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[Hero of Legend]

It may just be a rumor but I heard that Iwata didn't want to let go of the Banjo IP, but others didn't want to put up a fight for it.

I heard that too, but the buyout happened just before he became president, so wouldn't that have been Yamauchi's choice sadly? Or was it that he didn't want to lose them, but the board of directors refused to keep them? I forget.

 

[VerTiGo]

It would make more business sense for Nintendo to hire all the "old" Rare staff, and offer them complete creative freedom. They wouldn't have the IP's, but they'd have the talent in order to create new ones. Considering how disillusioned the staff (or ex-staff) seem to be, I'm sure most of them would jump at the chance.

Hell, it makes sense, as Nintendo sold their stake in Rare due to a combination of the Gamecube not performing too well, and Rare taking so long with their releases. That $350 million or however much it was, was worth more to them at the time. But Nintendo are doing so well right now, they could afford to let "New Rare" have long gaps between releases. Not only that, but despite the fact that Nintendo are still putting out plenty of "hardcore" games, they're still putting a lot of their time and effort into catering to the casual audiences. Having a second-party dedicated exclusively to hardcore games would be a good thing.

Nintendo doesn't need a new game studio to replace them. They have tons of studios already that are far more competent at everything Rare does, or tries to copy... The IPs are what's important.

 

[V_Ben]

Nintendo doesn't need a new game studio to replace them. They have tons of studios already that are far more competent at everything Rare does, or tries to copy... The IPs are what's important.

I would rather that the old Rare folks were given the chance to create some NEW memorable characters, than having their old IP thrust upon them instantly.

 

[apana]

Wait a minute, did somebody just write that Microsoft paid 350 million for Rare? Yikes, the Stamper Bros are freaking rich. This industry has both hands in Microsoft's pockets, or at least they did at one time.

 

[V_Ben]

Wait a minute, did somebody just write that Microsoft paid 350 million for Rare? Yikes, the Stamper Bros are freaking rich. This industry has both hands in Microsoft's pockets, or at least they did at one time.

They paid an awful lot... I did a week's worth of work experience at the UK firm that helped facilitate their purchase, got to work in their IP department... sort of felt like a sitting in the Death Star's waiting room. :/

 

[Matt]

Hell, it makes sense, as Nintendo sold their stake in Rare due to a combination of the Gamecube not performing too well, and Rare taking so long with their releases. That $250 million or however much it was, was worth more to them at the time.

That's not right at all.

 

[VerTiGo]

I would rather that the old Rare folks were given the chance to create some NEW memorable characters, than having their old IP thrust upon them instantly.

Nonsense. All you need is David Wise and the IPs. Rare's old staff would've been worth something to MS, but as it stands, and as DKC:R proves to us all, is that the staff was expendable. Nintendo's internal studios are far more competent. This shouldn't be a charity. It should be an attempt to revive the strength of their IPs. Microsoft can't do it. Actually, Microsoft can't do shit internally right now.

 

[Diablohead]

Related, I started playing nuts & bolts today for the first time myself, only played it in the past on a friends completed copy to mess around with the vehicles which is a ton of fun, owning it myself now from buying it a little while ago the game is really good, a shame that this is really rare's last full on title.

 

[Celine]

Wait a minute, did somebody just write that Microsoft paid 350 million for Rare? Yikes, the Stamper Bros are freaking rich. This industry has both hands in Microsoft's pockets, or at least they did at one time.

US$ 377 million, if I recall right.

 

[apana]

I heard that too, but the buyout happened just before he became president, so wouldn't that have been Yamauchi's choice sadly? Or was it that he didn't want to lose them, but the board of directors refused to keep them? I forget.

Iwata was pretty much in control and making decisions at that time even if Yamauchi was the official head, if I remember correctly.

US$ 377 million, if I recall right.

I said wow.

 

[Nemo]

I would love that too, so you're not alone.

Wasn't it the stamper bros that sold their company shares to MS? Why'd they want to go back to Nintendo consoles?

 

[drohne]

i'm just going to take this as a formal acknowledgement that casual games have no visual style whatsoever -- i don't even know if there are hundreds of gaf posts about the striking minimalism and meticulous visual craftsmanship of wii sports, but it seems like the sort of thing there would be hundreds of gaf posts about

 

[_Alkaline_]

PDZ is a better game then PD, if you can play both today this very moment and say otherwise you have a nostalgia problem.

Or maybe you just have a shitty point of view?

I am completely fed up with this whole nostalgia view on GAF.

 

[Sydle]

Hate how MS ran them into the ground. Viva Pinata and Banjo N&B are incredible, and Kinect Sports is a terrific game.

I hope they are making something other than Kinect Sport 2. We don't need it until Kinect 2.

 

[BloodySinner]

I blame every single one of you who didn't buy Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts for this.

The game sucked. So I didn't buy it. I bought Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo at the 360's launch.

 

[iconoclast]

Very sad, but not unexpected. MSG has been on a steep decline since the end of 2008. They practically have nothing of value left.

 

[user_nat]

Related, I started playing nuts & bolts today for the first time myself, only played it in the past on a friends completed copy to mess around with the vehicles which is a ton of fun, owning it myself now from buying it a little while ago the game is really good, a shame that this is really rare's last full on title.

Kinect Sports is excellent..

 

[Tmac]

The $ in M$ represents Microsoft's evil desire to make money, a trait no other company shares.

It's very clever.

Every company wants and should be making money. The problem with microsoft is that they are really good to make money with, basically, two products: office and windows family. Outside that confort zone they have big management issues.

Rare is paying a huge price for microsoft problems. Thats why ms is to blame, bot because they pursue money.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

I'd fire both of them.

Ugh.

I hate that 90's style super shiny Fool's Gold look. It's terrible. That shit is all over the DKC games too.

 

[exwallst]

If true, I don't understand Microsoft's strategy. If Sports is selling gangbusters, aping the Nintendo model suggests milking the original for a good long time--not coming out with a quick sequel. And Kinect Sports isn't like the sports game Don Mattrick is used to managing. Which one of his guys is running the studio now?

 

[RedStep]

Hate how MS ran them into the ground. Viva Pinata and Banjo N&B are incredible, and Kinect Sports is a terrific game.

I hope they are making something other than Kinect Sport 2. We don't need it until Kinect 2.

I'd love to know how your logic works. How were they run into the ground? MS funded and released both those games and the public didn't give a shit.

Kinect Sports, the game they were "forced" to make, is their biggest hit in years.

Like Bizarre (whom I love), if they disappear it's because they can't make a game that the public wants to buy. There's no intelligence in funding that.

 

[bridegur]

Let Nintendo have the Banjo license, please.

 

[AniHawk]

Let Nintendo have the Banjo license, please.

and do what? give it to some talented developer when a mario game could sell three times as much? or a group of fuckups when a dkc game could sell twice as much?

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Honestly I don't really feel sorry for this company. As soon as the company left the first generation of 3D everything they've released has ranged from "meh" to "good".

Conker's Bad Fur Day truly was Rare's last swan song.

 

[apana]

and do what? give it to some talented developer when a mario game could sell three times as much? or a group of fuckups when a dkc game could sell twice as much?

Give Banjo Kazooie to Team Ninja.

 

[Songbird]

So, like Lionhead, almost the entirety of the visuals work at Rare is outsourced now? Thank god I bailed out before getting into the industry.

 

[Kermit The Dog]

No more from Wil Overton at Rare then

Wil Overton left Rare about two weeks ago. Confirmed.

I guess this all makes sense, because I was wondering why the hell he had left. Sad, very sad.

If they sack Leigh Loveday I'm gonna go down to an orphanage and burn it to the fucking ground.

 

[noire]

deleted

 

[AdventureRacing]

and do what? give it to some talented developer when a mario game could sell three times as much? or a group of fuckups when a dkc game could sell twice as much?

lol

 

[oracrest]

You had a great run, bros.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

or a group of fuckups when a dkc game could sell twice as much?

I see what you did there.

 

[ULTROS!]

Hey, if Nintendo doesn't wanna buy 'em back, why not Sony?

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Hey, if Nintendo doesn't wanna buy 'em back, why not Sony?

No one wants to buy a shell of what they once where. Alot of the talent is gone. The brand is just a name now.

 

[Kilrogg]

Well, Microsoft was never known for managing its studios well, but this is sad news anyway. I don't like post-DKC Rare all that much, and most of the original members had already left, but still. I have to admit though that the art department was probably its worst element. Amazing graphics technology and music composers, but freaky artstyles all around. The colour composition in particular was nearly vomit-inducing in the worst cases.

It would make more business sense for Nintendo to hire all the "old" Rare staff, form a new studio, and offer them complete creative freedom. They wouldn't have the IP's, but they'd have the talent in order to create new ones. Considering how disillusioned the staff (or ex-staff) seem to be, I'm sure most of them would jump at the chance.

Hell, it makes sense, as Nintendo sold their stake in Rare due to a combination of the Gamecube not performing too well, and Rare taking so long with their releases. That $250 million or however much it was, was worth more to them at the time. But Nintendo are doing so well right now, they could afford to let "New Rare" have long gaps between releases. Not only that, but despite the fact that Nintendo are still putting out plenty of "hardcore" games, they're still putting a lot of their time and effort into catering to the casual audiences. Having a second-party dedicated exclusively to hardcore games would be a good thing.

I don't know. First, Nintendo is pretty reluctant to buy developers/create studios in general. Iwata believes it's better to be prudent about that kind of growth because there's a risk of diluting the company's "DNA" (his word, not mine) and, I assume, potentially compromise the cohesion of the company. Second, they couldn't even be bothered to hire David Wise for DKC's soundtrack even though they acknowledge in the DKCR Iwata Asks interview that the music was a huge part of the appeal in DKC and reused many of Wise's pieces for the new game.

 

[RockmanWhore]

Damn Microsoft, why do you kill every of your talented first party studios one after the other? Why? Ensemble Studios, Bizarre Creations, Rare, they even let Bungie go to Activision when Halo made the XBox.

These guys are crazy.

 

[big_z]

Wasn't it the stamper bros that sold their company shares to MS? Why'd they want to go back to Nintendo consoles?

they wanted nintendo to buy them but nintendo wasnt interested at the time. seems like microsoft has gutted the studio since which is a shame. would be awesome it some of the former rare staff formed a new studio and went back to nintendo.

 

[goldenpp72]

Damn Microsoft, why do you kill every of your talented first party studios one after the other? Why? Ensemble Studios, Bizarre Creations, Rare, they even let Bungie go to Activision when Halo made the XBox.

These guys are crazy.

Bungie wanted to leave, MS replaced bungie, we don't know how that turned out yet. Bizarre didn't want to stay with MS, rare isn't dead and isn't nearly so, ensemble was bloated but at least counts as something MS killed.

 

[ULTROS!]

What's the story behind BioWare? I'm under the impression that it's a third party developer who heavily supported PC/Xbox, was purchased by EA, then went multiplatform (PS3/PC/Xbox).

 

[Stahsky]

Lame. That's pretty much all they had going for them.

 

[Chet Rippo]

Everyday my hopes for a Diddy Kong Racing sequel fade.

 

[SimpleDesign]

Microsoft management fucked up the Bungie relationship.

Bizarre was never owned by Microsoft and they wanted the creative freedom to make games like Blur and 007 Bloodstone, which is why the sold out to Activision.

Ensemble and FASA got fucked over.

BioWare was never owned by Microsoft and were not worth a $1 billion dollar buyout. lol@EA

RIP Rare. I liked Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

 

[goldenpp72]

What's the story behind BioWare? I'm under the impression that it's a third party developer who heavily supported PC/Xbox, was purchased by EA, then went multiplatform (PS3/PC/Xbox).

I believe the official line was that MS didn't want to buy bioware because they didn't want to own pandemic studios which came with the bundle.. I think EA later disbanded them anyways right?

 

[SimpleDesign]

I believe the official line was that MS didn't want to buy bioware because they didn't want to own pandemic studios which came with the bundle.. I think EA later disbanded them anyways right?

Yup. After playing Lord of the Rings: Conquest I wasn't even mad.

 

[runnin_blue]

Independent devs, you are warned. Do not sell your souls to mega-corporations. The money's not worth it.

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

Bizarre was never owned by Microsoft and they wanted the creative freedom to make games like Blur and 007 Bloodstone, which is why the sold out to Activision.

I'm not positive, but I strongly suspect nobody at Bizarre actually wanted to make a 007 game based on a film that wasn't even going to be released.

I think it's much more likely when Activision looked at Blurs performance, they stuck them on a licenced franchise title as a last chance to perform, with the intention to can them if it did badly.

It did badly.

The Club, on the other hand, probably was something they were interested in making as a change from only doing driving titles.

 

[Kafel]

In fact the only inept management for MS and Rare concerns the DS titles. Why the fuck did they do them instead of XBLA titles ?

 

[VALIS]

I blame every single one of you who didn't buy Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts for this.

I stopped worrying about people's opinions of Rare or the state of their studio in general when a genius game like Nuts & Bolts was met with poor reception and even worse sales. It just seemed like an impossible fight. Console gaming has changed, games like that don't seem to catch on in a big way anymore unless Mario is in it.

 

[Shiggy]

Got a link? My Google is weak.

For what? The butcher or Ryan Firchau?

 

[Aaron]

Microsoft management fucked up the Bungie relationship.

I thought that Bungie really wanted to go multiplatform.

Bizarre was never owned by Microsoft and they wanted the creative freedom to make games like Blur and 007 Bloodstone, which is why the sold out to Activision.

Nothing to do with MS.

Ensemble and FASA got fucked over.

FASA royally fucked themselves over. Ensemble was a victim sure.

BioWare was never owned by Microsoft and were not worth a $1 billion dollar buyout. lol@EA

The whole thing with Bioware becoming part of Elevation Partners, which was run by John R. just before he came back to EA and then bought them into the fold was some shady business, and again nothing to do with MS.

 

[TheOddOne]

I thought that Bungie really wanted to go multiplatform.

They didn't want to make Halo forever.