Nintendo Gamecube was target of Microsoft desire

The report is based on a book called Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, the author of which, Dean Takahashi,interviewed Nintendo's US president Minoru Arakawa.

While Microsoft was prepared to stump up the $25 billion, it appears that Nintendo wasn't as eager for the money as Bill Gates first appeared.

After the preliminary discussions broke down, Microsoft went on with its own plans to create the Xbox.

But to us at the INQ it illustrates just how far Microsoft will go with its plans to dominate the console market. We have reported here before that the firm is even considering designing its own CPU and graphics chipsets to cut down the cost of the bought in parts from Microsoft and Nvidia, and has also asked a number of other firms, including Via, to tender for designs for the Xbox II.

The Gamecube Europe story is here. µ