Holy crap did the Japanese video game industry dodge one hell of a bullet. Microsoft practically created a graveyard of developers they had purchased in their early days in the console business. Those who didn't die ended up on life support. Even though Rare seems to be pulling through somehow, I have a feeling that if Sea of Thieves were to flop, it would be the end for them.
It's also interesting that Isao Okawa wanted to do a collaboration deal with Microsoft. Interestingly enough, it sounds very much like the deal that Tom Kalinske wanted Sega to do with Sony several years earlier where they would both collaborate on hardware while splitting the costs. Even though the Microsoft deal didn't go through (though I kind of wish it had), it proves that even back in the day, Tom Kalinske had the right idea all along. Sega never had Nintendo's deep pockets. One bad console generation would be enough to leave them close to bankruptcy. A collaboration under the Sega branding would have led to lower cost risks while also eliminating a potential competitor.
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