Gromit

I guess it's time to start spreading rumors. Actually, I just thought this was funny so I thought I'd share. It's too far out there to be anything more than a good laugh.

At lunch I visited my nearest Software Etc. store. The guys who work there are nice and seem to be fairly knowledgable when it comes to games.

They had not heard the 9/23 Xbox price drop story yet. They mentioned their favorite rumor of late: They've had people coming in talking about... get ready for it... Nintendo being bought by Microsoft.

The funny thing is the 'evidence' of this. They opened the Super Mario Sunshine strategy guide and found a couple of pictures that show a character in the game with a large ball attached to a chain. There's a blurry X shape on the ball. Apparently some people think this means that Nintendo is going to get bought out by Microsoft or at the very least, start developing Xbox games.

Keep in mind that the Software Etc guys weren't pushing this, they were just sharing what people are telling them.

We laughed about it and then started thinking...

Can you imagine if Microsoft bought Nintendo? How would Sony counter that?

Back to reality, I don't think it would ever happen. Nintendo is doing quite well, especially with the GBA.

A scenario that would still shock me, but is much more possible than the previous: Nintendo gets out of the console business and signs an exclusive development contract with Microsoft.

Even if that happened, I would think that's next generation stuff.

Anyway, I just thought it was funny that people can take a blurry X and come to the conclusion that Microsoft is buying Nintendo.

There must have been a mad scramble at the last minute by Nintendo programmers to add vague X shapes throughout SMS in an effort to tip people off about the upcoming buyout.

Tamrok

That is pretty funny but the rumor may have also come from the fact that Nintendo did have discussions with Microsoft about a buyout back before the Xbox and Gamecube made their debut. The apparent stumbling block in the negotiations was that Nintendo insisted on Microsoft using the Gamecube hardware as the (at that time) still under development Xbox. So, although I'm sure this current rumor has no merit, the idea isn't quite as far fetched as you might think.

TheMadMonk

I also heard this, too. While I don't see this happening in this generation, you never know what might happen in the next, due to the fact that the PS2 is handily beating both the xbox and the gamecube. Remember the old adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

mmconhea

Dude, you used an "X" is your post. Looks, like MS is looking to buy you out.

Face/Off

I know some people who work at Microsoft and they say that with the last price drop, the quality in hardware also dropped.

Thunderball

OMG THEY ALREADY BOUGHT AN ADMINISTRATOR!

Chaos

What do you mean? In what resepect? Details?

joltaddict

Trigger

The thread title is misleading... I thought you were going to suggest there was a rumor that Nintendo was going to buy out Microsoft... then you talk about it the other way around. I was confused. Anyway - neither is likely to happen. MS already tried to buy Nintendo and failed.

madcougar

I think this rumor is funny. The thing is that most people don't realize how old Nintendo is. They think it came out of nowhere sometime in the mid-80s. The company is more than 100 years old. It isn't going anywhere, and it's very hard to belive that anyone, Gates included, could just "buy" it.

Groucho

The thread title is a reverse of the actual discussion, although it's funny. "Itsa me, Super Mario Windows!"

Face/Off

Well, as you probably know, the cost to manufacture an X-Box was actually a tad higher than the original $300 price. Microsoft was hoping to make their profits mainly through their games, and of course additional accessories and the eventual online service. The PlayStation 2 price drop to $200 was something Microsoft had to match in order to stay competitive, even though they really can't afford that big of a price drop. So therefore they have to produce X-Boxes at a cheaper cost, and therefore using cheaper material. If you were to open them up, the X-Boxes that came out before the price cut will have different components than the ones coming out now. Of course, I'm just relaying what they said (and I don't know much about computers and electronics), so I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out.

s}{ammer

Face/Off, M$ was going to drop the price of the xbox and Sony came in a couple days early and did their drop so they could beat M$.

al_bundy

Why does that mean a drop in quality? X-Box is a year old and technology is farther ahead. Things that take several chips in the original x-box now can be done by one. Nvidia already consolidated a few of it's chips into one. Here is another example.


http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020821/tech_...ft_xbox_1.html

IC_Freeze

MS buys Nintendo, gets Sega as a 2nd party . So now you'll the PS2 vs MS+Nintendo+Sega

joltaddict

Trigger

Can't you go 5 minutes? I don't go around calling it a BabyCube, do I?

s}{ammer

First, I don't have a gamecube, second I'll call M$ what I like. Does it really bother you that much when someone calls that multi-billion dollar company M$ instead of MS? That is a common thing in the computer industry to call them and now that they are in the video game business they will be known by it in this industry also.

Trigger

They've always been in the video game industry...

They aren't called M$ in the computer industry... they're called Microsuck. Get it right.

Putting a dollar sign after their name is childish - are you a child? $}{ammer?

It bothers me simply because it's console bashing and company bashing... which is against forum rules if you haven't noticed.

Microsoft is a multi-billion dollar industry... true. What the hell do you think Sony and Nintendo are?

Kumar J

Nintendo will never sell to Microsoft!It's a very big company.It just took over Bandai,and it's market value have gone up!Maybe they will work together with Microsoft but not sell out.

joltaddict

Are you in the "computer" industry? Its a common thing to call them in third grade maybe.

Shawn