the split with rare, i thought, was more "traumatic."
not only was nintendo losing a huge developing name, they were becoming exclusive to the gamecube's competition. later on, i didn't think the split was so bad on nintendo's part, because here we are, several years later, and rare still hasn't produced any games. 300 mil (what nintendo got from microsoft) is a lot more profitable than nothing.
...wouldn't have minded another killer instinct, tho
and now there's the silicon knights split. again, not as bad as it seems. for starters, they're another uber slow company. eternal darkness, for long time fans, was supposed to be released on the n64 in the late 90s. the only other hit i can think of was twin snakes, which had massive development assistance from nintendo and konami.
most importantly, SK is going third party -- meaning they can still develop games for nintendo, just no longer exclusively.
so, from nintendo's corporate side, both deals make great sense.
from rare and silicon knights's perspective, both deals make great sense.
eternal darkness probably
would have sold significantly better if it were on PS2. sony, at least, would have put together a better ad campaign, something nintendo always seems to fail at.
seems to be a best of both worlds deal for everyone.
