When Microsoft went into building a video game console, it was new territory for the company. It’s an interesting history to read about and in fact, it wasn’t long ago that we got news of just how the conversation came up in the first place Xbox to come out. If you’re unfamiliar with that story, the creator behind Xbox reflected on how he had to trick Microsoft into making the Xbox in the first place. Fortunately, the console paid off and Xbox has become a major player in the video game industry.
However, as I mentioned, this was new territory and Microsoft needed more than just a console to sell in the marketplace. They needed games and what better way to get access to these games than by purchasing development studios. There were several companies that Microsoft had in mind originally. Thanks to a new report from Bloomberg who managed to speak with a few individuals behind the Xbox, we now know just a few companies that were approached to be purchased by Microsoft.
This all came out before Xbox became a major player in the video game industry. However, there were some big contenders in Microsoft’s eyes. They reached out to the likes of Square Enix, Midway, and EA. Unfortunately, after all these meetings, Microsoft couldn’t strike a deal that would appeal to these companies. But that’s not the biggest company Microsoft approached for a purchase.
The crown jewel from these picks revealed is Nintendo. According to Kevin Bachus who was with third-party relations at the time, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wanted a group to meet with Nintendo about a potential acquisition. The meeting was more or less an hour of Nintendo executives laughing at the idea of Microsoft purchasing the company. I would have loved to see that meeting go down personally, but Microsoft is still going strong today so regardless of the failed purchases, it seemed to have worked out in the end.
