Here's basically what I said in the Talkback thread before it evaporated.
The loss of Silicon Knights feels bigger than the loss of Rare. It was a "shocker" to lose Rare, but losing SK makes it look like a "trend".
Jonny had to mention that we knew for sure that Retro wasn't going anywhere, because Nintendo essentially "owns" them, instead of just an "investment", but is that what it takes? People will drop Nintendo and leave, if they're not strapped down to their chairs? Nintendo can't even hang onto the shreds of third party support that they have left, and now they're losing their second parties too? Won't be long before people question why Miyamoto still works for Nintendo. Oh wait, they already do...
However, I believe we need to wait for more info before we start jumping to wild conclusions (stares bankly at a LOT of this thread).
But at the very least, there does not seem to be any way in which this news can be a "good thing" for Nintendo fans. Or SK fans either, IMO.
Whatever happens, I wish Denis and the rest of SK (if you're still reading this stuff, which would be very commendable) the best of luck, wherever they end up, or whatever games they end up making. I just hope that the place you end up is right here. Pulling gems like the MSX versions of Metal Gear 1&2 (and maybe some unexpected stuff like Tokimeki Memorial) out of the Konami vault, for us horribly oppressed Nintendo fans.