Activision founder says Nintendo may have been purchased by the unexpected company

According to Activision founder Bobby Kotick, Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway, has a point in time for interested in buying Nintendo, or at least interested in exploring the idea of ​​buying Nintendo.

Kotick is Gravel Podcast That Munger is not a fan of video games, but has the chance to bid for Nintendo. Munger is said to have come up with the idea of ​​spending a huge holding on Berkshire’s action in the video game space. Apparently, one of Munger’s ideas is to buy Nintendo.

“He's gone, 'You know, I'm looking for a few other companies in your industry. I think if we bought yours, we should buy that company, Nintendo, too,” Kotick recalls. 'He said, ' Have you seen it? I was like, 'Yes. 'He (at the time) traded for $13 billion and his cash was $7 billion. I'm dead and they'll just boil it down to an 82-year-old stupidity, so you don't have to worry so much about letting me down. ”

This was when French conglomerate Vivendi was forced to sell its stake in Activision while Berkshire Hathaway bought it. However, that didn't happen Activision finally bought it back from Vivendi.

During his weekly lunch with Munger, Kotick gave Vivendi advice on how to build a buyback. Munger reportedly said he wanted to fund the buyback. When he got up to go to the bathroom, Activision's Brian Kelly told Kotick that if Munger, a skilled investor, was willing to buy shares, he and Kotick should want that, too. In the end it is what happened.

“He doesn’t like the business of (video games),” Kotick said of Munger. “He thought it was a step away from gambling. He was like, ‘You know, you’re preying on people’s addiction.’ I was like, “I’m not giving them the joy and fun, if you’ve tried video games, You will see. “He always has…a bit disgusted.”

Of course, Berkshire didn't buy Nintendo. As for Munger, he died in 2023 at the age of 99. Berkshire Hathaway currently has more than $325 billion in cash In theory, it is possible to try to buy almost any company on the open market, but no intention of buying a video game company has been expressed yet.

Microsoft also tries to buy Nintendo

More than 20 years ago, Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo. Steve Ballmer, then CEO Smiled.

Berkshire does make a very big investment in the video game space in 2022 Purchased nearly 15 million shares of Activision Blizzard Just before Microsoft announced its intention to buy the company. Berkshire paid an average of about $66.50 per share, and prices soared after Microsoft announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard. The deal was finally approved at $95 per share, so Berkshire undoubtedly had a big profit.

Game Pass Problem

Also in the interview, Kotick discussed the $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft's blockbuster, saying he and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella “completed the deal in three days.” Of course, it took more than a year for regulatory approval, but the framework was clearly decided in just 72 hours. The only divergence Kotick and Nadella revolve around the deal, focusing on Microsoft's vision for the game pass.

Kotick mentioned the $15 monthly subscription cost for World of Warcraft, which is just a game. “Why should I put it in the game pass?” Kotick said. “I said to these guys, ‘Why trade our flexible business model where you can do practical work in the best interests of your customers.’ I don’t believe it.

Kotick isn't the only senior position to question Game Pass's economic reality, because Devolver Digital has spoken critically about the service since day one. Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick also discusses why Launching new games in game pass doesn't make sense for the company. There are actually some examples Help drive game sales outside of subscriptionsand John Romero, the creator of the Doomsday, said recently Game Pass won't hurt the company.

Microsoft itself previously admitted that in some cases, the game pass could Cannibalize game sales– but In every case.