Dwarf_Pr0n
14th September 2002, 10:53
The Rare buy-out rumours continue - now it seems Microsoft may have already bought former Nintendo coders Rare.
It's enough to give you a headache - Rare are going multi-format, then they aren't, then they're being bought by Activision, then they aren't, then they're going to be bought by Microsoft, then they already have. If your head isn't spinning now, it may in a second - rumours suggest that Microsoft have already purchased Rare in a massive £350m deal. Apparently, it seems Nintendo have sold their 49% stake of Rare as part of the deal, and the Brit developers will now work exclusively for Xbox. Are we to believe this latest development in the Rare saga is true? It looks that way. An official Microsoft announcement is expected in two weeks at the X02 event in Seville.
Rumours of Rare's departure from Nintendo date way back to last Christmas, when a jovial Christmas card from the development team appeared to have multi-format consoles wrapped up under the tree. A subtle hint at things to come, or just a bit of a giggle? It was never discovered, but the next we heard was that American software giant Activision had taken the bait and had snapped up Rare in a multi-million dollar deal. But alas, this proved to be untrue, or at least, the deal never went through. According to sources, the price tag was too steep for Activision, and they backed down.
Money, of course, is no obstacle for Mr Gates and his merry men, and Microsoft were the next big name to be linked with the coders of Nintendo classics such as GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and Banjo Kazooie. Both parties intially played down the rumours, but they re-emerged again last week, and both companies have mysteriously remained silent on the matter. Now it appears the deal has already gone through, and Nintendo have relinquished their ties with Rare, and let their baby bird fly from the nest - after all, with big names queuing up to code for the GameCube, Rare are now not perhaps as precious as they once were to Nintendo.
The last 6 months has been a rocky road for Rare and Nintendo - the existence of major title Perfect Dark 2 was called into question on a number of occasions (so far we've seen no screens, no game info and no footage), and Rare were forced to make a number of cancellations, including Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers on GBA and Donkey Kong Racing on GameCube. Thankfully, it looks as though Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet will still release on GameCube, not surprising seeing as the game is around 95% complete and due before Christmas. Expect it to be the final game Rare make for the GameCube, but work is still to continue on Game Boy Advance titles - Microsoft don't see the colourful little critter as a competitor for their black slab, and are happy to co-develop titles for the GBA with Rare.
While the Xbox is certainly an impressive beast of a box, it still perhaps lacks any major killer apps (Halo excluded), and if one company is going to create these killer apps for you, it's going to be Rare. Perfect Dark Zero as an Xbox exclusive? I do apologise, my brain has just spontaneously combusted. We'll keep you posted with any major developments in this Channel 5 afternoon-esque saga.
It's enough to give you a headache - Rare are going multi-format, then they aren't, then they're being bought by Activision, then they aren't, then they're going to be bought by Microsoft, then they already have. If your head isn't spinning now, it may in a second - rumours suggest that Microsoft have already purchased Rare in a massive £350m deal. Apparently, it seems Nintendo have sold their 49% stake of Rare as part of the deal, and the Brit developers will now work exclusively for Xbox. Are we to believe this latest development in the Rare saga is true? It looks that way. An official Microsoft announcement is expected in two weeks at the X02 event in Seville.
Rumours of Rare's departure from Nintendo date way back to last Christmas, when a jovial Christmas card from the development team appeared to have multi-format consoles wrapped up under the tree. A subtle hint at things to come, or just a bit of a giggle? It was never discovered, but the next we heard was that American software giant Activision had taken the bait and had snapped up Rare in a multi-million dollar deal. But alas, this proved to be untrue, or at least, the deal never went through. According to sources, the price tag was too steep for Activision, and they backed down.
Money, of course, is no obstacle for Mr Gates and his merry men, and Microsoft were the next big name to be linked with the coders of Nintendo classics such as GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and Banjo Kazooie. Both parties intially played down the rumours, but they re-emerged again last week, and both companies have mysteriously remained silent on the matter. Now it appears the deal has already gone through, and Nintendo have relinquished their ties with Rare, and let their baby bird fly from the nest - after all, with big names queuing up to code for the GameCube, Rare are now not perhaps as precious as they once were to Nintendo.
The last 6 months has been a rocky road for Rare and Nintendo - the existence of major title Perfect Dark 2 was called into question on a number of occasions (so far we've seen no screens, no game info and no footage), and Rare were forced to make a number of cancellations, including Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers on GBA and Donkey Kong Racing on GameCube. Thankfully, it looks as though Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet will still release on GameCube, not surprising seeing as the game is around 95% complete and due before Christmas. Expect it to be the final game Rare make for the GameCube, but work is still to continue on Game Boy Advance titles - Microsoft don't see the colourful little critter as a competitor for their black slab, and are happy to co-develop titles for the GBA with Rare.
While the Xbox is certainly an impressive beast of a box, it still perhaps lacks any major killer apps (Halo excluded), and if one company is going to create these killer apps for you, it's going to be Rare. Perfect Dark Zero as an Xbox exclusive? I do apologise, my brain has just spontaneously combusted. We'll keep you posted with any major developments in this Channel 5 afternoon-esque saga.