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View Full Version : Did MS buy Rare???



CharlieHustle
09-11-2002, 08:37 PM
I saw the news alert from xbox.ign.com, but since im not an insider, i couldnt read the article, so i decided to browse the web, to find any news bout Rare. What i found was this:
From gameindustry.biz
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=663
Rare deal for Microsoft

Rob Fahey 17:06 09/09/2002
Nintendo second-party becomes a Microsoft first-party


British developer Rare, the legendary studio founded by the Stamper brothers, is thought to have been bought by Microsoft in a deal worth between £250 million and £350 million – with an official announcement expected at X02 in Seville later this month.

The studio, which has traditionally been seen as one of Nintendo’s leading second-party development houses – producing key titles for the N64 such as Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie and Jet Force Gemini – is currently working on Starfox Adventures for the GameCube, and the production of that title is thought to be unaffected by the deal.

The future of Rare’s other GameCube titles, however, is uncertain. Many of them may make the transition to the Xbox – with the forthcoming Perfect Dark 2 expected to be an Xbox exclusive title, for one. Work on the company’s Game Boy Advance titles is likely to continue unaffected, as Microsoft has already indicated a willingness to co-develop titles for that platform.

The strongest confirmation of the deal yet has come from sources within the company, who told us that employees were notified of the deal in the past fortnight. The Stamper family has made its intentions to leave the games industry clear for around two years, but a rumoured sale to Activision fell through when the number two publisher baulked at the asking price of the studio.

Nintendo is a major shareholder in Rare, owning approximately 49 per cent of the company; it’s thought that it will be selling its stake to Microsoft as part of the deal. Rare’s relationship with the Japanese platform holder has cooled significantly over the past few years, particularly due to the recent departure of long-time allies within Nintendo such as Howard Lincoln. Having persuaded vital Japanese giants such as Sega, Namco, Square and Capcom to develop for the Cube, Rare’s importance to Nintendo has diminished greatly, and the lure of Microsoft’s greenbacks seems to have been enough to convince them to part with their stake in the studio.

My question was is this good news or just news?
Im a grown man(27) and rare fits into nintendo mold of "kiddie games". will they actually make games for people like me or like i said is this just news??

SlightlySycho
09-11-2002, 09:36 PM
Rare also made Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, and Killer Instinct. They may use Nintendo's License, but that doesn't make them a "kiddie" developer.

Also, might I add that Rare is God of multiplayer? They make the best multiplayer modes of any developers, even with games that stress single player mode. Can you imagine them developing games for XBox Live? Gold, pure gold.

xboxmaster2002
09-11-2002, 09:54 PM
ok i saw this article before and it says an official announcement will be made on sept. 24th, guess what else is on the 24th... starfox for the gamecube im sure they didnt want to waste all that time so they want to release a big rare game before they sell to MS sounds right to me

EHWfedPres
09-12-2002, 01:27 AM
Originally posted by SlightlySycho
Rare also made Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, and Killer Instinct. They may use Nintendo's License, but that doesn't make them a "kiddie" developer.

Also, might I add that Rare is God of multiplayer? They make the best multiplayer modes of any developers, even with games that stress single player mode. Can you imagine them developing games for XBox Live? Gold, pure gold.


Theres not many good multiplayer games out for Xbox yet...too many single player titles...

Perfect Dark has a ton of bots tho, which is great...and I dunno if they made Goldeneye or not, but that game sucks IMO.

Piccolo_DBz
09-12-2002, 01:33 AM
They did make goldeneye and I loved it.

And I'm still gonna wait for an official announcement on this ordeal