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They were at one point in time called the best game developers that had ever produced a video game, but since that sad day in 2002, when Nintendo handed over their exclusive developers to Microsoft, Rare have since then have fallen badly, not even showing one ounce of that magic they had whilst working with Nintendo.
Rare started out life with Nintendo working on titles for the SNES. 1995 saw Rare produce their first masterpieces in the form on ‘Donkey Kong Country’, a project Nintendo handed to Rare, and also the gruesome brawler that was ‘Killer Instinct’. And looking from the majority of their titles, Rare were gearing up to be once of the most innovative games designers in the video games market.
Times then moved on, and Rare reached their peak during the years of the Nintendo 64. Starting out with enjoyable and original titles like ‘Blast Corps’ and ‘Diddy Kong Racing’, Rare then began to produce titles that were some of the best games to date. Rare stunned us all with ‘Goldeneye 007’, arguably the greatest FPS ever made and the game that sold N64s by the truck load, selling globally over 8 million copies.
Rare then took DK into the next generation, going 3D and by god did it go bananas, full of Rare’s trademark and humour, and accompanied a mouth-watering line-up of platformers on N64. Then came the ground-breaking adventures from Banjo and Kazooie, which were frighteningly huge and fantastic titles. They then shocked us Brits with the crude yet hilarious ‘Conker’s Bad Fur Day’, and accompanied it with the brilliant ‘Jet Force Gemini’ and the superb ‘Perfect Dark’. Now Rare were acclaimed world wide as one of the best developers on the market.
But then it all started to slope downhill for Rare. 2002 saw the launch of Nintendo Gamecube, and due to business reasons, Nintendo did not buy their remaining stake in Rare, instead selling them to Microsoft. The world was astonished, and many Nintendo followers were horrified at the news. But Rare did leave us with the good but not fantastic ‘Star Fox Adventures’, and confirmed to Nintendoroids that they would still produce GBA titles.
But from there on in the decline of Rare increased through the years. Their GBA titles were far from what they were capable of, as the likes of ‘Sabrewulf’ and the third Banjo title were disappointing affairs. And Rare were not delivering the goods for their friends at XBOX either, with only the average ‘Grabbed by the Goulies’ to show for their efforts. The people of Nintendo now didn’t care Rare had gone, as their turnout to the market was so disappointing.
There may be life left in Rare though. Rare have confirmed a few follow-ons from their N64 titles, which include ‘Conker: Live and Uncut’ and ‘Perfect Dark Zero’. Plus, they have also unleashed new footage of GBA titles such as Banjo Pilot, and also have a new Banjo game in development for the XBOX, but whether it will appeal to the majority of adult gamers is yet to be seen.
So Rare basically are the tragedy of the gaming world. They looked so promising whilst working for Nintendo, but under Microsoft’s wings they have failed to produce. Could it be Microsoft’s fault for the decline? The questions are limitless, but one thing is for sure; Rare have gone from ‘Heroes’ to ‘Zeroes’ up until now. Only time will tell if Rare can start producing the magic they once did, but I fear their glory days are now over.
Rare started out life with Nintendo working on titles for the SNES. 1995 saw Rare produce their first masterpieces in the form on ‘Donkey Kong Country’, a project Nintendo handed to Rare, and also the gruesome brawler that was ‘Killer Instinct’. And looking from the majority of their titles, Rare were gearing up to be once of the most innovative games designers in the video games market.
Times then moved on, and Rare reached their peak during the years of the Nintendo 64. Starting out with enjoyable and original titles like ‘Blast Corps’ and ‘Diddy Kong Racing’, Rare then began to produce titles that were some of the best games to date. Rare stunned us all with ‘Goldeneye 007’, arguably the greatest FPS ever made and the game that sold N64s by the truck load, selling globally over 8 million copies.
Rare then took DK into the next generation, going 3D and by god did it go bananas, full of Rare’s trademark and humour, and accompanied a mouth-watering line-up of platformers on N64. Then came the ground-breaking adventures from Banjo and Kazooie, which were frighteningly huge and fantastic titles. They then shocked us Brits with the crude yet hilarious ‘Conker’s Bad Fur Day’, and accompanied it with the brilliant ‘Jet Force Gemini’ and the superb ‘Perfect Dark’. Now Rare were acclaimed world wide as one of the best developers on the market.
But then it all started to slope downhill for Rare. 2002 saw the launch of Nintendo Gamecube, and due to business reasons, Nintendo did not buy their remaining stake in Rare, instead selling them to Microsoft. The world was astonished, and many Nintendo followers were horrified at the news. But Rare did leave us with the good but not fantastic ‘Star Fox Adventures’, and confirmed to Nintendoroids that they would still produce GBA titles.
But from there on in the decline of Rare increased through the years. Their GBA titles were far from what they were capable of, as the likes of ‘Sabrewulf’ and the third Banjo title were disappointing affairs. And Rare were not delivering the goods for their friends at XBOX either, with only the average ‘Grabbed by the Goulies’ to show for their efforts. The people of Nintendo now didn’t care Rare had gone, as their turnout to the market was so disappointing.
There may be life left in Rare though. Rare have confirmed a few follow-ons from their N64 titles, which include ‘Conker: Live and Uncut’ and ‘Perfect Dark Zero’. Plus, they have also unleashed new footage of GBA titles such as Banjo Pilot, and also have a new Banjo game in development for the XBOX, but whether it will appeal to the majority of adult gamers is yet to be seen.
So Rare basically are the tragedy of the gaming world. They looked so promising whilst working for Nintendo, but under Microsoft’s wings they have failed to produce. Could it be Microsoft’s fault for the decline? The questions are limitless, but one thing is for sure; Rare have gone from ‘Heroes’ to ‘Zeroes’ up until now. Only time will tell if Rare can start producing the magic they once did, but I fear their glory days are now over.
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Remember Rare was on a roll after Goldeneye; not only did it gain them glory, but also loads of extra funds to develop the flurry of great games that subsequently came out.
However, you have to know that Goldeneye was a rare thing; the timing was just right, in terms of innovation and gameplay when compared with other games at the time. It's rather difficult now for any game to make the advance that Goldeneye did for Rare. While Rare aren't exactly "zero" right now (after all, having the financial backing of one of the world's best publishers is hardly a bad thing), the fact is they will never reach the heady heights of what you see as "hero" status - the industry is just too competitive nowadays.
However, you have to know that Goldeneye was a rare thing; the timing was just right, in terms of innovation and gameplay when compared with other games at the time. It's rather difficult now for any game to make the advance that Goldeneye did for Rare. While Rare aren't exactly "zero" right now (after all, having the financial backing of one of the world's best publishers is hardly a bad thing), the fact is they will never reach the heady heights of what you see as "hero" status - the industry is just too competitive nowadays.
True man. I would also like to see Conkers new game. It could rock, and with the amount of adult gamers owning XBOXs it should sell.
perfect dark 2 will be the acid test. I t is good they will see a revival if it bombs then i'd say they are failing. But it could potentially be the best game ever. we'll have to see. They suffered when they lost a lot of their development team to free radical. Perfect dark 2 will be the big test.
I will forever remember them for goldeneye the best game ever made, easily.
I will forever remember them for goldeneye the best game ever made, easily.
Does anyone agree with me?
They were at one point in time called the best game developers that had ever produced a video game, but since that sad day in 2002, when Nintendo handed over their exclusive developers to Microsoft, Rare have since then have fallen badly, not even showing one ounce of that magic they had whilst working with Nintendo.
Rare started out life with Nintendo working on titles for the SNES. 1995 saw Rare produce their first masterpieces in the form on ‘Donkey Kong Country’, a project Nintendo handed to Rare, and also the gruesome brawler that was ‘Killer Instinct’. And looking from the majority of their titles, Rare were gearing up to be once of the most innovative games designers in the video games market.
Times then moved on, and Rare reached their peak during the years of the Nintendo 64. Starting out with enjoyable and original titles like ‘Blast Corps’ and ‘Diddy Kong Racing’, Rare then began to produce titles that were some of the best games to date. Rare stunned us all with ‘Goldeneye 007’, arguably the greatest FPS ever made and the game that sold N64s by the truck load, selling globally over 8 million copies.
Rare then took DK into the next generation, going 3D and by god did it go bananas, full of Rare’s trademark and humour, and accompanied a mouth-watering line-up of platformers on N64. Then came the ground-breaking adventures from Banjo and Kazooie, which were frighteningly huge and fantastic titles. They then shocked us Brits with the crude yet hilarious ‘Conker’s Bad Fur Day’, and accompanied it with the brilliant ‘Jet Force Gemini’ and the superb ‘Perfect Dark’. Now Rare were acclaimed world wide as one of the best developers on the market.
But then it all started to slope downhill for Rare. 2002 saw the launch of Nintendo Gamecube, and due to business reasons, Nintendo did not buy their remaining stake in Rare, instead selling them to Microsoft. The world was astonished, and many Nintendo followers were horrified at the news. But Rare did leave us with the good but not fantastic ‘Star Fox Adventures’, and confirmed to Nintendoroids that they would still produce GBA titles.
But from there on in the decline of Rare increased through the years. Their GBA titles were far from what they were capable of, as the likes of ‘Sabrewulf’ and the third Banjo title were disappointing affairs. And Rare were not delivering the goods for their friends at XBOX either, with only the average ‘Grabbed by the Goulies’ to show for their efforts. The people of Nintendo now didn’t care Rare had gone, as their turnout to the market was so disappointing.
There may be life left in Rare though. Rare have confirmed a few follow-ons from their N64 titles, which include ‘Conker: Live and Uncut’ and ‘Perfect Dark Zero’. Plus, they have also unleashed new footage of GBA titles such as Banjo Pilot, and also have a new Banjo game in development for the XBOX, but whether it will appeal to the majority of adult gamers is yet to be seen.
So Rare basically are the tragedy of the gaming world. They looked so promising whilst working for Nintendo, but under Microsoft’s wings they have failed to produce. Could it be Microsoft’s fault for the decline? The questions are limitless, but one thing is for sure; Rare have gone from ‘Heroes’ to ‘Zeroes’ up until now. Only time will tell if Rare can start producing the magic they once did, but I fear their glory days are now over.
Rare started out life with Nintendo working on titles for the SNES. 1995 saw Rare produce their first masterpieces in the form on ‘Donkey Kong Country’, a project Nintendo handed to Rare, and also the gruesome brawler that was ‘Killer Instinct’. And looking from the majority of their titles, Rare were gearing up to be once of the most innovative games designers in the video games market.
Times then moved on, and Rare reached their peak during the years of the Nintendo 64. Starting out with enjoyable and original titles like ‘Blast Corps’ and ‘Diddy Kong Racing’, Rare then began to produce titles that were some of the best games to date. Rare stunned us all with ‘Goldeneye 007’, arguably the greatest FPS ever made and the game that sold N64s by the truck load, selling globally over 8 million copies.
Rare then took DK into the next generation, going 3D and by god did it go bananas, full of Rare’s trademark and humour, and accompanied a mouth-watering line-up of platformers on N64. Then came the ground-breaking adventures from Banjo and Kazooie, which were frighteningly huge and fantastic titles. They then shocked us Brits with the crude yet hilarious ‘Conker’s Bad Fur Day’, and accompanied it with the brilliant ‘Jet Force Gemini’ and the superb ‘Perfect Dark’. Now Rare were acclaimed world wide as one of the best developers on the market.
But then it all started to slope downhill for Rare. 2002 saw the launch of Nintendo Gamecube, and due to business reasons, Nintendo did not buy their remaining stake in Rare, instead selling them to Microsoft. The world was astonished, and many Nintendo followers were horrified at the news. But Rare did leave us with the good but not fantastic ‘Star Fox Adventures’, and confirmed to Nintendoroids that they would still produce GBA titles.
But from there on in the decline of Rare increased through the years. Their GBA titles were far from what they were capable of, as the likes of ‘Sabrewulf’ and the third Banjo title were disappointing affairs. And Rare were not delivering the goods for their friends at XBOX either, with only the average ‘Grabbed by the Goulies’ to show for their efforts. The people of Nintendo now didn’t care Rare had gone, as their turnout to the market was so disappointing.
There may be life left in Rare though. Rare have confirmed a few follow-ons from their N64 titles, which include ‘Conker: Live and Uncut’ and ‘Perfect Dark Zero’. Plus, they have also unleashed new footage of GBA titles such as Banjo Pilot, and also have a new Banjo game in development for the XBOX, but whether it will appeal to the majority of adult gamers is yet to be seen.
So Rare basically are the tragedy of the gaming world. They looked so promising whilst working for Nintendo, but under Microsoft’s wings they have failed to produce. Could it be Microsoft’s fault for the decline? The questions are limitless, but one thing is for sure; Rare have gone from ‘Heroes’ to ‘Zeroes’ up until now. Only time will tell if Rare can start producing the magic they once did, but I fear their glory days are now over.
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