Will MS regret the buyout of Rare?

[rjpageuk]

Yeah I know you didnt mean the SNES version, I was bring Donkey Kong into the arguement too (by which I meant the SNES version), both being a Rare game, and also one that was hailed as a classic at its time of release.

In any case I am bringing this a little off thread, but in response to the original post I cant help but think Microsoft will regret the decision.

We will have to wait and see, but I cannot see Nintendo ever regretting the decision.

[Baroque]

Personally the thought of another Rare collect-a-thon doesn't warm the cockles of my heart.

I said it when Nintendo sold it and I'll say it again, if Nintendo are selling should anyone be buying?

The moment Nintendo allowed the "For sale" sign to be tacked to Rare, was it because they believed Rare was going to create the next batch of hit games which would mint money and Nintendo wanted no part of that?

Or maybe they wanted another hundred and odd million to throw on the $7B pile of cash they already had in the bank.

When a company with no debt, no cash flow issues and a massive bank balance sells off the asset, it?s not because it?s making them a whole pile of money, or stands to make them a pile of money in the future.

I?d guess that both The Stampers and Nintendo simply were unwilling to stick around and watch the sun set on Rare, and then be left holding the bag.

[Lebowski]

if Nintendo are selling should anyone be buying?

i like that line, sums it up really well, anyone would think this was nintendo selling rare in its goldeneye days,

Microsoft picked up the batton, but then microsoft is Known for thowing money down the pan were the xbox is concerend.

[Goose]

And according to this month's Games TM, Kameo will no longer be the first release from Rare, but rather Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Kameo is now listed as Quarter 1 2004.

[Adam Stone]

Saurian:

The only game I like from Rare was Killer Instinct 1 (But that pure pure obsession)

All the heads were totally obsessed with it! I remember when it came out and Funland had 17 Killer Instinct cabinets, could you get on one? Could you hell! You had to wait AAAGES no matter where you went!
I swear down till now that Rare didnt do the gameplay design of the first KI! There MUST have been some Nintendo influence, there are far too many wicked little quirks!

Thank goodness!! Finally! I absolutely loved that game but it seems to be so hard to find others who did. I also liked Gold, but it wasn't quite as special as KI1.

Anyhoo.. back on topic. There is no doubt Rare created some utter classics. No doubt at all. But there is also no doubt they made some poor and overly average games too. Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and Conkers stand out from the rest imo (that's not including DKC) But...since then, the crew has been separated. I don?t believe the rare we once knew still exists today.

In my personally opinion i think Microsoft brought Rare for the name mostly. Indeed they do create some fantastic games... but with all things considering, ''Rare Exclusive to Microsoft'' has and will sell Xboxs alone...

Quick Q: Will this newly formed and forming relationship be continued to be exclusive with Xbox 2 do u think? What happens then?

[JibberX]

Quick Q: Will this newly formed and forming relationship be continued to be exclusive with Xbox 2 do u think? What happens then?

Dude, Microsoft own Rare, it aint a partnership like Nintendo had it.

[gunrock]

They have released nothing of particular note in the past 2 years. Well done Rare.

I'm no Rare fan, but so what if they've released nothing in two years. For years now, we all know that games take ages to make from scratch, new engine, new physics, new AI etc. Bungie didn't finish Halo in two years...

[Adam Stone]

Quick Q: Will this newly formed and forming relationship be continued to be exclusive with Xbox 2 do u think? What happens then?

Dude, Microsoft own Rare, it aint a partnership like Nintendo had it.

Ah, kk. Thanks.

[Ady]

To Nintendo, Rare is like an unwanted ex, with Microsoft being the burly, flash idiot wading in and buying her affections with his big wallet and fancy car.

"You want her, you're welcome to her, mate. She ain't what she used to be." says Nintendo.

[Che Musashi]

I really the Rare purchase was fools gold. Sure MS got the name and Nintendo got 167 million dollars. For that money I'd pack the Stamper bros bags and buy them one way tickets to Seattle. Rare can't make a game in less than 2 years and that probably is why Nintendo jetisoned them.

With Silicon Knights and Retro Studios, it seems like Nintendo has plenty of competent developers around to pick up the slack. I enjoyed Goldeneye, but I won't miss Rare.

[Burai]

Bungie didn't finish Halo in two years...

Bungie were a fraction of the size of Rare in terms of employees and they certainly never had Microsoft pumping them full of cash for all the years of the games development like Nintendo pumped money into Rare.

Microsoft never 'got one over Nintendo' and Rare never 'left Nintendo', it was the opposite way. Nintendo didn't want to continue with Rare. This is well known.

We all know that, but read the Microsoft press releases about the matter and the number of hate mails that Rare got and it's clear how the public perceive what happened. To the man on the street, Microsoft scored one over Nintendo. To anyone with a bit of knowledge, this is not the case, but we are in a minority.

[Max M]

Just like Donkey Kong Country (SNES) the first Killer Instinct was balls too really though.

Just like DK it was all about graphics and little else .

Rubbish. Killer Instinct was the only hardcore non-Japanese fighter and Donkey Kong Country was amazingly fun with tons of atmosphere. Rare were at their peak in 1994 IMO.

With Silicon Knights and Retro Studios, it seems like Nintendo has plenty of competent developers around to pick up the slack. I enjoyed Goldeneye, but I won't miss Rare.

That's the thing, with Nintendo wanting to continue to make family/mascot games (What they do best!) I think they're relying on their 2nd parties to provide the more edgy/adult content, so I can see why they wouldn't be too concerned about games like Grabbed by the Ghoulies, especially when Rare is seemingly capable of only releasing one game a year these days.

On the other side, Microsoft really needs some good 'kids' games, although I can't say I'm not concerned about the quality of the E3 titles shown. New franchises are always nice, but who honestly would rather want Grabbed By The Ghoulies (Oooh, a very interactive mansion, I wonder where they got that from?) than a new Banjo Kazooie game made from the grounds up on Xbox?

I'm seriously looking forward to the Conker remake though, as I think that was an amazing platformer with so much variety and it deserves another chance. As for the online part... maybe I'm being overly-optimistic, but surely a title with such a crazy world as Conker's could feature a more creative online mode than yet another bloody squad-based combat game?

Oh, and let's just be glad Activision didn't end up buying them!

[npg]

The games Rare have shown so far have been very disappointing. Conker is an understandable quick buck, but Grabbed doesn't look too hot and Kameo hasn't really done anything to impress either.

No doubt the shake up when MS bought them knocked the studio for six, and I hope they have something very special in development. Perfect Dark Zero as an FPS isn't really enough, it needs to be a lot more than that - the Halo series is Xbox First person shooters.

I have to agree with you there Pete.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies looks very generic to me at this point, in terms of character design anyway and when Kameo was first announced for the Gamecube it didn't exactly set the world alight then so unless there's some drastic changes (probably why it's been pushed back to 2004) I can't see it shifting too many copies either.

I don't understand. I mean where's Banjo Threeie and why not highlight Conker's single player a bit more given that the Xbox has failed to establish any kind of platformer mascot up and til now. I'd have thought Rare would have jumped at the chance when Blinx disappeared faster than you could 'blinx'.
(sorry..)

[Neo]

I think Rare will have something special for release during the Xmas period. Grabbed by the Ghoulies is more of a pick up an play type game, focusing on fun and sillyness, something which Rare have been known for in their games. I personally would like to see another Blast Corps. Cannot wait for the next Perfect Dark.

[npg]

What I find most upsetting about the whole Rare deal is that I feel they've been completely stripped of their identity. I just find it sad to see that originality, dry wit and that unique 'Britishness' if you like, having been replaced by a very bland and corporate looking website.

Perhaps Nintendo did have valid reasons for getting rid of them and it's no secret how Rare were infamous for their one too many delays, often changing or adding gameplay ideas at the last minute. Nowadays it's all about well timed releases and getting polished games out there in as little time as possible, which Nintendo might have forseen in advance, hence the decision, which still seems to be proving too big of a task for Rare at MS.

Also, there's no doubt the competition has widened with Sega arriving on the scene and proving to be as inlfuential as ever, but we've also seen some unique ideas coming from 3rd party developer's who were once incapable of challenging the intellect of Nintendo and Rare.