Jacobs: "I look at Ensemble closing as being a terrible thing"

Speaking to Gamespot, Mythic boss Mark Jacobs has said he sees the recent Ensemble closure as a "terrible thing," but that his studio has been careful to guard against "mistakes."

"I look at Ensemble closing as being a terrible thing," he said. "I love their games. But it should be no more of a message, I think, to the development community than an external developer shutting down because they ran out of money. And [there's] an old cliche about those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. But if you look at the history of developers, even successful ones, a lot of them that do get shut down have forgotten the lessons--that nothing lasts forever, and you are going to screw up no matter how smart you are.

"You're going to screw up, and if you haven't prepared for that day, you're going to be in deep trouble. And we will always prepare for that day. Maybe I'm paranoid or just very cynical, but I believe we will make more mistakes going forward, and we prepare for that day. And if you're going to do that and you have success and you still remember that, you'll be OK. You can weather a storm or two."

Lots more through there. Well worth a read. WAR, as if you didn't know, is out today.