Xbox’s scope has expanded in various ways ever since Phil Spencer took the lead role in the company. The company has embraced the PC, offered a massive library of Xbox Game Pass games at an affordable price, and even encouraged hardware agnostic gaming with its xCloud service. A platform which remains on Xbox gamers’ minds is the Nintendo Switch. But both Xbox and Nintendo keep hinting that they have something in the works.
The most recent evidence of an Xbox and Nintendo partnership has some history to it. Phil Spencer, Xbox boss, is a common participant in interviews and Xbox events, especially during the pandemic’s online event era.
During these interviews, Spencer usually sits in front of some bookshelves, and it seems that the contents of the bookshelves seem to hit towards upcoming Xbox announcements. And it seems others are now picking up on the same practice.
Xbox Vice President Sarah Bond appeared in a recent Microsoft Game Stack event for game developers. Behind her was a bookshelf which held several items which included Xbox Series X and an accompanying controller, an Xbox Series S, a Game Stack baseball cap, and on the highest shelf a Nintendo Switch. It’s quite evident that the Switch was placed there intentionally, but whether it points to a bigger idea is yet to be revealed.
If all we had to go on was the appearance of a Switch in Bond’s stream, it would be a one-off that could be dismissed as her just showing love for the platform. But, Phil Spencer too had a Nintendo Switch on his shelf in a recent Xbox live stream. Now, it seems more internally planned than just a coincidence.
As to what a Nintendo and Xbox collaboration would look like is anybody’s guess at this point. There are already some Xbox titles available on the Switch such as Ori and the Blind Forest and Minecraft. The Switch even supports the Xbox Network to a certain degree.
A next step could be something along the lines of porting Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which would be a small but meaningful gesture. On the other hand, it could be a major decision such as bringing Xbox Game Pass or xCloud support to the Switch.
As of 22nd April, neither Microsoft nor Nintendo have made any official partnership announcement, so everything is speculative. And if there’s one thing gamers have learned, it’s that a healthy amount of skepticism is never a bad thing.
About Microsoft
Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, Microsoft is an American MNC that creates, licenses, supports and sells computers, software, electronics, video games, and corresponding services.
Some of the most popular titles in the world, like Age of Empires, Forza, Gears of War, Halo, Minecraft, Microsoft Solitaire, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and State of Decay, have been developed and published by Microsoft.
Microsoft is also known for establishing the famous console brand Xbox, along with the video game subscription Xbox Game Pass.
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