10 Ways Nintendo Were Almost COMPLETELY Different
2. Microsoft Asked Nintendo To Work For Them
Microsoft and Nintendo may have been rivals for nearly two decades but they have been incredibly supportive of each others' work recently. What's stranger is the two companies nearly had a far deeper relationship before the Xbox even existed.
When Xbox co-creator, Ed Fries, first considered making a gaming system, he met with Nintendo executives including Satoru Iwata. Fries intended for his company to work on the Xbox's software and networking while Nintendo work on the hardware. When Nintendo said no, Bill Gates offered a similar deal to Sony but they also declined.
If Nintendo agreed to these terms, this could have a massive effect on the Xbox's games, the hardware, and gaming industry in general. Microsoft infamously rejected having motion controls for its systems. This allowed Satoru Iwata to swoop in and incorporate the tech into the Nintendo Wii, revolutionising the industry. If the two companies worked together from the get-go, Iwata could have convinced Microsoft to accept motion-controls for the system. This is just one of many ways things could have been drastically different if the companies joined forces. Sadly, we'll never truly know how things would've turned out.