Xbox Leaks (Microsoft aims to buy Nintendo & Valve, Game Pass needs 100 million by 2027/30 or Microsoft will exit Gaming, Seemingly came close to buying Sega)

[Dreakon13]

8 minutes ago, majob said:

Did you read the email? Spencer mentions that MS is already purchasing stock and looking for avenues for a hostile takeover if possible. Yes I believe it's happening because this is quite literally what MS doesn, their bread and butter is buying out the competition if they can't strong arm them out.

 

Again, it reads to me like the kind of back patting that exec's send 100 times a day about how, of course they're primed and ready to take over the world.  Everythings great.  Opportunities everywhere.  Nice job guys.

 

I'll be interested when it's more than just MS waxing poetic internally.  But don't let me spoil your excitement, I'm sure it's already happening.

 

 

EDIT: Sidenote... MS isn't buying stock.  A former MS BoD members company is and Phil "has kept in touch" with him.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Dreakon13

[majob]

1 minute ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

Again, it reads to me like the kind of back patting that exec's send 100 times a day about how, of course they're primed and ready to take over the world.  Everythings great.  Opportunities everywhere.  Nice job guys.

 

I'll be interested when it's more than just MS waxing poetic internally.  But don't let me spoil your excitement, I'm sure it's already happening.

I don't know if you know this but corporate strategies start out as internal emails and in case you've been living under a rock, MS didn't become the large company it is today by playing by the rules. Not that they're the only ones who play dirty but they're by far the biggest offenders. And also did you miss the fact that they're trying to look humble right now to get their ABK acquisition through? Spencer has already gone on record that acquisitions won't stop with ABK.

[kidson2004]

Man ain’t no way in hell would Nintendo sell themselves to the devil. They’re way too big of a company/franchise as a whole. Astronomically popular in Japan and in the World. Consolidating that would me a horrible product for everyone. M$’s the type of company that’ll let you play a fully paid title as a demo, and the ONLY way to unlock the “full true” game is through GamePass. 

[jgm4789]

Sure, buying nintendo might be impossible now. But what about in 20-30 years when most of the old guard that made nintendo what it is like shigeru miyamoto, takashi tezuka, eiji aonuma, ect. Start dropping like flies due to old age or retirement. The only way microsoft could possibly attempt to aquire nintendo is to somehow sneak microsoft friendly agents to succeed the current higher ups as the current execs aren't budging. 

[HusKy]

 

The all digital future MS is pushing for is everything but adorable. 🤯

[Dreakon13]

16 minutes ago, majob said:

I don't know if you know this but corporate strategies start out as internal emails and in case you've been living under a rock, MS didn't become the large company it is today by playing by the rules. Not that they're the only ones who play dirty but they're by far the biggest offenders. And also did you miss the fact that they're trying to look humble right now to get their ABK acquisition through? Spencer has already gone on record that acquisitions won't stop with ABK.

 

I'm not saying it can't happen... well, I am saying it absolutely 100% won't happen, but I digress.

 

I'm saying based on that email, there's no reason to believe it actually is happening.  Like I edited into the other post, MS isn't even the one buying stocks.  It's someone Phil knows.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Dreakon13

[majob]

1 minute ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

I'm not saying it can't happen... well, I am saying it absolutely 100% won't happen, but I digress.

 

I'm saying based on that email, there's no reason to believe it actually is happening.  Like I edited into the other post, MS isn't even the one buying stocks.  It's someone Phil knows.

The essence of a hostile takeover is to get people you're on good terms with to buy shares when you yourself can't and have those people then sell you those shares, usually at a favorable price

Edited September 19, 2023 by majob

[MidnightDragon]

Even though the chances are likely small, don’t want to entertain the possibility. 

[Infected Elite]

32 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

Didn’t Nintendo laugh them out if the room the last time? I don’t think we have to worry.

yes. They did.

 

Yes deals take time and dont happen overnight. 

 

The fact people care so much about an email from 2020 is laughable. 

[Dreakon13]

Just now, majob said:

The essence of a hostile takeover is to get people you're on good terms with to buy shares when you yourself can't and have those people then sell you those shares, usually at a favorable price

 

I'm not having this conversation anymore lol.  You're a few too many degrees away from reality.  What you're saying could I guess theoretically happen but absolutely not based on that one email.

[Laxus]

21 minutes ago, jgm4789 said:

Sure, buying nintendo might be impossible now. But what about in 20-30 years when most of the old guard that made nintendo what it is like shigeru miyamoto, takashi tezuka, eiji aonuma, ect. Start dropping like flies due to old age or retirement. The only way microsoft could possibly attempt to aquire nintendo is to somehow sneak microsoft friendly agents to succeed the current higher ups as the current execs aren't budging. 

Dude the moment nintendo would be bought over, hell would freeze and kratos would come to life. Those guys are ridiculously prideful to ever let such a situation happen. I remember a case where microsoft tried to buy nintendo for 25 billion dollars in 1999. Didn't work well for them.

 

Seriously someone needs to punch phil spencer in the face. I hate how that guy has the time to buy different companies but has not the damn time to bring out good games.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Laxus-0

[majob]

3 minutes ago, Laxus-0 said:

Dude the moment nintendo would be bought over, hell would freeze and kratos would come to life. Those guys are ridiculously prideful to ever let such a situation happen. I remember a case where microsoft tried to buy nintendo for 25 billion dollars in 1999. Didn't work well for them.

 

Seriously someone needs to punch phil spencer in the face. I hate how that guy has the time to buy different companies but has not the damn time to bring out good games.

 

 

As I said before, the first time Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo didn't go the way people assumed. Nintendo executives seriously considered the offer before Sakamoto forced the issue

[Laxus]

10 minutes ago, majob said:

As I said before, the first time Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo didn't go the way people assumed. Nintendo executives seriously considered the offer before Sakamoto forced the issue

Doesn't matter. Even with the great working partnership microsoft has with nintendo, this is very unlikely. I just can't see it.

[SpaceIsDandy]

 

1 hour ago, Ashande said:

Frequently allowed Microsoft

Sorry should have been more clear I was talking about a certain person in this thread that claimed to be part of a business that was a monopoly and its good for everyone (but they did not elaborate any further), I'm sure MS gas enough money to do more or less what they want.

Edited September 19, 2023 by SpaceIsDandy

[blue_blur_98]

Wow. I had a feeling that Microsoft really wanted to just buy out the industry with all of these company purchases, but these leaked emails really put that into perspective. Some people say that Microsoft isn't trying to monopolize the gaming space with stunts like the Bethesda and Activision buyouts, but just totally consuming two major platform holders seems pretty damn monopolistic to me. The fact that they're even toying with the idea of scooping up Nintendo and Valve is very alarming. I thought that them buying up major multiplatform publishers and then making all of their games that'd otherwise be on every platform that can run it Xbox exclusive was bad enough. The thought that they'd do the same thing to another console manufacturer and the company behind the biggest computer game storefront is very scary.

 

On the bright side, I don't have any confidence that they'll be able to ever actually get their mitts on Nintendo, at least. Those guys have been very hardware-focused from jump, so I doubt that anyone, no matter how rich, could actually convince them to leave that all behind. The Nintendo Switch has been a massive success, and I doubt its successor would be any different; what reason would Nintendo have to sell out like that? Especially since the Xbox brand has historically been a massive failure in Japan, which is where Nintendo primarily operates.

[ZenaxPure]

The most impressive thing about Phil is that he actually makes me appreciate Jim Ryan to a certain extent. In a "it could always be worse" kind of way. That's a feat if I've ever seen one.

 

Anyway, I kept trying to tell people they stopped reporting GP numbers because they've stalled. It's good to see actual proof of that so no one can deny it anymore. I think there are just way too many factors that will always hold it back. They're trying to target a market that just doesn't even exist imo. Most people I know anyway (like 90% of my friend list regardless of platform) are people who only play 3 or 4 new games a year and then either go back to their "one" game (aka something infinitely replayable) or just indulge in other hobbies entirely. These kinds of people are just never going to sub to a GP style service, at least long term. And then those of us who do actually play a lot of stuff typically want to pick what we play for ourselves, not be bound to the whims of what a giant corpo brings to a service and says we can play.

 

I personally think this is the real reason they got rid of Gold and are changing it to Game Pass Core. Because now Phil can say they've had "explosive growth" for GP, "look we have like 50 mil subs now!"

Edited September 19, 2023 by ZenaxPure

[Ashande]

I keep seeing the same pattern.

 

1. Someone in an industry says “Hey, Microsoft’s up to some shady shit, not looking good.” Everyone pooh poohs it. “Where’s your source? What evidence? They’re not doing anything.” Eyerolling ensures, accusations of Chicken Little behavior are bandied about, everyone goes on with their day.

 

2. Evidence appears that Microsoft was at least talking about that shady shit. “Oh, sure, but it’s just talk. It’s just business. Everyone does that. It’s not like it’ll actually happen.” Eyerolling intensifies, Chicken Little mockery escalates, slippery slope allegations are hurled, some big brains start cheering for Microsoft to do it.

 

3. Microsoft begins taking steps towards executing that shady shit. “Oh, they’re not doing that, they’re just doing this, doesn’t mean anything.” Slippery slope accusations increase. Regulators half open an eye. Fanboys continue to cheer.

 

4. Microsoft gets a little slack, pushes the envelope a little further. Start tweaking the rules of the industry or market they’ve installed themselves into and doing no-to-low-cost “feels good, accomplishes nothing” to drum up public support. Has even more people saying “What? Oh, that thing you said they’d do years ago? Well, they haven’t done it, so it doesn’t matter.”

 

5. Microsoft does the thing. Regulators step in. Hem and haw for a while, maybe let it slide, maybe install a few “safeguards.” Microsoft smiles and says “thank you,” while the industry fractures into those who “knew Microsoft was great all along” and those who are left staring in shellshocked horror.

 

6. Microsoft proceeds to laugh off any restrictions or safeguards, doing whatever it wanted to do anyway. Deflect all criticism with accusations of fanboyism or bias on the part of the critics. Microsoft then sidesteps or just pays whatever consequences there are for violating whatever contracts or guidelines were put in place, because by this point it’s more profitable to ask forgiveness and pay the ticket than to give a rat’s ass about permission.

 

7. Use proceeds to find next thing, start over at step 1, only this time with a larger support base, deeper pockets, bigger aspirations and an inflated ego that no one seems able or willing to stick a pin in.

 

Yes, yes, “it’s just business,” “everybody does it,” all the rest of the stock excuses. It’s a matter of scale; Microsoft can and does execute these plans on a level others cannot hope to match. “Oh, look at us, we’re so poor and defenseless and can’t compete, we’re in last place, nothing to be scared of here… but we can also drop $70 billion and just buy up one of the largest publishing houses in the industry alongside all of their studios and IP because we got a wild hair up our ass. But it’s good for competition, and more people can play, and besides, we’ll still just be third place. *big puppy dog eyes*” I understand that nuance and matters of degree have largely gone out the bloody window in the last decade or so, but surely the scale is at least a little troublesome?

 

Just feels constantly like the old joke about the kinds of people in the world. “There are two kinds of people: those who can’t extrapolate from existing information…”

[Rozalia1]

1 hour ago, SpaceIsDandy said:

Sorry should have been more clear I was talking about a certain person in this thread that claimed to be part of a business that was a monopoly and its good for everyone (but they did not elaborate any further), I'm sure MS gas enough money to do more or less what they want.

 

That person often goes against the grain, seemingly to get a reaction. I do hope they're not also trying to bait a tagging from me after asking me to never tag them, just so they can call me out on it. Though maybe that shouldn't apply here...

 

To address the attempt to dismiss the importance of the email that has been put forward in the thread (from that person). Microsoft has essentially a 'standing order' going by the email to buy out Nintendo & Valve the moment they become willing to sell. Such a thing is not agreed to lightly. So yes, that email is serious business

 

1 hour ago, Dreakon13 said:

I'm not having this conversation anymore lol.  You're a few too many degrees away from reality.  What you're saying could I guess theoretically happen but absolutely not based on that one email.

 

It shouldn't be possible to happen as not only does Nintendo have defences themselves against it, but the Japanese government would step in. Nintendo is a culturally important company in Japan (Sony is also), and as such Japan will not allow such a company to be controlled by a non-Japanese company. That is likely why Spencer shoots down whatever talk of a hostile takeover the person he is speaking to likely brought up. If there weren't those safeguards then Microsoft would certainly be able to do it. As is, they got to do the next best thing which is get their stooges in place, which the guy mentioned by Spencer clearly is due to how he is talked about. @jgm4789 alluded to it, which is essentially corporate warfare/espionage or whatever you wish to call it.

 

As Spencer states. The problem when it comes to buying out Nintendo is they are sitting on a massive amount of cash and have a board that doesn't chase the destructive American philosophy of infinite growth. Heck, when Nintendo had bad business their management famously took pay cuts rather than fire any of their workers (who they know are irreplaceable). Microsoft, who chases infinite growth by comparison had I think even record profits... and fired 10,000+ people. If a bad year happens again what do you expect Microsoft's man on the inside will be pushing for? What he'll be telling other shareholders should be done? You get the picture. Then if such cuts happen to the workers Nintendo gets weakened by it. Nintendo weakening means the chance they'll have another bad year increases. Pile enough on top of each other and they'll start working through that money. All the while Microsoft will be telling them that these bad years are nothing compared to the ones to come, they should sell.

 

This might seem like conspiracy talk, but in business these sort of things certainly happen.

 

33 minutes ago, Ashande said:

I keep seeing the same pattern.

 

Thanks for laying that out. It is all very organised how it works out like that every time.

 

These people do love to do to rubbish obvious truths, such as for example Bethesda games being made exclusive. Anyone with a brain could tell that obviously Microsoft cancelled PS5 versions and made the games exclusive. 'Case by case basis' being obvious nonsense. These people claimed there was no evidence of this, that it was case by case, so forth. Once it comes out that yes, PS5 versions were cancelled and games made exclusive. Those same people then change completely and now state that obviously that happened, who would think otherwise? Obviously it was all about getting exclusives. We've seen this from Spencer himself where one day he is not buying a company out to 'take games away from others' and the next 'this deal is all about getting Xbox players exclusive games'.

 

Another thing which you've likely seen is the whole 'let us compete' thing. When Microsoft started the buyouts there were people right then and there who stated that Microsoft had began their campaign to buy out the industry. This was rubbished. Then the ZeniMax buyout happened. Ah, you see, Sony has a head start on all those built up studios so Microsoft needs ZeniMax to compete. ABK happens, which if successful will give Microsoft many more studios than Sony. Ah, you see, Sony is so overwhelmingly strong that Microsoft needs ABK to be able to compete, heck, even with ABK Sony will still be ahead. In fact, Sony is essentially unbeatable so don't worry about it. Talk of buying out Nintendo? Valve? Their agents will try to play it down of course, but Microsoft's management giving a go ahead to buy those 2 massive platforms the moment they become open to being bought shows the undeniable truth. Looking around the internet it seems clear to me that people are no longer having patience with this talk that Microsoft is doing buy outs to 'compete'. They want to 'dominate' and establish a monopoly, which as you've already talked about, those taking Microsoft's side would respond to with 'everyone wants to do that'.

[TheRetroManiac]

Oh, Microsoft! I guess it GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE you will never learn let's just buy the entire market, so we are #1 and the only gaming device going, so we can control everything but ultimately make games just get worse and worse in every single aspect. So the future is digital only and cloud based, so physical media will die with that logic which for many just that alone will make them stop buying.

 

The fact, they even talked about Nintendo being bought again gave me a good old laugh the Japanese won't fold so quickly and so easily like the USA etc no chance in hell they will be under the Microsoft umbrella and if they do, I will eat my hat! As for Valve, I don't think that will happen either as both of these do not want to sell, and I firmly believe they will not sell, so It's nothing we have to worry about too much.

 

Just look at what they're paying for GTA V a very old game just for a monthly cost no way Game Pass is doing well with some of the costs they're paying for games to be on there they really are delusional game pass is a fail and is not sustainable. Sometimes it's best to sit back and just laugh at the shit Microsoft and good old Phil Spencer the gamer who wears gaming T-shirts and says console wars are pointless let's just all come together and play games, meanwhile he is one of the main people trying to take games away from the gamers and not bring more games to the gamers and come together more like he always goes on about the irony.

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by TheRetroManiac

[Dreakon13]

31 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

This might seem like conspiracy talk, but in business these sort of things certainly happen.

 

Again, not saying it can't happen.  I'm saying that it's a single internal email from 3 years ago with nothing definitive, about something very unlikely to happen in the first place... and folks here are acting like it's a done deal because <insert generic explanation about how hostile takeovers kinda work>.

 

I don't mind riffing, it's an interesting story with interesting implications, clearly people are having fun letting their minds wander... but until someone says "you're right, it never happened and there's almost no chance it ever happens, but the reason I keep quoting you about this is because it's fun to think about"... I'm not having this conversation anymore.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Dreakon13

[DARKKRAKEN666]

3 hours ago, MidnightDragon said:

Regardless, I imagine it wouldn’t be as simple as buying a US company. More hoops to jump through. Whenever Activision is done, guessing they don’t do anything audacious for a while to make sure the heat is off. And Spencer even admits there’s lots of hurdles. Anyway, may be stupid of me, but not losing sleep on this one.

Big japanese companies all buy large amount shares in each other to protect themselves from being bought by a foreign company. Hell will freeze over before Nintendo is bought by a foreign company, Nintendo is too deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Sony themselves are protected by the government that limit foreign investment in them.

Edited September 19, 2023 by DARKKRAKEN666

[DARKKRAKEN666]

1 hour ago, TheRetroManiac said:

Oh, Microsoft! I guess it GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE you will never learn let's just buy the entire market, so we are #1 and the only gaming device going, so we can control everything but ultimately make games just get worse and worse in every single aspect. So the future is digital only and cloud based, so physical media will die with that logic which for many just that alone will make them stop buying.

 

The fact, they even talked about Nintendo being bought again gave me a good old laugh the Japanese won't fold so quickly and so easily like the USA etc no chance in hell they will be under the Microsoft umbrella and if they do, I will eat my hat! As for Valve, I don't think that will happen either as both of these do not want to sell, and I firmly believe they will not sell, so It's nothing we have to worry about too much.

 

Just look at what they're paying for GTA V a very old game just for a monthly cost no way Game Pass is doing well with some of the costs they're paying for games to be on there they really are delusional game pass is a fail and is not sustainable. Sometimes it's best to sit back and just laugh at the shit Microsoft and good old Phil Spencer the gamer who wears gaming T-shirts and says console wars are pointless let's just all come together and play games, meanwhile he is one of the main people trying to take games away from the gamers and not bring more games to the gamers and come together more like he always goes on about the irony.

 

The fact that they are forcing physical game Xbox owners to make a hard choice of buy digital or GP or get out mid generation is pretty telling.

Edited September 19, 2023 by DARKKRAKEN666

[SnakeSound222]

"Adorably all-digital" 

 

Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit. Of course these fuckers have to own both Bethesda and Activision.

[Rozalia1]

56 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

Again, not saying it can't happen.  I'm saying that it's a single internal email from 3 years ago with nothing definitive, about something very unlikely to happen in the first place... and folks here are acting like it's a done deal because <insert generic explanation about how hostile takeovers kinda work>.

 

I don't mind riffing but until someone says "you're right, it never happened and there's almost no chance it ever happens, but the reason I keep rambling on about this is because it's fun to think about"... I'm not having this conversation anymore.

 

I'd say most (all?) have been saying that Microsoft won't be able to buy Nintendo. However, I wouldn't want to labour you on these things. 

---

 

Microsoft's lack of outrage gave a good indication that it was their fault this happened. Of course as you can't trust Microsoft on anything, there is always the chance this is some op... would be a very stupid one... but again, this is Microsoft.

[PIOTREK27-1982]

Microsoft is PSG of gaming industry. They will loose as always.

 

The only thing they can do is sending their programmers to Sony and Nintendo so they could see how GOTY contenders are made. 

 

P. S. Still remember when they talked big about the cloud computing power and then released Crapdown 3.

Edited September 19, 2023 by PIOTREK27-1982