Almost two months ago, Phil Spencer – the head of Xbox – appeared on a Microsoft stream, and on that stream he had a shelf. That might not sound like a big deal, but in the past Phil used his shelves to tease or even shyly reveal various Xbox surprises – like the Xbox Series S, which he had on his bookshelf long before the official reveal. Bethesda big dog Todd Howard even took a page from Phil’s book in September 2020 and teased the new Indiana Jones game with a relic on its shelf.
So when Phil showed up on a stream, eagle-eyed research fans scoured his shelves for anything they could find. Two items stood out: a Kojima Productions Ludens figure and a Nintendo Switch. At the time, we didn’t say anything – we’re not going to run a whole news article about a video game company boss who enjoys other companies’ video games – but as time went on, the Switch started to seem like it might be a hint too.
In a recent podcast for GamesBeat, journalist Jeff Grubb stated that “pretty much everything” on Phil’s shelves meant something, including the Nintendo Switch. Likewise, a well-known and (according to Reddit) semi-renowned leaker named “Shpeshal Ed” said that “seems to be the cat out of the bag” regarding Xbox and Nintendo, and that we would hear more in the fall. It’s still a rumor, of course, but there’s growing evidence that Phil was indeed alluding to something.
But just saying that Xbox and Nintendo could mean working together somethingMaster Chief in Smash. Xbox Game Pass on switch. A hybrid Xbox-Nintendo console called the Xbox Series N. A new Zelda set in the world of Halo. Or maybe Microsoft is willing to sell Rare back to Nintendo, and we’ll finally get a new Banjo-Kazooie.
Not to give premature hope, but … what do you think this potential Xbox / Nintendo collaboration could be? And if you could have your most unlikely wish, what else do you hope it would be? Let us know in the comments!