They bought a Japanese company because they can control that market. It's smaller, and easier for japanese devs to understand their taste.
Agreed with op. No ones saying it, but its true.
And btw, 10% ownership allows then just the right amount of board influence, but its not a large investment in them either. This a Rare (the company, and the word) moment.
“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.
