Few Xbox executives, if any, have achieved the level of cultural icons that Larry Hryb has. Hryb, who is better known in the gaming world as Major Nelson (as a result of his Xbox Live Gamertag), had a distinguished career in Microsoft‘s game division. Although he has since left the firm, there has been talk that his next move may be fairly unexpected.
The 60-year-old coder informed Microsoft last month that, after more than 20 years, he would be quitting the company via his Twitter account. He indicated that he was taking a “step back to work on the next chapter of my career,” but he did not elaborate on what that would entail. Nobody knows what this means, but a recent photograph from his Twitter account has led some admirers to make some ludicrous assumptions.
The uploaded image shows Hryb taking a picture while holding a Nintendo Switch pass and with the hashtag “#JustVisiting.” Hryb’s visit to Nintendo’s American office in Redmond, Washington, which is close to Microsoft’s corporate headquarters, has raised rumors that a potential partnership or even a possible relocation to Nintendo may be under consideration.
#JustVisiting pic.twitter.com/vtLqtyPrJ2
Larry Hryb (@majornelson) August 19, 2023
Some fans have jokingly entertained the idea that Microsoft might buy Nintendo by 2026, drawing comparisons to events such as Stephen Elop moving to Nokia in 2010 and Microsoft buying the telecom company a few years later or Mike Ybarra moving to Activision Blizzard in 2019 and Microsoft buying the gaming titan three years later.
Get our newest content first by following Xfire on Google!
Even if there is no proof to support these rumors, crazier things have undoubtedly happened in the history of video games.
Nintendo was widely regarded prior to 2004 as a non-starter that lacked the strength to compete with Sony and Microsoft. All of that changed, though, when Reggie Fils-Aim made one of the best entrances we’ve ever heard on the E3stage that year: “My name is Reggie. We’re about playing games, and I’m about kicking asses and calling names.
The Regginator took over as president of Nintendo of America two years later, and during his 13-year reign, he instituted the Reggielution. Despite the excellent work Doug Bowser has done thus far, no one has come close to matching the fame and success Reggie gave Nintendo.
Hryb would likely be a front-runner to fill those enormous shoes (no pun intended) if Nintendo ever thought about bringing someone who would be on par with Reggie in terms of status and accomplishment. Although the likelihood of this happening is extremely remote, if it did, it might help Nintendo regain the social presence that it currently lacks.