I've never said that. Can't speak for anyone else.
I don't think console manufacturers are an unnamed entity. Shadowy? Debatable.
Like it or not, independent studios have to work with console manufacturers to do any number of things, including getting their games rubber stamped for mod support on console. As I said, I don't how their negotiations went or even if TFP were involved as much as the partner they chose to port the game to console. All those processes, especially across companies, are unknown to us.
You're probably not going to like what I have to say about that, but Joel's response sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Software and video game development is not just like changing a tire. For all the reasons noted above (the triple A fiascos, etc.) I'd much rather hear, "when it's done," than some clueless executive far removed from the hands-on development of the game having the power to say, "We have to show a profit this quarter. Release it, ready or not." That's how developers get blamed for stuff that is no way their fault. They're robbed of the power to make the decisions that, in all good conscience, should be made by them. Those CD Projekt developers were ignored by the suits when they warned Cyberpunk 2077 required two more years development time. Yet, they were blamed for the state of the game on release, called "lazy developers" and all kinds of equally stupid ■■■■. I can imagine how they felt. I can imagine how TFP feels when players project their own ■■■■ on them. It's called empathy.