Just like Nintendo, fans are laughing off Microsoft boss Phil Spencer’s acquisition aspirations

After leaked FTC documents surfaced regarding Microsoft and its chief executive Phil Spencer, players find it hilarious that Microsoft and Xbox thought they could buy Nintendo when their attempt in the early 2000s had them laughed out of the room.

While the internet has been abuzz regarding Microsoft and the FTC lawsuit, it has brought several elements to light regarding Microsoft and Xbox. But in a more recent FTC leak, a document—or rather an email, to be exact—surfaced that has players laughing at Microsoft and Xbox’s audacity to think they could acquire Nintendo.

In the email, which was sent in 2020, Spencer admits it’s one of his biggest aspirations to buy Nintendo and bring it into the expanding Microsoft gaming empire.

The funny thing is this isn’t the first time they’ve tried to acquire Nintendo. In the early 2000s, the team had a meeting with Nintendo, and when it was brought up that they’d like to acquire the 100-year-old Japanese gaming corporation, they were quite literally laughed out of the room, which would have been a kick to their pride.

Thinking back, maybe that was what started their villain arc.

Today, players still find it ridiculous the company even thought it could attempt to acquire Nintendo, with some even mentioning that Nintendo would probably rather burn to the ground than let a company like Microsoft acquire them.

Interestingly, Nintendo isn’t the only company they’d like to acquire; another mentioned in Spencer’s leaked emails was Valve. Similarly, players said they hoped this would never go through because Microsoft would have too much of a monopoly on PC gaming.

Although Spencer said, “getting Nintendo would be a career moment,” no one else hopes it will pass, with many suggesting he is delusional for claiming “it’s just taking a long time for Nintendo to see that their future exists off of their own hardware.”

Unfortunately, this all highlights that reinventing gaming, inspiring creativity, and creating incredible titles wouldn’t be “career-defining.” Instead, it’s all about the acquisitions—and Phil has certainly been on that path for some time now.