There was a very interesting leak recently where a variety of internal Xbox documents were made available to the public. Understandably, the internet has scrounged every tiny detail and a large variety of discussions have erupted over certain topics such as upcoming games, the specs for the next Xbox console amongst others. One component stood out to me though, an email by Phil Spencer discussing the possibility of acquiring either Nintendo or Valve. The idea itself is ludicrous, which I’ll expand on shortly, but it did make me ponder a very interesting fact, that I personally believe that Microsoft shouldn’t acquire Nintendo despite the fact that their acquisition would directly benefit me!
Before I begin discussing this topic, I feel the need to explain that, at least in the short to medium term, there is absolutely zero chance of Microsoft acquiring Nintendo. This is for one reason and for one reason only, regulators. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Microsoft has faced problem after problem when it comes to their acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The idea of them acquiring not only a game developer/publisher even larger than Activision-Blizzard but also the current market leader when it comes to console sales is so absurd that I’d label it fantasy! Now, I can’t say for sure that this could never happen. It’s always possible that something could change such as Microsoft losing most of their gaming division or Nintendo becoming less valuable to the point where regulators would be okay with the acquisition but, at the moment, this idea is not going to happen in any way, shape or form.
Having said all of that, let’s look at my own, personal thoughts on this acquisition. I’ll start by saying that this deal would ultimately benefit me for a very simple reason, I’m a PC gamer. I only play games on PC and own none of the current consoles. While I’m content for the most part when it comes to what games are available on the platform, there are certainly games that I’m interested in that are restricted to particular consoles. Bloodborne and Demon’s Souls are two that I think of from Sony and Nintendo has a few titles that I’d also love to play such as Fire Emblem, Punch-Out!! and, most particularly, Metroid. Were Microsoft to acquire Nintendo, there is no doubt in my mind that we would see a spree of Nintendo games make their way over to the PC, alongside Xbox of course, and it would allow me to play some of the games that I’d be curious about. Before I continue, I know emulation is a perfectly legal option but native ports are almost always better and I have enough games to play as is without learning how to emulate.
However, as much as I’d like to see these games come over to PC, I think the repercussions of Microsoft acquiring Nintendo would be disastrous for the video game industry. Overnight, we’d see Microsoft suddenly become the most powerful company in the entire gaming industry, far more so than any company that we’ve ever seen so far. Their collection of intellectual properties, such as Halo, Forza, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Call of Duty, Warcraft, Mario, Zelda etc., would instantly become powerful enough to force Sony, their only major competitor in the console market at that point, out which, unless someone came in to try to fill the space, would leave Microsoft with an effective monopoly!
That’s not to mention the other effects it could have on the market. With so much content under the brand, it’s possible that Microsoft could return to exclusivity rather than accessibility, perhaps holding games back from PC releases in order to sell more consoles or, heaven forbid, they make all of their content exclusive to the Microsoft Store on PC. It’s possible that Valve and their Steam service could weather the storm but it could possibly lead to the end of a whole host of other PC storefronts!
Of course, I don’t expect this to happen at all unless tragedy strikes either Microsoft or Nintendo and, even then, I would expect regulators to force quite a bit of spinoff of assets from Nintendo before a deal could be approved but, regardless, I was fascinated by my own thoughts on the matter. Let me know your thoughts on this discussion of why I feel Microsoft shouldn’t acquire Nintendo even though it’d benefit me, whether you agree or disagree with any of the points I made, any benefit or issues you’d have, do you think it’s even possible for Microsoft to receive regulator approval to acquire Nintendo and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.