Perfect Dark 2 and Kameo confirmed XBOX exclusives

[Ruined]

Perfect Dark 2 and Kameo have been announced as XBOX exclusives. Apparently, Banjo Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day sequels are also future possibilities as their characters were featured in the announcement's accompanying press release and video. In addition, Jet Force Gemini, Blast Corps, and Killer Instinct have all been named as possibly having future sequels on the XBOX.

Video featuring Joanna Dark, Conker, Banjo, and Kameo
http://www.xbox.com/cms/asx/news/rar...nt-0001-Hi.asx

PR
http://www.xbox.com/news/0209/rarepressrelease.htm

A Rare Deal

GoldenEye Developer Now Only On Xbox

In a $375 million deal that's the talk of the industry, Microsoft has acquired Rare Ltd., the video game development house responsible for console classics like GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country, and Perfect Dark. The announcement of the deal came from Seville, Spain, where this year's XO2 event is in full swing.

Chris Stamper, chairman and technical director of Rare, said, "Our mission at Rare has always been to make the industry's best games for the widest possible audience. Teaming with Microsoft gives us the best opportunity to accomplish this goal." The UK-based company (which will remain on the far side of the pond) will immediately begin work on Xbox titles exclusively.

"The last time I was this excited was the first time I picked up a controller and played a game from Rare," said Ed Fries, vice president of Xbox Game Content at Microsoft. After Rare's Donkey Kong Country went on to sell over 8 million copies (becoming the best-selling 16-bit console game in history), GoldenEye 007 did the same for the N64—in fact, of the top 20 N64 games of all time, five were developed by Rare, including the beloved James Bond shooter and its sibling in espionage, Perfect Dark.

"We've always insisted on pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity," added Rare co-founder and creative director Tim Stamper. "And now we get the chance to create for Xbox." Rare plans to develop at least five games over the next two years in a variety of genres, including racing, shooters and platformers. First up will be the new Kameo roleplaying adventure game (see sidebar); Xbox gamers can also look forward to a new take on the action-packed platform series Banjo-Kazooie and the next installment of the FPS spy thriller Perfect Dark.

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Microsoft Acquires Video Game Powerhouse Rare Ltd.

Developers of Such Worldwide Hits as "Donkey Kong 64," "Banjo-Kazooie," "GoldenEye 007" And "Perfect Dark" Bring Their Talents to Xbox

REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 24, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it has purchased U.K.-based Rare Ltd., one of the world's leading video game developers, further demonstrating Microsoft's commitment to providing the most innovative interactive experiences available on its Xbox™ video game system. Rare has been the mastermind behind some of the most popular video games in history, including such global multimillion sellers as "GoldenEye 007," "Perfect Dark," "Banjo-Kazooie" and "Donkey Kong 64." Under terms of the $375 million cash transaction, Rare will today begin creating exclusive console gaming blockbusters for Xbox.

In a statement made from Seville, Spain, where the announcement was made to both a live and worldwide webcast audience during the company's annual X02 event, Chris Stamper, chairman and technical director of Rare, said, "Our mission at Rare has always been to make the industry's best games for the widest possible audience. Teaming with Microsoft gives us the best opportunity to accomplish this goal. Microsoft's dedication and commitment to game creators, research and development, and to gaming innovation made them the obvious partner to take Rare into the future."

"We've always insisted on pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity," added Tim Stamper, co-founder and creative director of Rare. "And now we get the chance to create for Xbox."

Rare co-founders Chris and Tim Stamper and their talented team of game developers and designers will continue to work out of Rare in Warwickshire, England. Rare was founded in 1985 as a partnership between the Stamper brothers and Joel Hochberg, now Rare president.

"This partnership significantly broadens our already outstanding portfolio of games that will be available for Xbox. And it also broadens our reach internationally as gamers around the world have demonstrated their fanaticism for what Rare consistently produces," said Robbie Bach, Chief Xbox Officer at Microsoft.

"The last time I was this excited was the first time I picked up a controller and played a game from Rare," said Ed Fries, vice president of Xbox Game Content at Microsoft. "As a gamer, you could hardly wait until Rare's next title was announced. You didn't know what genre it would be, but it didn't matter because you knew you were going to love it."

Rare grabbed the attention of the video game world in 1994 with its creation of "Donkey Kong Country." Selling more than 8 million copies, "DKC" went on to become the biggest- selling 16-bit title in history.
Rare became one of the premiere developers in the world, with sales averaging 1.4 million units per title and nearly 90 million games sold since the company was founded. Five of the top 20 all-time-best-selling N64 titles were developed by Rare, including "GoldenEye 007," the second-best-selling game in North America, with worldwide sales topping 8 million.

With today's announcement, Rare becomes the latest member of a star-studded lineup at Microsoft Game Studios, joining such prestigious worldwide developers as Bungie Studios, the masterminds behind the smash hit "Halo™," named Game of the Year by Electronic Gaming Monthly. Rare's first creation for Xbox, "Kameo," is expected to reach store shelves next spring. Also under development is the highly anticipated sequel to "Perfect Dark." The company is expecting to develop at least five games over the next two years in a variety of genres, including racing, shooters and platformers.

About Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon™"; Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as "Halo," "Project Gotham Racing™" and "NFL Fever"; and Zone.com (http://zone.msn.com/), the official games channel for the MSN® network of Internet services and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "OutSmart™."

About Xbox
Xbox is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful game experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America, Japan, Europe and Australia.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of
products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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[Darksim]

OH SHUT UP ALREADY

you dont hafta rub it in, everyone knows already. (yes i am a gamecube owner)
It really is sad considering perfect dark wont be nintendo anymore. you guys dont know how much that hurts, that was like my favorite game! (well duh, check out my username) Well, there wasnt much they coulda done (microsoft buys fucking everything, jeez) well, now i hope microsoft will buy nintendo, so i can have all the cool games on one system!

[Sycowulf]

Hey Im all for XBox exclusivity, I have all 3 systems and I prefer the xbox releases to any other system that a game is released on... and the xbox needs some killer exclusives at this point in time anyway... I will be looking forward to a sequel to PDark or even a new shooter from them...

[brian]

Woo hoo! I too prefer the games to be released on the Xbox... Really, my Gamecube just sits there...quietly...sigh. Maybe Zelda will change things?

I love the Xbox though, i don't know. So many people complain about the controller, but I'd take either the small or normal controller any day over gamecube's and psx's.

PS -- I didn't know about this, thanks Ruined

[ShaneMcFarland]

Originally posted by Darksim
OH SHUT UP ALREADY

you dont hafta rub it in, everyone knows already. (yes i am a gamecube owner)
It really is sad considering perfect dark wont be nintendo anymore. you guys dont know how much that hurts, that was like my favorite game! (well duh, check out my username) Well, there wasnt much they coulda done (microsoft buys fucking everything, jeez) well, now i hope microsoft will buy nintendo, so i can have all the cool games on one system!

Dude don't sweat it, Nintendo wanted to get rid of Rare as they weren't making Nintendo any damned money as of late.

[SilentBob]

My concern is will Perfect Dark be the Perfect Dark everyone knows here.




Or this.





Can we say Celda i mean Zelda arguements again.

[Ruined]

Originally posted by ShaneMcFarland


Dude don't sweat it, Nintendo wanted to get rid of Rare as they weren't making Nintendo any damned money as of late.

Did you expect that Nintendo would say: "Losing Rare was a big blow to us, they created many innovative games for us, and this will likely have a notable financial impact on Gamecube sales." That would not only be bad PR, but just plain stupid. Take a look at the Gamerankings.com Top 30 N64 games. The ones in bold were developed by RARE.

1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Goldeneye
3. Perfect Dark
4. Super Mario 64
5. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
7. Banjo-Kazooie
8. Paper Mario
9. 1080 Snowboarding
10. Conker's Bad Fur Day
11. Int Superstar Soccer 98
12. Mario Tennis
13. Banjo-Tooie
14. NFL Blitz
15. Turok 2
16. Star Fox 64
17. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
18. Wave Race 64
19. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
20. Donkey Kong 64
21. Madden NFL 2001
22. Int Superstar Soccer 64
23. Excitebike 64
24. Diddy Kong Racing
25. Madden '99
26. Blast Corps
27. All-Star Baseball 2001
28. Mario Golf 64
29. All-Star Baseball 2000
30. Space Station Silicon Valley

It's pretty clear that Rare gave N64 some excellent titles, beating out numerous 1st party developed Nintendo titles on Gamerankings.com (which averages the score of all published online and offline reviews). In fact, Rare had nearly as many games ranked in the Top 10 as 1st party developed Nintendo games; some of these Rare games include the system-selling Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Losing Rare is a significant loss for Nintendo regardless of the spin their PR department puts on it.

P.S. -- The reason Rare earned Nintendo little money in 2002 was because the N64 was on the way out, plus Nintendo had Rare move development of their major releases, including Dinosaur Planet - now known as StarFox Adventures, from the N64 to the Gamecube.

[Ruined]

Originally posted by SilentBob
My concern is will Perfect Dark be the Perfect Dark everyone knows here.

Check out the video I linked in the original message, it gives you a glimpse at the character, looks good IMO - it's not cel shaded, but it is more cartoon-like. Seems to match Rare's other franchise characters better, and looks less generic IMO.

[Crow T. Robot]

i don't really plan on getting a xbox (i like nintendo :p ) but this really will help xbox alot to have rare make games only for them. anyone think since some of the xbox games are being ported to PC there might be some of rare's ported to?

[Kes]

jeez) well, now i hope microsoft will buy nintendo, so i can have all the cool games on one system

Kes

[Joe Michaels]

Originally posted by Darksim
OH SHUT UP ALREADY

you dont hafta rub it in, everyone knows already. (yes i am a gamecube owner)
It really is sad considering perfect dark wont be nintendo anymore. you guys dont know how much that hurts, that was like my favorite game! (well duh, check out my username) Well, there wasnt much they coulda done (microsoft buys fucking everything, jeez) well, now i hope microsoft will buy nintendo, so i can have all the cool games on one system!

He's not rubbing it in. He's the resident XBOX Guru, Check his user name. He reports it as he sees it.

[Crow T. Robot]

i found this at planetgamecube

"Rare may be gone from GameCube, but GBA isn't even close to dead. Steven Kent fans want to read this...

Steven Kent interviewed Joel Hochberg, the American Rare co-founder this week, and as we reported before, Rare isn't as gone as people may have thought.

Even though Rare will not be developing any more GameCube titles, Rare will continue to develop Game Boy Advance titles. Here's the goods...

Interestingly, though Rare is now owned by Microsoft, it will still have some dealings with Nintendo. “We still plan to work on games for Game Boy Advance in the future,” said Hochberg. Rare has developed Game Boy titles in the past, and Microsoft does not currently manufacture a rival handheld system.

When the first Rare GBA titles will be released is still to be determined. Could all of the finished Rare GBA titles be released by the holidays? We'll have more details when we get them. "

[Ruined]

Originally posted by Crow T. Robot
i found this at planetgamecube

Interestingly, though Rare is now owned by Microsoft, it will still have some dealings with Nintendo. “We still plan to work on games for Game Boy Advance in the future,” said Hochberg. Rare has developed Game Boy titles in the past, and Microsoft does not currently manufacture a rival handheld system.

This certainly seems reasonable, since Microsoft themselves will be releasing some of their games on GBA.

[Wilson]

It's kind of funny that when Rare was a Nintendo exclusive some of the hardcore x-box fans wouldn't even concede Nintendo had a single thing going for it, and all the hardcore Nintendo fans would praise Rare as the best studio going.

Now that the tables have turned, you now have some x-box fans clamouring with excitement about getting games that where Nintendo exclusives, and some Nintendo fans are saying Rare wasn't really all that great and had pretty much done all that they can do.

PlanetGameCube has a negative review up for Starfox, which basically calls it another boring Rare scavenger hunt with nothing new to offer. That’s funny they didn’t have a single bad thing to say about Rare a month ago.

[Mr. Furious]

I own both Perfect Dark and GoldenEye - and I much perferred GoldenEye (even though I felt Perfect Dark was more polished). Perfect Dark was decent until they introduced the whole alien subplot. LAME.

I ended up nick-naming her: Perfect Dork. She is no "Kate Archer" (NOLF).

I'm pleased to gain these Xbox exclusives (God knows it needs them), but I just don't know how Rare justifies the expentiture that MS put down for them. I sure hope someone there really knows what they were doing...

[whedon]

... Well the fruits of Microsoft owning Rare have already begun to show it's influence by way of it's official website www.rareware.com

Once a fun and humourous website that was made for Rare fans (Ask Uncle Tusk with his insults, the Mr. Pants mascot), it has become humourless and boring (with Flash or no Flash). In another word - corporate. It's like Microsoft yanked out the heart of Rare - Temple of Doom style.

I found it interesting that on the recruitment page that a lot of jobs needed filling! Usually on Rare's pages they call for, for example, a 3D artist, not 3D artist(s). I'm assuming this deal didn't go down well with everyone at Rare and there were a few resignations, so work could continue on gamecube with other companies (with openings of course!). Microsoft could potentially have just bought the name if things aren't careful in management.

I love the new Perfect Dark look but Kameo has lost it's Rare/Nintendo "sheen". It really looks like a PC game. I have no problem with that because that's what you get on different hardware.

Anyway, I wish Rare the best of luck because a few sacrifices have been made in this deal.

[elwood731]

Originally posted by Wilson
PlanetGameCube has a negative review up for Starfox, which basically calls it another boring Rare scavenger hunt with nothing new to offer. That’s funny they didn’t have a single bad thing to say about Rare a month ago.

Well, a lot of reviews have been hard on Starfox. I never read PG, so I can't account for their history, but EGM and some others have been a little rough on it. Even in previews, several sites and publications have been highly critical. So I dunno.

Originally posted by whedon
I found it interesting that on the recruitment page that a lot of jobs needed filling! Usually on Rare's pages they call for, for example, a 3D artist, not 3D artist(s).

Well, there's a couple of ways to look at that. Either a lot of people left angry over the deal, which seems plausible, but I sort of doubt it. More likely, however, I think is that MS is pushing Rare to pump out more software. Remember, this is Rare--king of the three years development cycles! I think MS may be pushing Rare to pump out some more games, which seems to be what Nintendo is blaming the split on--that Rare wasn't pushing out enough games. Of course, that boils down to a one company's word against another.

I think more than Rare was a loss in software for Nintendo, it was a loss in image. Remember when Square left Nintendo? It hurt because the Final Fantasy series went elsewhere, but it also hurt because it looked like everyone good was abandoning ship. That's how it looks now, even if it isn't true. Funny that when Square returns, Rare leaves, huh?

Personally, the deal doesn't matter to me, but I am not sure Nintendo fans should see as such a HUGE loss. For me, anyway, Rare hasn't made a great game since Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, and much of that team has left now (and making TimeSplitters2). I did like Banjo Kazooie, but the rest have been all let downs. I hope StarFox is good, and PD2 and Kameo. I guess we'll have to see. I think in the short run, at least, it is more an image deal than a big deal over the games. It's been an interesting past couple of years, though, huh? Sega developing for long-time rival Nintendo? Square returning to Nintendo? Rare leaving? They have their own soap opera going on over there!

[Ruined]

Originally posted by whedon

I found it interesting that on the recruitment page that a lot of jobs needed filling! Usually on Rare's pages they call for, for example, a 3D artist, not 3D artist(s). I'm assuming this deal didn't go down well with everyone at Rare and there were a few resignations, so work could continue on gamecube with other companies (with openings of course!). Microsoft could potentially have just bought the name if things aren't careful in management.

I think this scenario is a little silly. Rare gets the shaft from Nintendo, who after deciding to pass on the company goes on to release a not-so-positive PR spin regarding Rare, yet you think that Rare employees are jumping ship so they can go back to working for the company that essentially gave them the shaft? Not to mention that Ken Lobb, one of the Nintendo employees Rare was closest to, now also works for Microsoft. Doesn't make much sense to me.

What makes more sense is that Rare now has more funding from Microsoft, and now they are able to hire more people to work on their games.

As for Kameo, I think it looks excellent. You should check out the video.

[elwood731]

Originally posted by Ruined
What makes more sense is that Rare now has more funding from Microsoft, and now they are able to hire more people to work on their games.

Well, there's the MS spin for you. "Nintendo was abusive and mistreated Rare, thank God for Microsoft buying them out, now they can truly be creative!"

And I doubt Nintendo's statement hurt any feelings, as it wasn't aimed at the people working there, but just that their games (which as Ruined pointed out, few have been released the past couple of years) have accounted for little of Nintendo's revenue. It wasn't about bashing Rare, nor was it even bashing them, it was trying to save face with Nintendo loyalists. If there's any hard feelings, it may be because Nintendo did NOT buy Rare, since it was offered to them. I don't know if Nintendo would have extended the offer, but if they did offer a job, I bet at least a few did jump ship and go to Nintendo. But then, I am not sure Nintendo has a European development house, so few may have wanrted to leave for that reason alone.

[downhuman]

I think the real reason Nintendo let go of Rare was that they didn't like some of the creative choices Rare was making with their franchises.

I think that Rare lost a lot of good people in the last few years and the ones who are left just aren't up to the task and Nintendo saw this. Look at what happened to Dinosaur Planet. Nintendo had to step in and put that game back on track for them. The result ended up looking more like a Nintendo first-party game complete with the Nintendo franchise stamp of Starfox.

Kameo is another example. Look at what's happened to that game. It's more cute and cuddly now than anything Nintendo currently has going on the Cube. And don't even get me started about Perfect Dark. Jo-anime Dark, come-on. It totally changes the mood of the game and mood was the best thing about the first game.

[DVDriven]

Originally posted by downhuman

I think that Rare lost a lot of good people in the last few years and the ones who are left just aren't up to the task and Nintendo saw this.

Something must have changed within RARE's organization for Nintendo not to actively pursue them. The price at which MS acquired the company, I think, is a bargain by any definition, so I'm left to deduce that a) the present management was taking the company in a direction that was contrary to Nintendo's, b) internal strife led to the departure of talent, or c) ???.

A lot of RARE's past successes were based largely on Nintendo properties. I think that if RARE is to succeed with MS, it will need a mascot which would propel their profile, and MS lacks such a property at the moment. If RARE is indeed taking Joanna Dark in the direction shown in the trailer, then it may have been a wise decision on Nintendo's part to let them go, as it would indicate a sign of things to come.

I guess I'll miss RARE somewhat. They did provide an excellent port of Killer Instinct on the SNES. What's past is past; time to move on.

[ShaneMcFarland]

First off, yeah the N64 was on its way out but they were still making money, and only 1.5% of that came from Rare. Then Rare starts fvcking up Star Fox, and Nintendo took control away from them. And people still think they didn't want to get rid of them? They got a LOT of money for them, and I don't think we're losing much.

Name a good Rare game from the past 18 months. Yep, thought so.

[robarnold99]

Then Rare starts fvcking up Star Fox, and Nintendo took control away from them.

I could have swore that Dinosaur Planet was not even supposed to be a Star Fox game until Nintendo came in and strong armed them into putting Star Fox characters in there. Just so they could get another franchise game out before Christmas.

[elwood731]

Dinosaur Planet on the N64 was originally NOT a Starfox game. The license was added later. But not sure Nintendo strongarmed them into it or not, or simply offered the franchise. I thinkall these stories fall msotly under rumor and conjecture, and not much else. Rare was probably happy to have the Starfox license, since it would guarantee more sales. At the same time, Nintendo was probably more than happy to have a high profile deveoper putting out a new Starfox game for them.