Like it or not here's the truth. It is indeed a fact that Microsoft and Nintendo have an "unofficial" partnership. They both hate $ony, and they both wan't different things. M$ wants to steal sony's dream of a "digital living room hub" (think the new PSX) and Nintendo wan't to continue making great game systems.
At E3 this years I witnessed M$ employees in Nintendo's booth EVERY DAY. There they were, hanging out with Nintendo employees, laughing it up. Then, at the one after party I attended, M$ and Nintendo people were hanging around together again, this time getting drunk and laughing it up

Still, it seems that M$ may have more than just an "unofficial partnership" in mind. Yesterday, Nintendo bought back millions of dollars worth of it OWN STOCK. Why? To prevent a hostile takeover by another company, probably M$.
I actually like the idea of M$ and Nintendo having a "Gentleman's Agreement." The only game company I have ever hated is $ony. It pleases me to no end to think that these two allies could very well destroy the playstation franchise during the next round of console wars.
And for those of you who think that can't happen, just remember, everyone thought Atari, Sega, and even Nintendo would always remain at the top of the industry. This is the end for sony