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[driver116]

No core Rare games confirmed at E3.

The seriously better have a flagship core game to show at e3.

We're in an industry where MS produced a Killer Instinct sequel in the year 2013. At this point /anything/ is fucking possible.

To me, Microsoft heard the fans when they said they wanted a core Rare IP and picked the one which would cost the least amount to make and had the shortest timeframe to make. Does this mean they aren't working on a core IP now? No.

 

[GCX]

Eh, Rare isn't really Rare anymore. There aren't pretty much anyone working there who made their great games great.

 

[Timu]

I didn't get a 360 until 2007 so never played PDZ, did she not have a British accent?

Nope, only American.

 

[Markitron]

Nope, only American.

What a completely ridiculous unnecessary decision. Was there ever any kind of explanation?

 

[Marvel]

Conker pls

 

[evanswolves]

Viva Pinata please! but give us a whole island not just a small garden! great big pinata island, big mountains with yeti pinatas and such, jungles/rainforest/woods with leopards, bigfoots, tigers etc etc... give us the sea with sharks, octopuss and fish pinatas

 

[Timu]

What a completely ridiculous unnecessary decision. Was there ever any kind of explanation?

According to the bio she was born in Atlanta Georgia. Then moved to England later on.

 

[cyberheater]

At this point I really don't care. They sucked all the love I had from them due to all those crappy Kinect games.

I've found my platforming adventuring fun elsewhere.

/salt.

 

[driver116]

I didn't get a 360 until 2007 so never played PDZ, did she not have a British accent?

PDZ was such poo but it did have a little of that Rare magic from circa 1996-01. If Phil?MS is serious about the core - they need to bite the bullet, lose more money on the Rare investment and seriously beef up talent at Rare.

 

[Caayn]

I bought a 360 for that game, I'm allowed to be bitter.

Sorry it was meant as an joke,

Spoiler

I don't want to see Conker be turned into a RTS either

. Like how in Red Alert you'd hear the announcer saying that when a superweapon has been build by an opposing player.

 

[Markitron]

PDZ was such poo but it did have a little of that Rare magic from circa 1996-01. If Phil?MS is serious about the core - they need to bite the bullet, lose more money on the Rare investment and seriously beef up talent at Rare.

I'd be fine with them staffing up, the old Rare is pretty much gone anyway. If the new Rare understood what made those franchises great I have no doubt they could make some great games. A couple of Rare games at E3 would make me seriously consider getting an XB1, even though that's why I bought an OG Xbox and a 360 and it didn't work out great.

Sorry it was meant as an joke,

Spoiler

I don't want to see Conker be turned into a RTS either

. Like how in Red Alert you'd hear the announcer saying that when a superweapon has been build by an opposing player.

Well they turned Banjo into a weird car-making racing game so I wouldn't put it past them.

 

[Lijik]

Something like Conker or Banjo I cant really trust new Rare to make properly, but for some reason I get the feeling they could make a killer Blast Corps

 

[cyberheater]

A Banjo Kazooie game that's actually a Banjo Kazooie game would be nice.

I know how you feel. I was so disappointed with the 360 version. Fuckers. How hard can it be for a talented team to just do a fan service sequel. But no. They had to tinker and fuck with it.

 

[Terbinator]

Do Conker you fuckers.

Live and Reloaded was brilliant.

 

[driver116]

I'd be fine with them staffing up, the old Rare is pretty much gone anyway. If the new Rare understood what made those franchises great I have no doubt they could make some great games. A couple of Rare games at E3 would make me seriously consider getting an XB1, even though that's why I bought an OG Xbox and a 360 and it didn't work out great.



Well they turned Banjo into a weird car-making racing game so I wouldn't put it past them.

IIRC Microsoft was tired of core Rare titles not picking up sales hence moving them onto Kinect. It will be a gamble for them, but I think if done correctly they could become one of the top core studios again. I think if anyone is going to do it, it will be Phil with Mattrick out the equation.

 

[MAtgS]

3rd person PD sounds good to me. I mean there's no explicit reason for James Bond games to remain 1st person other shaming milking of Goldeneye's legacy. PD branching out from those roots could what the franchise needs.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

PDZ was such poo but it did have a little of that Rare magic from circa 1996-01. If Phil?MS is serious about the core - they need to bite the bullet, lose more money on the Rare investment and seriously beef up talent at Rare.

As it's already been mentioned in the thread, they were hiring a lot of racing game developers some time ago. Concept art was leaked, but the game never materialized. I suppose those people were subsequently put on jet ski racing in Kinect Sports Rivals (speaking of which, I've never seen these third-party-made concepts before).

Kinect Sports games have been pretty good, and they've showcased some of the best utilization of Kinect technology, which, by all accounts, could not have been an easy task. So I'm sure that there are still plenty of highly capable people at Rare, even though many veterans have left the company. They just need to prove themselves to the core audience, although I'm sure that there will always be plenty of detractors, just as there have been even when they were giving us great games like Kameo, Viva Pinata and Nuts & Bolts. Some fans just can't get over their split-up with Nintendo, I suppose.

 

[Facism]

Viva Pinata please! but give us a whole island not just a small garden! great big pinata island, big mountains with yeti pinatas and such, jungles/rainforest/woods with leopards, bigfoots, tigers etc etc... give us the sea with sharks, octopuss and fish pinatas

I would buy this.

 

[aygomyownroad]

Viva Piñata, a new IP, perfect Dark, banjo sequel, download only battletoads.

C'mon let rare do this

 

[gofreak]

Well, back when Kinect was a peripheral on 360, we were told they were doing what they wanted to do. So there should probably be no change now Kinect is a peripheral again?

UNLESS... They actually do just do what they're told depending on which way the corporate wind is blowing. Impossible! :O

 

[R_Deckard]

Do Conker you fuckers.

This x1000.

 

[Linkified]

Well, back when Kinect was a peripheral on 360, we were told they were doing what they wanted to do. So there should probably be no change now Kinect is a peripheral again?

UNLESS... They actually do just do what they're told depending on which way the corporate wind is blowing. Impossible! :O

Well don't they have yet a new studio head now than they did back then. They need to capitalize on all Rare IPs, as well as the other IPs created back by Xbox OG and get them onto the Xbox One.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Well, back when Kinect was a peripheral on 360, we were told they were doing what they wanted to do. So there should probably be no change now Kinect is a peripheral again?

UNLESS... They actually do just do what they're told depending on which way the corporate wind is blowing. Impossible! :O

The excessive cynicism is really tiring. They were looking into veering off the Kinect-only path for some time now. Hiring not only the aforementioned racing game developers, but also people with prior experience in action/adventure and FPS genres clearly indicates that.

 

[JMTHEFOX]

Do Conker you fuckers.

Yes please, with multiplayer based on Live and Reloaded.

 

[arhra]

3rd person PD sounds good to me. I mean there's no explicit reason for James Bond games to remain 1st person other shaming milking of Goldeneye's legacy. PD branching out from those roots could what the franchise needs.

I could see PD working well as a third-person game if they ramped up the stealth elements. Maybe add some Deus Ex style mission design with multiple ways to approach a situation, etc.

Just as long as they don't turn it into a generic cover shooter.

 

[jelly]

They keep saying they have three, possibly four teams at Rare. Must be something that isn't Kinect Sports, unless avatar duties was their other thing which is still only two teams. Targeting content all this time for Xbox One what I hope the other teams have been doing.

 

[Yoshi]

Dear Rare and Phil Spencer,

this year I have to decide whether to buy an Xbox One or a PS4. If you announce that you are going to make a new Banjo-platformer for Xbox One, I will buy an Xbox One the day after your press conference (the press conference is too late here to do it the same day). A new Conker, a new Blast Corps, a new Kameo or a spiritual successor to Diddy Kong Racing would also ensure that I'd get an Xbox One over a PS4 definitely. So, please, do not make me buy a PS4. Because if I have to buy a PS4, I will keep it, even if you do announce the aforementioned games later on and buy the multiplatform games on that console.

Yours,
Yoshi

 

[gofreak]

The excessive cynicism is really tiring. They were looking into veering off the Kinect-only path for some time now. Hiring not only the aforementioned racing game developers, but also people with prior experience in action/adventure and FPS genres clearly indicates that.

The report suggests the catalyst for a possible change is 'now that Xbox One is being sold without Kinect', not 'now that there's a new creative director', or 'now that we've been veering away from it for some time already'. So I'm just wondering why this would be a catalyst for change when they were in those circumstances before and still wanted to make Kinect games, apparently? This paraphrasing in the report might be inaccurate of course.

Anyway, I am just poking fun at Spencer's continued insistence over the years that they were always doing just what they wanted to do when every indicator of studio contentment in this period suggested otherwise. For that matter I think there are very few owned studios or non-indie studios doing precisely what they want to do all the time, so I don't think this is cynicism really.

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

Bring Chris Seavor back Phil !

 

[DSix]

Just close it. Rare doesn't have any talent left. Everyone is gone, it's an empty shell. It's already dead inside. Let it go guys.

If only the IPs could get sold off to Nintendo... but it'll never happen. MS is more likely to keep hiring external studios to work on sequels.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

The report suggests the catalyst for a possible change is 'now that Xbox One is being sold without Kinect', not 'now that there's a new creative director', or 'now that we've been veering away from it for some time already'. So I'm just wondering why this would be a catalyst for change when they were in those circumstances before and still wanted to make Kinect games, apparently? This paraphrasing in the report might be inaccurate of course.

It's OXM, I'd bet the interview was even conducted before the recent SKU announcement. There would be no sense in keeping Kinect available at all if they were to drop all support for it.

Anyway, I am just poking fun at Spencer's continued insistence over the years that they were always doing just what they wanted to do when every indicator of studio contentment in this period suggested otherwise. For that matter I think there are very few owned studios or non-indie studios doing precisely what they want to do all the time, so I don't think this is cynicism really.

Perhaps, but there are also other things to consider. Big studios are not entirely homogenous units, and it's fair to assume that within them there are different groups of people wanting to do different things. At the end of the day, it up to publishers to decide which projects to greenlight, but even within the studios themselves support will depend on how many people evangelists for certain projects manage to galvanize. That's also how Xbox came to being, after all.

 

[Yoshi]

Just close it. Rare doesn't have any talent left. Everyone is gone, it's an empty shell. It's already dead inside. Let it go guys.

If only the IPs could get sold off to Nintendo... but it'll never happen.

Joke post?

Is it like this for fans of other kinds of games, too? In every Sonic thread, in every Yoshi's New Island thread (or basically Artoon / Arzest developed Yoshi thread, I'm confident it won't be any better for Yoshi's Island 4 - it was bad for Yoshi's Island DS already) and in every Rare thread I have to endure these horrible drive-by-bashers. What in the world is happening. If you don't like a developer or a game, why don't you just stay OUT of the thread instead of shitting it up with that insufferable nonsense? I'm really getting mad here >.<.

 

[cand]

SELL BANJO

Spoiler

to Nintendo

 

[level44]

Problem is, didn't a lot of the Rare talent leave at some point. Is it the same 'people' that made Conker etc?

 

[-MD-]

Bring Chris Seavor back Phil !

I don't think Seavor would come back for a million dollars lol, dude hates Microsoft.

Problem is, didn't a lot of the Rare talent leave at some point. Is it the same 'people' that made Conker etc?

The lead/voice behind Conker is working on a 3DS/WiiU game with his own little studio, he got canned from Rare a few years back.

 

[Yoshi]

Problem is, didn't a lot of the Rare talent leave at some point. Is it the same 'people' that made Conker etc?

"Chief of ideas" Gregg Mayles - still at Rare
"Other ideas" George Andreas - left for Sony
Lead programmer Chris Sutherland - still at Rare
programmer Morten Brodersen - left Rare long ago
programmer Paul Machacek - still at Rare
programmer Graham Smith - don't know, probably left Rare after Starfox Adventures
programmer Kieran Connell - still at Microsoft, though I think not at Rare
programmer Rhys Lewis - left for Retro Studios (where he is not anymore)
programmer Mark Wilson - don't know, probably left Rare
"Chief scribbler" Steve Mayles - still at Rare
"Catoony bits and more scribbling" Ed Bryan - left Rare for Creative at Nosy Crow
"Scene Crayoner" Steven Hurst - left Rare for Flippin Pixels
"More Sketching" John Nash - credited for Micky Epic 2, so most likely not working at Rare
"Other Doodling" Chris Peil - left Rare
music Grant Kirkhope - freelancer, could probably be hired for new Banjo music

Rest is business and test players. The major losses from the Banjo-team are probably Kirkhope and Hurst (I guess Scene Crayoner means level designer), but considering the small team size of the Banjo team, there still is a lot of potential left for a nice follow-up (especially considering the Mayles brothers are still there), provided they were motivated for it.

 

[starwarsfan541]

Considering Viva Pinata and Nuts and Bolts were incredible, I trust the people working at Rare to do good work. Hell, you may not like motion controls but their Kinect games are still pretty damn good.



Nintendo sold them. Just remember that.

No they didnt, they only owned 49% and the Stamper Bros wanted out and asked for an exuberant amount of money

 

[Quasar]

New Viva Pinata. Thats all I want.

 

[biggersmaller]

 

[H3xum]

Blast Corps, seriously, someone just make a new Blast Corps.

Oh man, I'd be so stoked!

This thread is depressing though - all the nostalgia for the devs who are long gone Rare will sadly never be rare again.

I'm going to throw my hat into the ring with a kart racer. Microsoft does not have one, and they kind of have the character roster for it. Diddy Kong Racing was so good.

 

[Metal-Geo]

Why the fuck would anyone want a new Conker game without Chris Seavor's involvement? And I doubt Robin Beanland (who's still at RARE, right?) would want to work on a new Conker without Chris either...

 

[Herbspiceguy]

Does it matter wat Rare wants to do? Weren't all of their non-Kinect/casual concepts shelved by MS?

 

[driver116]

If only now they're evaluating - it could be 2 years until a core IP arrives :/

 

[Garrus Vakarian]

Any bets on "what they want to do next" will be "everyone gets fired"?

Jesus that's cold lol.

 

[Kevin]

Microsoft has built big studios like 343 and Black Tusk from the ground up. Why hasn't Microsoft retooled Rare and have them work on their big franchises (Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, etc)? Why did they even buy Rare if they didn't intend to use the properties Rare was always known for?

 

[Markitron]

Microsoft has built big studios like 343 and Black Tusk from the ground up. Why hasn't Microsoft retooled Rare and have them work on their big franchises (Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, etc)? Why did they even buy Rare if they didn't intend to use the properties Rare was always known for?

Fucking Kinect, thats why. I think they have finally realised that no one cares and will stop trying to jam it up our urethra's.

 

[LeeRoyBrown]

Rare, announce Banjo or sell the fucking IP to someone who gives a shit, do that will all your IP's.


Kthxbye

 

[spookyfish]

"So ... we have some openings in the custodial department. OR -- there's possibly some facilities vacancies ..."

Damn, I miss Rare. It's a travesty how they've been treated.

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Banjo Threeie and Viva Piñata 3 please Rare!

Surprised they're still at the figuring out stages. I'd have thought they'd be nearing the end of another next gen project by now. Always assumed Rare was a big studio working on multiple games at the same time. Perhaps not?

They have like ~120 staff I think. They were and have been incubating and working on other ideas during KSR development, but I doubt anything is really far along.

 

[Sydle]

Viva Pinata please! but give us a whole island not just a small garden! great big pinata island, big mountains with yeti pinatas and such, jungles/rainforest/woods with leopards, bigfoots, tigers etc etc... give us the sea with sharks, octopuss and fish pinatas

THIS.