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"Another Rare rumour..."

You won't know who I am (well, SR staff can find out, but that's besides the point), but I am a regular user here who wishes to post this anonymously, for reasons I do not wish to disclose.

I have just been told something by a friend which I want to share. I promise you I am not posting this just for kicks or to start malicious rumours. I make no claims as to its reliability, apart from the fact that I am 100% sure that this friend has no interest in console wars or rumour-mongering. He's not really even a 'gamer' himself.

There have been many rumours about Rare lately, and this is another. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned. If it has, I haven't seen it, and so I apologise now.

A friend of this friend apparently works for Rare (something which I never knew and cannot vouch for), and allegedly it "seems increasingly likely" that Rare are about to be bought out by Microsoft.

Remember that Nintendo don't own Rare - the brothers who founded the company own 51% of the shares - a controlling interest. If they were to sell to Microsoft, who knows what would happen.

Again, for those with short memories - I am not claiming that ANY of this is true. It is purely rumour/hearsay/speculation, but the source - unofficial though it may be - would seem to me to be 100% reliable.

Insane Bartender wrote:
> of course, why exactly the methods used by MS to pry 49% of Rare
> shares from Nintendo (the only real option being to go out and try to
> BUY them) will be of interest to anyone is a mystery.

Nothing much interests you, does it? :-)

Let's see, shall we...

POTENTIALLY, one major player in the videogame industry COULD be about to buy out a software company from under the very noses of a major rival, who have had a close alliance with the software company for many years.

Of course you're right - this obviously is of no interest to gamers!


> And rumours are speculation, and by their very nature hold nothing to
> the truth, so you really didn't have to bother declaring it so
> vividly, unless of course you expected response.

I've been around these forums long enough to know that, however much you state such things, it still escapes the grasp of some people. Of course I expected response - just not for the reasons or of the kind you're thinking of.


> And indeed, why else would you post a rumour with absolutely no
> backing evidence unless you were looking for reaction?

Purely information. Did you quiz SR as to why they posted a news article about the Xmas card? That had little (if any) more credibility than what I have posted here.


> Besides, even if it were true, it would come to nothing. The Japanese
> are inherently possesive in this matter, and it wouldn't surprise me
> to see the likes of SEGA dipping into their pockets to help Nintendo
> buy a few more of those Rare shares.

A good thought, except that the founders of Rare aren't Japanese, and - should there be any truth in this rumour - would be likely to sell to the highest bidder. I doubt that Nintendo and Sega combined would be able to compete with MS, if MS were determined to make the purchase.

of course, why exactly the methods used by MS to pry 49% of Rare shares from Nintendo (the only real option being to go out and try to BUY them) will be of interest to anyone is a mystery.

And rumours are speculation, and by their very nature hold nothing to the truth, so you really didn't have to bother declaring it so vividly, unless of course you expected response.

And indeed, why else would you post a rumour with absolutely no backing evidence unless you were looking for reaction?

Besides, even if it were true, it would come to nothing. The Japanese are inherently possesive in this matter, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the likes of SEGA dipping into their pockets to help Nintendo buy a few more of those Rare shares.

but blah blah blah, speculation, blah blah, rumour, blah blah no evidence etc etc blah blah.

Semajal wrote:
> why would Rare let themselves be bought out by MS??

Money would be the obvious answer, IF it were true.

It all depends how much Microsoft would offer them. Everyone has their price - or so they say.

Insane Bartender wrote:
> Why anyone would really care about MS having an interest in
> Rare is truly beyond me.

Fair enough, but people obviously do have an interest - hence all the speculation on these very forums surrounding the infamous Rare Christmas card.

> So if Microsoft buy 51% of Rare, that leaves
> the other 49% (probably mostly Nintendo) out of their hands, which is
> still a major shareholder, so they'd have to continue putting out
> Nintendo titles.

But assuming for a moment that it did turn out to be true, I'm sure MS would do everything in their power to get hold of the other 49%. Which would certianly make things interesting.


> This isn't news, it's blatant propoganda, and you ARE looking for
> reaction in my opinion.

Well, this is one occasion when I can actually tell someone that their opinion is actually 100% wrong. And yours is.

I never claimed it was 'news'. Even the subject header says "rumour". It was posted purely and simply for information, and I also made it quite clear in the post that I could not and did not claim that any of it was anything other than rumour and speculation.

Only I know my true reasons for posting the original message, and they most certianly weren't for propaganda or provoking "typical" responses from anyone.

Of course, there is no way that I can't prove it. All I can do is give people my word that my reasons were, as already stated, purely to provide information for people to discuss.

It is information given 'in good faith'. It's up to the individual whether or not they believe that.

The only "reaction" I am looking for is peoples honest thoughts and opinions if it were to be true. What, if anything, would it mean for Nintendo, etc.

and there Or†ega ..is your typical ninty responce

why would Rare let themselves be bought out by MS??

i mean its not like the Xbox is doing amazingly well is it.

The Rumours are started by PS2 or MS fans who can't hack it that Rare only make amazing games for Nintendo.

I might believe this if the Cube was failing but from what ive heard (10,000 cubes sold in first 2 hours of release) its doing very well.

Pseudonym wrote:
> I don't care if the Ninties pout and scream, I don't care of PS2
> owners laugh their socks off, and I don't care if Xbox owners choose
> to gloat about it.

Last time i looked, mergers and acquisitions wasn't high on the attention list of most gamers, be they Nintys, XBOX lovers or Sony gamers. Why anyone would really care about MS having an interest in Rare is truly beyond me. So if Microsoft buy 51% of Rare, that leaves the other 49% (probably mostly Nintendo) out of their hands, which is still a major shareholder, so they'd have to continue putting out Nintendo titles.

This isn't news, it's blatant propoganda, and you ARE looking for reaction in my opinion.

Or†ega wrote:
> Probably...its just someone looking for the typical "ninty
> reaction"

Absolutely not.

I'm not looking for any type of reaction from any particular group of gamers. I'm simply passing on something that I was told earlier today.

I don't care if the Ninties pout and scream, I don't care of PS2 owners laugh their socks off, and I don't care if Xbox owners choose to gloat about it.

It's information as I have heard it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Meka Dragon wrote:
> I find it a little ironic that Rare rumours are so common.
>
> (That's because I don't understand irony)

how ironic! :D
slik ~_~

I find it a little ironic that Rare rumours are so common.

(That's because I don't understand irony)