September 17^th, 2002 (12:00am) - Oh god my F’N head is spining over this. Just last week my source at Rare confirmed that Rare was going the Micro$oft way. Now NCL gives us this press release. Full and un-edited read below.

Nintendo Co. (J.NTD or 7974) Thursday denied a U.S. media report it is "willing to sell" a controlling stake in U.K. game software developer Rare Ltd.
There has been speculation about Microsoft Corp.’s interest in buying Rare to make more software exclusively for its Xbox console. A Nintendo spokesman said, hypothetically, the company would consider what to do with its Rare shareholding if actually contacted by Microsoft or Rare, but there hasn’t been any such contact.

Nintendo owned 38% of Rare’s voting rights through U.S. subsidiaries at the end of last March, but Rare hasn’t supplied any software for Nintendo’s GameCube or Game Boy consoles over the past one year or so, the spokesman said.
The Los Angels Times said in a separate report Microsoft is interested in acquiring Rare, citing unnamed sources.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Nintendo shares ended up 2.6% at Y14,380 Thursday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed up 0.2% at 9415.23.

My Thoughts

I have none. This is so insane I’m giving up on it. I can’t speak for the rest of the staff but until Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata and Bill "I’m so rich" Gates say this whole thing is true. I won’t speak another word on it.

~ditto~