I'll ask it as a general question now that it seems Sony is (yet again) going to run away with this generation pretty much unimpeded ... 

On one hand it seems MS is starting to have the clamps put down on their division, they're not able to spend willy nilly the way they were in the past and that led to Sony be able to wrangle just about every major Western IP at their event, which had to hurt Microsoft. I mean they've even lost the "we're the official platform of Call of Duty" tag, which has to sting. 

Nintendo, still makes great games, has a fair share of good ideas and the heart and soul of the 80s/90s which lends itself a certain charm. But I don't think it's much of a reach to say they have no idea what they're doing with home consoles in a modern context. They need help. 

The fact is though it seems like neither one can honestly compete with Sony unless Sony does something stupid again (like make a $600 console) which I don't think Sony is going to do or they have a casual-fad miracle trend like the Wii did, but this is much harder today when there are hundreds of free casual games available to casual players non-stop via their sexier phone devices. 

If they could team up next-cycle and work together, I really honestly think it would be for the best. 

The industry has never really supported 3 successful console platforms at once anyway, aside from a short window of a few years where the Wii-360-PS3 were successful, but consistently for the last 35 years ... it's been a no. All three platforms does it make it easier for the market leader to pull away from the pack. 

A partnership where perhaps MS pumps some money behind Nintendo and helps them out with third parties, gets to continue XBox Live/cloud stuff, HoloLens support, and Nintendo agrees to perhaps have Windows 10 on their handheld side could be a good starting point. To be honest I'm not even sure the new MS leadership is even all that enthused about staying in the game hardware business especailly when the XB1 is likely going to sell far less than the 360. 

Such a partnership could work out well, could work out poorly. But one thing is certain, MS's money and connections could do wonders for helping Nintendo advance their hardware capabilities.

Nintendo doesn't need Microsofts help to advance their hardware capabilities. They just DONT WANT to. 

I would see Nintendo going third party, before Joining with MS or Sony. It would be way more profitable to them to stay independent. They would be the wholesome equivalent of Rockstar.

I think it's more likely that Nintendo and Sony team up. Why would Nintendo want MS when they have a more powerful alternative (market wise not just console power)

I would prefer for a Nintendo + Sony rather than Microsoft + Nintendo, but these partnerships are really unlikely..

this kind of thinking should not be allowed by the law and I hate the law.

no offense but no one wants to see this happening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1jrO5PBXvs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-kwNNLmhd8

I honestly don't want to see any partnerships happening. Microsoft had a solid E3 showing this year and are going to be competitive in the US and UK. Nintendo just needs to get its shit together.