Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer would love to purchase Nintendo sometime. In an August 2020 e mail to 2 high Microsoft advertising and marketing executives, Spencer wrote that “Nintendo is THE prime asset for us in Gaming” and that “getting Nintendo could be a profession second and I truthfully consider a great transfer for each firms.”
The emails have been revealed as a part of a tranche of leaked paperwork from the FTC v. Microsoft lawsuit. One government, Takeshi Numoto, requested Spencer and Chris Capossela in an e mail titled “random thought” about why Microsoft isn’t discovering acquisition targets like Nintendo a “extra enticing” technique to “improve our shopper publicity and relevance.” (On the time, Microsoft was in discussions to acquire TikTok, and Numoto didn’t really feel it might be the most effective match.)
“I’ve had quite a few conversations with the LT of Nintendo about tighter collaboration and really feel like if any US firm would have an opportunity with Nintendo we’re in all probability in the most effective place,” Spencer wrote, the place “LT” is presumably shorthand for management staff. He added that Microsoft’s board of administrators “has seen the total writeup on Nintendo (and Valve) and they’re absolutely supportive on both if alternative arises as am I.” Spencer additionally shared that the corporate was in “pretty lively M&A discussions” round ZeniMax Media (which resulted in a deal that was announced a month later) and Warner Brothers Interactive (which didn’t undergo).