History is full of “What If?” scenarios that, had they gone as originally thought, would’ve changed the gaming landscape massively. Yet, because they didn’t, they are relegated to the category of “What would’ve happened if…?” and people debate it endlessly. Nintendo, unsurprisingly, is part of many of those questions due to its longevity in the industry. Sometimes, it’s been on the side of “doing big moves” and then changing their minds. Other times, things have almost happened to The Big N, and it was fortunate not to turn out that way. One new “What If?” scenario has emerged, though, and it happens to involve a little company called…Disney.
This comes from a former Disney Imagineer, who apparently worked very closely with current 2-time Disney CEO Bob Iger. The person stated that Disney seriously considered going after Nintendo in 2016. To be fair, and as noted on places like Reddit, this is hard to full substantiate. Plus, it could’ve just been “an idea” that Disney had. However, the timing of it all makes it feel more viable than you might think.
Let’s start with the obvious: 2016 was NOT the best year for The Big N. They were ending the Wii U era with the ultimate whimper, as they were focusing full-tilt on their next console: The Switch. To that end, there were serious rumors going around that this could be the company’s last chance on the hardware side of things. If they didn’t hit it big, they could easily go the way of SEGA and just do software from then on.
In contrast, Disney was on an epic high in 2016. After all, the MCU was still cranking out hits and bringing in billions of dollars, and just that previous December, their Star Wars gambit paid off huge via a certain trilogy starting out in theaters by getting a billion dollars with ease.
In their minds, Disney likely saw this as another chance for a huge expansion. Sure, the company has made numerous games over the years, including teaming up with Square Enix for a beloved franchise, but it’s always been spotty in quality, and it was never their main focus. However, with the potential of a full-on publisher under the Disney banner? That could shift things immensely.
Now, as certain people on Reddit noted, the deal itself likely wouldn’t have happened for governmental reasons, but it’s still interesting to ponder.
Plus, we know that Microsoft had similar feelings at one point in time. Meanwhile, Nintendo is doing just fine.
