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Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo 20 years ago "but they just laughed their asses off"

MistBreeze

Member
even if Nintendo agreed back then

I think the japanese government will not allow it

they have strict rules on foreigners buying their companies

they will only allow it sold to inside investors
 

Saber

Gold Member
Look at what they did to Rare. They ain't stupid, they didn't born yesterday.

Also, whats up with people thinking buying from Japan is easy by just throwing money at them? They have laws there, stop dreaming.
 
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SGRU

Member
That's probably the only option we gamers have to play Nintendo games with 21st century graphics...
 

MistBreeze

Member
Look at what they did to Rare. They ain't stupid.

Also, whats up with people thinking buying from Japan is easy by just throwing money at them? They have laws there, stop dreaming.
exactly they are strict on business

actually very conservative on their economy

maybe because they depend very much on their companies and don't have much resources like oil or gas or gold etc
 
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MistBreeze

Member
Seeing how badly they fucked up Rare & Don Matrix's entire run, I'm really glad Nintendo turned them down.
you know what is scary ???

microsoft can buy everything if it is allowed to

it is a trillion dollar company

it can be a monopoly in gaming industry and this is like disney now

it is very dangerous and unhealthy for gaming

sony or Nintendo or japanese gaming publishers and devs can be doomed if microsoft allowed to buy any of them

and japanese government are not stupid to allow them

they can buy them all yes including sony and Nintendo
 

Hezekiah

Banned
As the rules are right now, the japanese government would not allow it.

It's called a hostile takeover, when you try to buy a majority stake out of the stock market.

I'll save you some time and just tell you in short: It's not gonna happen.
Of course they wouldn't, but you always see weird threads like this.
 

Kadve

Member
Pretty sure the Japanese government would have shot down the attempt anyway. They tend to be a but iffy in regards to western takeovers of native companies. Especially one with such heritage as Nintendo.
 
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4st6w3.jpg
 
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Zannegan

Member
Nintendo's next hardware will be a flop.
Sure, if the pattern holds, but then the one after that will be even wackier than the Switch or Wii, and even more successful.
All about honor and tradition in Asia. Microsoft probably would have offered twice of Nintendo capital and they would have still refused.
That's a pretty broad brush. I agree that they still would have turned them down (and even today would continue to), but for business reasons rather than ones of honor. Nintendo has to know that, long-term, they'll make more money and be more secure if they stay in control.
 

Skifi28

Member
I imagine Microsoft meetings must be quite difficult.

"Sir, please stop trying to buy the catering company for a minute, we have other business to discuss".
 
D

Deleted member 471617

Unconfirmed Member
This is one acquisition I never ever want to see Microsoft (or Sony for that matter) make because I have zero interest in Nintendo but it would be hilarious if it ever happened.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.

BOB MCBREEN: (head of business development) The first company we reached out to buy was EA. They said, “No, thanks,” and then Nintendo.

BACHUS: Steve [Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO] made us go meet with Nintendo to see if they would consider being acquired. They just laughed their asses off. Like, imagine an hour of somebody just laughing at you. That was kind of how that meeting went.
 
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So! Mario on Xbox? Zelda on Xbox 360? Kirby on Xbox One? And, imagine this: Metroid on Xbox Series X? What might have been, indeed.
We all know how that ended up for Rare, imagine the damage they would have made to the industry if Nintendo, Square, Konami or even EA would have accepted?... well maybe killing off EA would have been a net benefit.

I hope they manage their new stable of studios better.
 

Halo0629

Member
Nintendo execs would rather die and bring every ips with them to the other world than see another company make money out of it. Lol!
 

FranXico

Member
Even harder for foreigners to buy Japanese companies now, thanks to these new regulations....


As you can see, Toyota and Sony and several others are considered CORE companies that are completely protected from takeovers.

Nintendo and others are non-core but still have significant protection.

It's even harder if you want to buy more than 10%, needs government approval and is highly regulated and limited.
Here is an intetesting quote:
"While foreign activists may regard the amendment as an additional burden to their investment process, we do not believe the amendment itself will halt such investors from engaging with Japanese companies," the report said.

“This is in line with what the governments around the world are doing,” said Justin Tang, head of Asian research at United First Partners. “This is largely to prevent predatory and opportunistic acquisitions at a time when companies are weakened due to the one-off effects of COVID-19"
 
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