I hate M$ as much as the next guy, but Rare turning to **** was Rare's own fault not M$'s if anything M$ was banking on them still having that magic, blame the Stamper Brothers, they're the ones that sold out their company.
It's a mix. Rare might've been declining (which I personally think is debatable), but in numerous interviews with ex-Rare members, they state how M$ was restrictive and canned several of their projects, directing them to work on different projects or to change aspects of the game, which is why many of them left. I can't put complete blame on either Rare, M$, or Nintendo for how things have turned out, but I can blame all of them.
I remember seeing those tweets like halfway through the conference and just laughing.
I'm not going to say Microsoft is done like some of you, but they are making numerous decisions which will hurt them in the long run.... and the short run.
Funny how both Sony and Nintendo's stock rose today.