Another piece of history.
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In 1999, even before the original Xbox, Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo, something previously revealed and that didn’t go well. Nintendo executives laughed and Microsoft executives were at a loss for what to do.
Now, Microsoft has decided to share the letter that was sent to the Japanese company, in which it reveals the plans that were drawn up and gives us an idea of an alternative reality.
The document, sent by Rick Thompson, then in charge of Xbox hardware at Microsoft, to Jacqualee Story of Nintendo talks about Microsoft’s attempt to arrange a meeting with Hiroshi Yamauchi, then head of Nintendo, and Genyo Takeda, in charge of hardware Nintendo, something that was not being easy.
The letter, part of the Xbox virtual museum, is largely censored, but some parts of the text are readable and have already been transcribed to uncover a very curious part of Xbox history.
“Dear Jacqualee, I appreciate that you tried to prepare a meeting with Mr. Takeda and Mr. Yamauchi to discuss a possible strategic partnership between Nintendo and Microsoft on future video game platforms. I understand Mr Takeda’s concerns about a possible partnership and will try to [não legível] the standards he asked for.”
Most of the letter is not legible, but there are mentions of the development of “Project Xbox”, along with the suggestion that “it would help Dolphin be the best”. Dolphin was the code name for the GameCube.
This letter is just a piece of a long history during which Microsoft tried to establish a partnership with Nintendo. In 2000, about a year after the letter, Xbox tried to convince Nintendo to focus on games while Nintendo itself created the hardware, in an attempt to become stronger together against Sony’s PlayStation.
As we know, that didn’t work either, but it’s one of the biggest curiosities of the time Xbox was born.
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