From the forums: Do you want to see Microsoft purchase Nintendo?

[Windows Central]

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a leaked email that he would like the company to purchase Nintendo. But would that be a good thing? Let us know in our latest forum thread!

From the forums: Do you want to see Microsoft purchase Nintendo? : Read more

 

[Ron-F]

I would certainly like it, as I would need to buy one instead of two consoles per generation. However, it would be a nightmare to merge two quite different corporations, resulting in a bigger, worse company. Also, Nintendo is moving towards being an entertainment company. Considering the pile of cash they are sitting over, I think it is more likely to Nintendo buy Universal, which is already a partner in movies and parks than to have Microsoft acquiring it, especially because I doubt regulators would allow it.

 

[NoLifeDGenerate]

I just wish Nintendo would go 3rd party like Sega. Some of us truly hate their hardware, not to mention the way they sit on some of their IPs forever and don't even remaster the old ones for the current system. Like how hard would it be to port Punch-Out Wii without the garbage motion controls? The game worked entirely with the controller buttons anyway. I'd totally buy Mario 64 again too. Maybe Pilotwings. etc but I'm not subscribing to some garbage streaming/online service for them. I just want to buy the retro games I want.

 

[fjtorres5591]

No.

The world, and Microsoft, has moved on.
Nintendo is in great shape financially and unless they get too cute with Switch 2 (ala Wii U) they'll be fine for another ten years.
Note that the emails predate the Zenimax and Activision deals. At that time a merger made sense.

Today, MS doesn't need to buy Nintendo for credibility and the console gaming world is better with three big players than with two. What would be best, and might yet happen, is MS and Nintendo trading the odd game (I'll give you COD and ES6, you give me Metroid and XX, or some such.) Azure might host a Nintendo Gamepass cloud gaming service. Partners helping each other.

At this point their portfolios are complementary. And keeping things that way is best. If nothing else, both MS and Nintendo doing different things doubles the pressure on Sony.

(Back in the 90's HP bought Apollo to bulk up its Unix Workstation business and when asked about the merger, SUN ceo McNeally, shrugged: "Before I had two competitors to worry about, now just one." A year later, Sony was number one and stayed there until that market faded before NT.)

Big mergers are tricky and MS-ABK is a black swan, unlikely to repeat.Todsy, the player to keep an eye on is Embracer. They are deep in mobile, over extended, and Own CRYSTAL DYNAMICS and their IP. Other than BioWare there is no better match for MS.

In fact it is a good bet that after MS is done absorbing Activision, they'll Keep two publishing arms: one for exclusives and another for multiplat. That'll put an end to the will it/won't it games.

Besides, if Nintendo were to merge (big IF) with a big american company, Apple would be a better fit today (but they're too cheap) and then Nintendo or Amazon.