1010°

Microsoft thought they owned Donkey Kong

According to former Rare employee and “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” director, Chris Seavor, Microsoft mistakenly thought they owned the Donkey Kong franchise after they bought Rare.

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examiner.com
gamer423969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

This makes me appreciate the fact that we're getting another donkey kong country from Retro even more. Because if microsft did end up owning DK, we wouldn't be seeing much of him.

UNGR3969d ago

You know that how exactly? DK is a huge franchise, Microsoft would milk it if anything.

Jagsrock3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

@UNGR
He knows because Banjo-Kazooie.

gamer423969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

Banjo-Kazooie was a big franchise as well, but we don't see much of them now do we? Except for a game that left a majority of fans disappointed, Microsoft hasn't taken advantage of any of Rare's major Ips. Killer Instinct is a step in the right direction, but whether it's good or not is yet to be known.

FlyingFoxy3969d ago

Well they milked Halo, which wasn't even special in the first place.. already has more sequels than Half Life or Doom.

husomc3969d ago

They'd make a Donkey Kong & Master Chief save the world game

SilentNegotiator3969d ago

Darn, I was really hoping to see "Donkey Kong: Forced XBL and Kinect Features, and Bolts"

/s

Thank God Nintendo retained that IP.

blacktiger3969d ago

He knows because Killer Instinct. My favourite game of all time became my graveyard. Or at least forgotten :(

abzdine3969d ago

Soon they will think that they own Zelda.

Facepalm

slaton243969d ago

ok look how long for killer instinct it took missing a whole generation just to finally do a game...I think donkey kong would have been shelved because so many gamers on 360 were mostly into shooters I may be wrong but its my opinion.

southernbanana3969d ago

@Flying fox. That is the most ridiculous comment I have read on here in a while..

karl3968d ago

im sorry but the only one who can make a donkey kong game is nintendo..

it needs certain magic that only nintendo has...

Shane Kim3968d ago

@karl

To be honest though, every DK game worth playing and wich became popular has been made by rareware. The 80's Nintedo DK games are pretty mediocre,.

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 3968d ago
LackTrue4K3969d ago

im not even a fan of Donkey Kong, but im glad they did not get them.....what a bunch of morons! lol...

thebigman3969d ago

Rare isn't even developing KI, it's being outsourced to another company. Rare will never be the company they were

Smashbro293968d ago

Miyamoto made up a generic gorilla but the DK we know today that fights crocodiles for bananas and wears a tie was made by Rare.

thecurseddevil3969d ago

lol.
they would have made a kinect donkey kong.

Syntax-Error3969d ago

How many Kinect games did you see @ E3?

Blachek3969d ago

That Wii Bongo version of Donkey Kong was a ton of fun

itBourne3969d ago

Microsoft isnt even letting Rare do the Killer Instinct game either. Lol poor rare, altough Im sure at this point rare is just a name, I cant imagine most of the original employees have stayed there.

BDSE3969d ago

None of them are there.

Syntax-Error3969d ago

Seriously? No one from the original Rare is there. They gave it to a new team that was ambitious and hungry. Rare had a shot and look what they did to Perfect Dark Zero. They just didnt have what it took to be what they were. Some developers regress and Rare was one of them. Killer Instinct took a long time because of legal issues, it wasn't because of MS. When MS was granted the IP the first thing they did was secure the domain name.

Veneno3969d ago

As ridiculous as that is, my xbot buddy thinks you can download mario games from xbox live and he believes Microsoft own EA. I try my hardest to educate him but I think he likes deluding himself.

jeffgoldwin3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

Maybe he's thinking all of his Ron Jeremy videos are Mario irl.

It's a me MARIO: http://ronjeremy.com/

HonestDragon3969d ago

Can't say you don't try. He isn't the only Xbox owner to think Mario is available on the 360.

wastedcells3968d ago (Edited 3968d ago )

They must of over paid for rare then if they thought DK was part of the deal lol. I joke. Did they think they got golden eye too.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3968d ago
DarkBlood3969d ago

HA lol

As the terminator said in the gunshop "Wrong"

Enemy3969d ago

Well, they do own Killer Instinct, which for some reason "adapted" the same exact art style from Street Fighter 4.

sAVAge_bEaST3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

yea, but donkey kong is a totally different beast.
born in the arcade by nintendo, -gave birth to mario, and the princess.
This is Nintendo[s baby, and how M$ thought they could just buy it ,, is hilarious,.
(rare developed KI)

Gamerchik873969d ago

Your hilarious lol are u on this site all day?? Are u getting paid by sony to rag on M.S all day? U have something negative to say on just about every subject that has to do with M.S or u will find a way to involve M.S into your comments lol CRAZY!!

InTheLab3969d ago

@gamerchik

Until MS earns back the respect of gamers, that deserve every bit of static they receive. They have accomplished nothing in this industry with third and last place finishes for a few console gens but are somehow arrogant enough to try and screw over loyal customers. The last few months has shown the world that MS is a s$$$ company that throws piles of cash at problems instead of fixing them and is willing to inconvenience consumers at every turn.

After the xbone, ALL MS hate is justified.

As for the topic, MS did what they always do. Drop a huge chunk of cash and hope for the best.All they got in return is Conker and a depleted Rare that's really in name only.

Imalwaysright3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

Donkey Kong was the 1st platformer ever made and it is without any doubt one of the most influential and revolutionary games ever made. Donkey Kong's legacy is much bigger than just Mario or Peach. Donkey Kong is the "father" of every platforming game ever made.

sAVAge_bEaST3969d ago

w0e , calm down there REP.manager. , I'm just keeping it real,,
not my fault. M$ makes daily mistakes.

b3ast3969d ago

gamerchik is there anything good to say about MS? and WTF has DK to do with Sony, you must feel threaten you silly fangirl!

glennco3969d ago

One exec!?! Surely not even a rabid fanboy can delude themselves into thinking one naive exec equals an entire company. You are delusional like any other fanboy. This site is getting unbearable.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3969d ago
Darrius Cole3969d ago

Donkey Kong is the first appearance of Mario. Anyone who thought that Microsoft could possibly have bought it should not be working in the Xbox division of Microsoft.

Syntax-Error3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

What does Donkey Kong have to do with Mario? Just because Mario was in the original game has nothing to do with the character Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong can be sold without Mario you dummy. If Rare bought the Donkey Kong IP and MS bought it from them then DK would be owned by MS. Learn something. Did you see Mario in Donkey Kong Country? No, so why would one have anything to do with the other? How old are you? It wasn't MS that thought they owned DK, it was some idiot thinking they did because of Rare's name on the DKC poster. Same can be said when morons in here make dumb assumptions

callahan093969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

@Syntax-Error

His point wasn't that Nintendo couldn't sell the Donkey Kong IP without selling Mario, it was that they WOULDN'T! Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first major successful release in the video game industry and it is one of the most iconic games and IPs of all time. Anybody who thought Nintendo would sell that IP without doing a complete firesale of the entir company's assets was being delusional.

Syntax-Error3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

Now you're over-thinking the comment. NOWHERE in his comment did it say what you said. He said "DK is the first appearance of Mario.." He didnt mention anything about DK being Nintendo's first major hit. Stop thinking for someone else and worry about why you're sounding like a fanboy trying to sugarcoat his ignorance. Also, you don't know what they would do concerning an IP. Miyamoto wasn't part of DKC and Rare made the game NOT Nintendo, so don't think Nintendo is exclusive with its IP's

yewles13969d ago

This has got to be a joke...

PeaSFor3969d ago (Edited 3969d ago )

after all, the douche majornelson also said that MGS5 was XBONE exclusive...... so yeah....

that guy is something special....really easy to detest as you can see http://youtu.be/yWfJQAI42t0...

christian hour3969d ago

PeaSFor thank you so much for that video :)

PeaSFor3969d ago

@christian hour
@thebigman

hate to do publicity, but subscribe if you like it and you wont be disapointed by FarFromSubtle channel.

badboy7763969d ago

yewles1 I'm just glad they don't!!!!

Show all comments (154)
250°

More Job Losses At Xbox, “There’s More To Come”: Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott in a recent episode commented on the on-going Microsoft fiasco hinting at more job losses and that "there's more to come".

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spieltimes.com
Sonic188113h ago(Edited 13h ago)

There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future . Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. It might take two decades to do that.

sagapo10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

I don’t understand what you’re saying. Xbox IS microsoft so there’s no “paying back “.
And MS gross profit in 2023 was over 140 billion dollars so forget your 2 decades.

Unless you mean the money MS invested in Xbox (acquisitions included) and the time it will take for xbox as a brand to gain that money back on it’s own, then yeah, that could take a while.

romulus234h ago

The better term to use might be return on investment, xbox is simply a division of Microsoft one that MS can easily do away with if profit margins are not met. So in that regard he's right, if xbox isn't showing the expected return on investment the higher ups are expecting than it's unlikely Microsoft will acquire any other studios any time soon, especially if they are spending billions buying developers just to shut them down in the end.

SonyStyled9h ago

“There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future”

No bro, there do be is for Microsoft not acquiring for what is now if not what it be is 😂

Ms3tjt7h ago

“ Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. ”

Aka

“I don’t know how business works”

Domkakop6h ago

You might need to take a good hard look in the mirror

Ms3tjt6h ago

Yeah I forgot Xbox is separate from Microsoft and Xbox borrowed the 69bn from Microsoft, and Microsoft didn’t get COD, Candy crush etc in return 😂😂👏

jwillj2k413h ago

There really needs to be a class action lawsuit here. You buy these companies just to put people out of jobs. And it’s not like something happened to derail their plans this WAS the plan. Microsoft has no business in this space at all.

franwex12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Microsoft has been doing this for years. They simply want the IPs. Look at Nokia. Look at Skype. This time it simply expanded to games. Gaming is not as important to Microsoft’s executives as it was to the founders too. Bill Gates was willing to sell the og Xbox at a loss. Steve Balmer approved the red ring of death fiasco. This CEO isn’t really a gamer.

-Foxtrot12h ago

Maybe it's time though to put a stop to it and use a big giant like Microsoft as a huge example to the rest of these big companies.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere.

People like the FTC and the like went against Microsoft yet their Actvision deal was still allowed to go through yet look what's happened...it's not even Acitivisions studios aswell, it's Bethesdas.

RNTody12h ago

Ninja Theory, Perfect Dark, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Wolfenstein 3, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake... something tells me that bad things are going to happen to these entities under Microsoft.

MrDead2h ago

ID software, the makers of Doom and Wolfenstein that have been with us since 1991 could be gone and MS will keep the IPs.

I hope some of these studios can buy their freedom from MS otherwise this is going to be even more devastating for the industry and gamers.

anast12h ago

Good thing the bosses of all those small studios made their money.

glenn197911h ago

they cant do it right now they will get burned

Show all comments (36)
90°

Microsoft Opening Xbox Mobile Game Store in July

The Xbox brand is expanding, as an Xbox mobile game store is opening this coming July where Microsoft will brings its "first-party portfolio."

Jin_Sakai2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

“Bond adds that they will start on the web”

This will go nowhere.

Nice knowing you Xbox. This is what happens when the house never gets cleaned.

MrDead2d ago

The only this MS is expanding is the amount of feculence it sprays on everyone who just want to enjoy gaming and make games.

The best thing MS can do for the gaming industry is leave and never return.

XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Good luck with this even it might not succeed.

Show all comments (7)
210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga1d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow2d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1821d 13h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie1d 3h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow1d 2h ago (Edited 1d 2h ago )

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

22h ago
Hereandthere18h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 18h ago
Notellin1d ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

22h ago
Hereandthere18h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

ApocalypseShadow4h ago

Lying to yourself is unbecoming.

Article link tells you all you need to know in Sarah Bond's own words.

Hereandthere18h ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

ApocalypseShadow4h ago

At least you and others get it. Note drank the Kool aid and asked for seconds thinking it was refreshing.

Most don't even know how it all played out but it's there in black and white for all to see. Microsoft brought it up for years until the MLB forced Sony's hand. It was a win win for Microsoft. Kill one reason to buy a PlayStation or kill the game by dropping it in a cheap service to kill Sony's sales numbers on PlayStation.

OtterX1d 16h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

RNTody1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno1d 15h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Sheppard7t31d 13h ago

How did Sony kill the series?

Inverno1d 13h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

22h ago
fsfsxii23h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno22h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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