the best output that year.

Consolidation at this level isn't healthy for a free market.

@SolidGame_basic: Way less. Minus the fact you need a willing seller, Japan would take umbrage with a foreign purchaser. Plus there would be a number of megalith companies wanting to go after the Mario (Apple, NVIDIA, Tencent, Disney, Amazon, etc.)

I mean I'm an Xbox fan, but I don't want this to happen. First of all, less competition. And secondly, for all Nintendo's faults, it's the last proper old school video game company imo, and I don't want that to change.

As I said before, why I was so against them buying Activision.

Just checked Metacritic annual top publisher rankings, and MS did top 2021.

Speaking of Metacritic publisher rankings, here are the annual top publishers in the last few years:

2019 - Capcom

2020 - Sega

2021 - Microsoft

2022 - Sony

No.

Fair point. Both points can be correct.