And so will Sony if their studios underperform.

Remember Guerrilla Cambridge Studio? Evolution Studios? San Diego Studio? Studio Liverpool? Zipper Interactive? Incognito Entertainment? BigBig Studios?...

I would take your side on this bet anyday but i don't think you will find someone crazy to bet against you. I also think the fans that are hyping undeadlabs and compulsion are on for a a big letdown, i mean, i kinda have hopes for the other 3, but we are talking about microsoft here, so... GAAS bullshit is a big problem at the moment.

I wouldn't say it was after 1-2 UNDERperformance. But yes, Sony also closes studios that aren't viable.

Well if our dear TheDrill was here, he might =p

Having hope and expecting good outcomes is one thing, but to go for the level of infinity jewels is too much =p

We want to be free from the AAA machine and make games focused on the experience, not around monetization. We want to take bigger creative risks and create genre-defining games without the constant threat of annihilation. We want to make our own games our own way, and not be told what to make and how to make it. And above all, we want to protect our team, our culture and our identity. Because above all, that is Ninja Theory. In short, we asked for full creative independence and I remember thinking at the time that this is going to the end of that conversation.

Does he know what MS does?

Pays their cost so they don't close... seems much like they left their idealistic world after very little time in it.

MS is very much hands on too. Black tusk ring any bells? 

I know what you meant.

I'm just saying that perhaps they didn't had much options and the offer was very good which makes them backtrack on their idea of staying independent.

People from CoD team left company because were tired from it, Bungie left MS and several other cases where those were almost imediatly below a big publisher. Most people aren't capable of sustaining and entrepreuneship.

Yea, more like after either flops or not producing much.  For example, Incognito was pretty much defunct before it closed, since most of the staff left, while the rest was dedicated to maintaining Warhawk.  Also, San Diego Studio?  They still make the MLB games.  Not sure why he listed them.

Of course, the important thing is that Sony's closures didn't lead to 1st party droughts, like MS's did.

Well, we have to exagerate Sony closures to make they about equal man, learn the rules.

If you mean that MS forced Black Tusk to work on Gears of War, that is not true. They were never forced to work on that franchise. Shortly after MS had acquired the Gears of War IP, they approached Black Tusk and offered them the possibility of working on Gears or continuing working on their new IP. The team unanimously choosing to work on Gears. I remember reading about it and seeing a behind-the-scenes video where Rod first spoke to the team offering them Gears 4 and the room loudly erupting in cheering.