Microsoft reveals the message written when I tried to buy a Nintendo • Eurogamer.pt

In 1999, even before the original Xbox, Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo, something previously revealed that didn’t go well. Nintendo executives laughed and Microsoft executives were at a loss as to what to do.

Now, Microsoft has decided to share the message sent to the Japanese company, in which it reveals the plans that have been made and gives us an idea of ​​an alternate reality.

The document, which Microsoft’s Xbox chief Rick Thompson sent to Jacqualee’s Story of Nintendo, talks about Microsoft’s attempt to arrange a meeting with Hiroshi Yamauchi, then-president of Nintendo, and Genyo Takeda, in charge of Nintendo hardware, something that wasn’t easy.

The message, which is part of the virtual Xbox Museum, is largely censored, but some parts of the text are readable and have already been transcribed to reveal an intriguing piece of Xbox history.

“Dear Jackali, I appreciate that you attempted to prepare for a meeting with Mr. Takeda and Mr. Yamauchi to discuss a potential strategic partnership between Nintendo and Microsoft on future video game platforms. I understand Mr. Takeda’s concerns about a potential partnership and will try [não legível] standards requested.

Most of the speech is illegible, but there are references to the development of “Project Xbox”, along with the suggestion that it “will help Dolphin be the best”. Dolphin was the codename for the GameCube.

This message is just part of a long history in which Microsoft has tried to partner with Nintendo. In 2000, about a year after the letter, Xbox tried to persuade Nintendo to focus on games while Nintendo itself created the hardware, trying to get stronger together against Sony’s PlayStation.

As we know, it didn’t work either, but it’s one of the biggest curiosities around the time the Xbox was born.