A big "what if..."

flogen

I would like to start this thread by pointing out that I don't believe a word of this rumour, but it's something that has certainly excited my imagination. I would also like to apologise in advance to all Nintendo fanswhom are bound to go spare at the following suggestion.

Basically, from working in a game shop I've had a number of customers starting to ask questions about the next generation of consoles, some don't have a clue and others are just bringing up the topic so they can show you how much they already know. With all the talk of what the next xbox will have (backwards compatibility or not, hard drive or not) what the ps3 will bring and what exactly will be so revolutionary about the revolution, one thing that I've heard a few times now is the rumours regarding Microsoft and Nintendo.
According to one customer every game shop in the US is dancing with the word that Microsoft have secretly bought Nintendo and have so far kept it quiet. I'm not sure but something tells me that in a competitive sense that would be illegal. A similar rumour is that Nintendo are set to pull out of the console race and pledge full support to Microsoft (while not being bought out by them).
The evidence? Well the Nintendo has been calling its machine "Revolution" and the xbox 2 is likely to be the xbox 360... you see? Yeah. Pretty poor I know. I suppose another thing to heat the rumours would be the signs that Nintendo will not be showing off a home console at e3 but from what I understand that's pretty much it.
So has anyone else heard this rumour, and does anyone actually believe it to be true? If so, why?!

I just found it wierd that so many people seem to have swallowed this whole while in gaming terms its only second to the chances of Sony announcing a full withdrawl from all games markets because others aren't playing nice.

tman

flogen wrote:

The evidence? Well the Nintendo has been calling its machine "Revolution" and the xbox 2 is likely to be the xbox 360... you see?

nice work, Kojak. :rolleyes:

if the DS gets crushed by the PSP, then yeah, perhaps they might give up the fight...
i just can't see it happening though

flogen

tman wrote:

nice work, Kojak. :rolleyes:

Believe me it's not my detective work, I noticed the link but didn't make any wild assumptions based on it.

I'd imagine that the home console is the big one, if the revolution fails then they might just stick to handhelds and offer console titles to the highest bidder (quite probably microsoft)

Anima

lol

DiscoStu

how does one go about buying a publicly traded company without microsoft's or nintendo's shareholders or either's share prices or regulatory bodies on both sides of the pacific saying anything? stuff like that leaves a paper trail large enough to deforest a sizable portion of the amazon basin and let's not forget there a plenty of people out who care a lot about trees and billion dollar mergers.

:rolleyes:

flogen

DiscoStu wrote:

how does one go about buying a publicly traded company without microsoft's or nintendo's shareholders or either's share prices or regulatory bodies on both sides of the pacific saying anything? stuff like that leaves a paper trail large enough to deforest a sizable portion of the amazon basin and let's not forget there a plenty of people out who care a lot about trees and billion dollar mergers.

:rolleyes:

well that's what rules out a buyout IMO, and the fact that one big player in a market buying another big player in a market would lead to huge competition law queries. I'd say an exclusive deal would be more plausable but still highly unlikely

iregk

I had heard something along those lines as well. What I had heard was that the reason MS moved the xbox2 launch ahead a week was for two reasons 1) to steal the march of sony and 2) because they have a huge announcement to make at E3.

In recent weeks Nintendo has moved their slot at E3 until after Sony and MS, only 30mins after MS. They were due to go out before both of them. Now MS were never going to call the machine Xbox2 as that would make it seem a generation behind the PS3 to the unintelligent so a name incorporation 3 was on the lookout. Enter 360. I picked up the comparison straight away between 360 and revolution but heard a while back that they were looking to buy Ninty out and use them as innovators and designers.

Anyway back to E3. The rumour going around is that MS have bought Ninty, this is false due to them being a plc and the difficulties in doing this. What they have done however is merged and kept it under wraps. At E3 when Microsoft were due to unveil their next gen xbox they will instead be making the shocking announcement that they have merged with Nintendo as business partners. Cut over to Nintendo’s stand for the grand unveiling of Revolution. Amidst all the glitz and glamour Nintendo will pull back the covers on the machine they have spent the last two years building and pull back to reveal the XBOX 360.

Now when you take all of that in it’s a bit of a shocker. I’m not entirely certain how much of it I believe or not, could well be that its all lies or truth. One or two things I have noticed though is that with this latest console the Revolution Nintendo have gone completely against the form book on revealing it. Usually we get pictures for about a year first then finally get to see it in the flesh. This machine however we haven’t heard a thing so its extremely un-Nintendo like so something is definitely up alright. A friend who works as a programmer for MS said that he heard it too and there was lots of talk about it in the offices. He reckons that the 360/Revelution part is bogus but that they have most likely merged. He actually told me long go that he heard around the company that they were looking to go into Nintendo.

petes

This would seriously piss me off :mad: I personally think its s hite though

Blub2k4

flogen wrote:

I would like to start this thread by pointing out that I don't believe a word of this rumour, but it's something that has certainly excited my imagination. I would also like to apologise in advance to all Nintendo fanswhom are bound to go spare at the following suggestion.

Basically, from working in a game shop I've had a number of customers starting to ask questions about the next generation of consoles, some don't have a clue and others are just bringing up the topic so they can show you how much they already know. With all the talk of what the next xbox will have (backwards compatibility or not, hard drive or not) what the ps3 will bring and what exactly will be so revolutionary about the revolution, one thing that I've heard a few times now is the rumours regarding Microsoft and Nintendo.
According to one customer every game shop in the US is dancing with the word that Microsoft have secretly bought Nintendo and have so far kept it quiet. I'm not sure but something tells me that in a competitive sense that would be illegal. A similar rumour is that Nintendo are set to pull out of the console race and pledge full support to Microsoft (while not being bought out by them).
The evidence? Well the Nintendo has been calling its machine "Revolution" and the xbox 2 is likely to be the xbox 360... you see? Yeah. Pretty poor I know. I suppose another thing to heat the rumours would be the signs that Nintendo will not be showing off a home console at e3 but from what I understand that's pretty much it.
So has anyone else heard this rumour, and does anyone actually believe it to be true? If so, why?!

I just found it wierd that so many people seem to have swallowed this whole while in gaming terms its only second to the chances of Sony announcing a full withdrawl from all games markets because others aren't playing nice.

I think that the concept is ridiculously eurocentric, think of this idea in an Asian market and it is even more laughable.

iregk

Going on my own personal gut id say most that will probably happen is a meger of some sort. I can't see Nintendo selling their soul to an american company so a merger is the most i'd say will happen.

Anima

Why, why would you quote all that then write one line :rolleyes:

Gilgamesh

wasn't there a press release a few months back where people thought MS were considering buyin Ninty, but the CEO of Nintando said that it would never happen? tbh I don't think that would happen, I mean, MS and Nintendo don't really have any track record together, and even if it would be a merger, the Stockholders would have been informed about this as they still need approval from them to commence on an action in that magnitude.
Nintendo, never really has ever competed with other companies in the Console market, other companies have tried to rival Nintendo.
there have been some small info leaking out about the Revolution, like the use of Wireless Tech for connection of even the gamepads,

think it won't happen that they merge, and if so, then I think they would go with Sony and not MS, as past dealings have been better with them.

Btw, there are also rumoers that nintendo is goign to release the successor to the Gameboy at E3, so don't count them out yet,

why do you think that the latest mobile didn't have the word 'Gameboy' in it, it's a new concept and isn't linked to the Gameboy series

iregk

The DS not the sucessor to the game boy no?

flogen

Gilgamesh wrote:

wasn't there a press release a few months back where people thought MS were considering buyin Ninty, but the CEO of Nintando said that it would never happen? tbh I don't think that would happen, I mean, MS and Nintendo don't really have any track record together, and even if it would be a merger, the Stockholders would have been informed about this as they still need approval from them to commence on an action in that magnitude.
Nintendo, never really has ever competed with other companies in the Console market, other companies have tried to rival Nintendo.
there have been some small info leaking out about the Revolution, like the use of Wireless Tech for connection of even the gamepads,

think it won't happen that they merge, and if so, then I think they would go with Sony and not MS, as past dealings have been better with them.

Btw, there are also rumoers that nintendo is goign to release the successor to the Gameboy at E3, so don't count them out yet,

why do you think that the latest mobile didn't have the word 'Gameboy' in it, it's a new concept and isn't linked to the Gameboy series

Well apparently Bill Gates made a comment at some fancy-shmancy dinner saying that if Microsoft got a phone call from (the guy who owns the majority stake of Nintendo but whose name I cant remember) he'd be put straight through to him, German press reported it and MS came out and said that it was a joke that was taken seriously, or something.
I'm not sure how a merger would work in regards telling shareholders, I assume they would have to be told but it would be good to have it cleared up... maybe just the majority shareholders would need to be told (as they'd be the ones making the decision)
As for the new gameboy, yeah the GBA2 is supposed to be shown off at e3 but I haven't heard much about it recently so maybe not, they might just mention what they see it doing and show it off at a later date.

Bluehair

iregk wrote:

The DS not the sucessor to the game boy no?

Apparently not. Ninty have stated this a few times but may feel under more pressure to release a true successor with the popularity of the PSP.

Rumour has it something very similar in spec/design to PSP but backwards compatible with the Gamecube (those tiny disks making a lot of sense now).

Would be very cool to be able to play the entire GC back collection on the move.

As for the Xbox/Ninty connection I have my doubts but suppose it may not be the worst thing in the world. In the end of the day I don't give a damn about who made the hardware but the quality of the game is the issue.

skywalker

Anyone remember how the last takeover talks ended?

Link: http://www.theinq.net/?article=20547

NOW HE IS safely retired, the 77-year old former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamaushi is regaling Wired magazine about how he reverted to abuse to silence the mighty Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Apparently Microsoft was making a bid to buy Nintendo for absolutely huge amounts of money. Vole was confident that Nintendo would take it. The Game Cube wasn't doing particularly well at the time and there was a lot of money involved. Ballmer himself showed up at the negotiations to have a quiet word.

However Yamaushi didn't like the deal, which he saw as a loss on a level similar to World War Two. He said he ranted a bit about Japanese values and identity but it went no-where. So in the end he said in Japanese "suck my yellow balls Mr Ballmer".

The translator looked embarrassed and was clearly not translating the phrase exactly, although Ballmer did smile at a sentence that included the word 'yellow' in it.

Frustrated Yamaushi stood on a chair, put his hands around his mouth and very slowly and in English said: "Hey Ballmer why don't you suck my tiny yellow balls."

He said Ballmer and team were speechless. They were as scandalised as if he had shown them a nipple at the Superbowl, he said.

It is nice to know that high powered board room meetings involving billions of dollars use the same language and methodology of a Kave piss-up. A copy of the interview can be found here but is probably illegal so you should buy a copy of the February issue of Wired.

Goodshape

Wasn't that 'quote' proven to be false?

ionapaul

Bullsh*t. Maybe Ballmer floored him with a punch afterwards? Wired magazine has a tendency to 'exaggerate' stories to make them seem more exciting.

Blub2k4

Anima wrote:

Why, why would you quote all that then write one line :rolleyes:

Why bother to comment at all when you have nothing to add?

smokingman

All I'll say is that, not only is there an idiot born every second, but lots of them.

Seriously guys....when you hear a rumour, think about it before entering discussion on whether something so ridiculous could be feasible...

stevenmu

Didn't the early rumours of the XBox2 and Revolution put them both having the exact same or very similar hardware ? I think it's more likely that they'd come to some kind fo agreement which would see Nintendo releasing games for the XBox360 and Microsoft and co releasing there Xbox games for the revolution. That would be a pretty big blow for Sony.

petes

Heard a great rumour...smoking man sucks goats willies...shh....


Seriously though that whole wired thing sounded a little far fetched. This whole thing wont come to fruition (/me hoping)

koneko

The Balmer-insult-interview-quote-thing was a hoax

Peteee

hehe

A merger?? Why would Microsoft, the worlds biggest software maker, and one of the biggest companies on the planet 'merge' with a (relatively) puny games company?

A buyout possibly, but that i think would break any number of laws? And would require shareholder approval etc etc

An agreement, dont think so again. Nintendo are a company that goes against the grain a bit (No DVD playback in current console...yes i know the console is too small etc but still) and are independent

Zaph0d

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/2216/

monkeyfudge

I really don't think you can connect Xbox 360 with Nintendo Revolution.

rev·o·lu·tion Audio pronunciation of "revolution" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rv-lshn)
n.
1. a Orbital motion about a point, especially as distinguished from axial rotation: the planetary revolution about the sun.
b A turning or rotational motion about an axis.
c single complete cycle of such orbital or axial motion.
2. The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.

3. A sudden or momentous change in a situation: the revolution in computer technology.

4. Geology. A time of major crustal deformation, when folds and faults are formed.

Somehow I think it's definition number 3 that Nintendo are going for.... not 1b!

And haven't Nintendo always been very secretive about their machines before unveiling them?

Retr0gamer

Whats that I smell. Bull****.

It sounds like a rumour started in the school yard. You should know better than to believe anything that the general public same. The general public are stupid.

Well Nintendo said that they will be showing videos of the revolution games at E3.

monument

DiscoStu wrote:

how does one go about buying a publicly traded company without microsoft's or nintendo's shareholders or either's share prices or regulatory bodies on both sides of the pacific saying anything? stuff like that leaves a paper trail large enough to deforest a sizable portion of the amazon basin and let's not forget there a plenty of people out who care a lot about trees and billion dollar mergers.

:rolleyes:

Feck! I was going to say such. Re: regulatory bodies, it'd be illegal without letting the stock market knowing about it, or (not 100% on this) even without letting them know of intentions to buy another company.

iregk wrote:

Going on my own personal gut id say most that will probably happen is a meger of some sort. I can't see Nintendo selling their soul to an american company so a merger is the most i'd say will happen.

When two companies are involved with each other and the word ‘merger’ is used, it usually means ‘friendly takeover’ (ie “selling their soul”) - the massively larger company has the power even if old staff/owners stay in top positions.




MOD-MODE: No more posting, or replying to, comments about people's posting habits/style.

sceptre

that hoax article above wrote:

Ballmer himself showed up at the negotiations to have a quiet word.

I'm not sure Ballmer is actually capable of having "a quiet word".

smokingman

petes wrote:

Heard a great rumour...smoking man sucks goats willies...shh....

...only if they're strawberry flavoured...

BloodBath

hehe

A merger?? Why would Microsoft, the worlds biggest software maker, and one of the biggest companies on the planet 'merge' with a (relatively) puny games company?

A buyout possibly, but that i think would break any number of laws? And would require shareholder approval etc etc

An agreement, dont think so again. Nintendo are a company that goes against the grain a bit (No DVD playback in current console...yes i know the console is too small etc but still) and are independent

It would just be the console department they merge with. Like sony's merger with ericson in the mobile phone market. I seriosuly doubt it's true though.



BloodBath