I recently heard a rumor that Bungie, the creators of the hit Halo franchise are going to sever their ties with Microsoft. I wonder if their is some bad blood brewing between the two. I wonder if the "Evil Empire" Microsoft is trying to hoard the majority of the Halo profits for themselves. This situation reminds me of the Disney/Pixar split. If anybody has heard anything let me know.
That is very interesting... I wonder if it is true? It is difficult for any new business to work with an established company of a much larger size - hard to get leverage. As new companies grow, they get more leverage to bargain a bigger chunk of the value created by a partnership, and often the larger company tries to call their bluff.
The story of Apple/Pixar/Disney is also very interesting. Pixar is a huge company that has made Steve Jobs oodles of money, but its main customer for a long time was Disney. I'm actually surprised there isn't more Pixar content distribution happening through Apple's channels like the iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV. Pixar could really do some great 5 or 10 minute animation shows that would be perfect for watching while waiting for a plane, riding the subway, or any of the times that are great for handheld content.