We've seen a nice partnership developing between Xbox and Nintendo over the past few years, with multiple Xbox games making their way over to the Switch such as Minecraft and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and now in a new interview with Inverse, Nintendo's Doug Bowser has showered praise on that relationship.
In the discussion, Bowser had the following to say about the company's dealings with Microsoft:
"We have a great relationship with Microsoft. We consider them to be partners in many, many ways, and you only have to look at Nintendo Switch to see that partnership. Obviously, Minecraft is on Nintendo Switch, and we brought Banjo Kazooie to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. So, we're looking forward to that partnership continuing."
The interviewer also brought up recent leaked discussions that Phil Spencer had been having with Microsoft employees back in 2020 about wanting to acquire Nintendo, and while Bowser didn't address this topic directly, he had the following to say when questioned about his thoughts on acquisitions in general:
"As far as consolidation in the industry goes, I've been a part of this industry for 16-plus years now. One thing that's been constant is the acquisitions of studios. But the other constant is the fact that new studios are popping up every single year. Incredibly creative studios are making content, from indie-sized to AAA-sized games. So as consolidation happens, on an equal basis, we're seeing these new studios, which really just speaks to the dynamic nature of the industry overall. In the end, that bodes well for the player."
So, Microsoft is clearly in Nintendo's good books right now, and hopefully that bodes well for the future. It'll be interesting to see how this relationship develops in the future (perhaps even some kind of Nintendo content on Xbox?!), and whether Phil Spencer's desire to acquire Nintendo will ever actually come off. Don't bet on that last bit!