According to leaked documents posted Tuesday morning, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer floated the idea of the company potentially acquiring Nintendo in 2020.
What did Phil Spencer say about acquiring Nintendo?
The news stems from emails that surfaced online, following Microsoft’s incidental leak of documents from the FTC v. Microsoft lawsuit. They revealed Spencer emailed with executive Takeshi Numoto, who was asking Spencer and Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela why Microsoft wasn’t considering companies like Nintendo as acquisition targets.
In a reply, Spencer mentioned that he had spoken with the Leadership Team of Nintendo about “tighter collaboration.”
“I totally agree that Nintendo is the prime asset for us in Gaming and today Gaming is our most likely path to consumer relevance,” said Spencer. “I’ve had numerous conversations with the [Leadership Team] of Nintendo about tighter collaboration and feel like if any US company would have a chance with Nintendo we are probably in the best position.”
Spencer also made it clear that “getting Nintendo” would be a career highlight.
“At some point, getting Nintendo would be a career moment,” Spencer ends the email by saying. “It’s just taking a long time for Nintendo to see that their future exists off of their own hardware. A long time…. :-)”