410°

Microsoft, You Stripped Rare Of Its Soul, Talent, and Great Developers, It's Time To Let Them Go

By: Furious Francis - Owner & Editor In Chief

A lot of you guys might be too young to remember, but at one point Rare used to be the Retro or Naughty Dog of the gaming industry. Rare made classics on the Super Nintendo like Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct. Innovative, moving, and graphically superior to 99% of the other SNES games. Rare defined the mid 90's for graphically enhanced Super Nintendo Games.

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playeressence.com
Blankman854214d ago

RARE stories always make it to the top here and that's why they'll keep coming.
I don't mind the articles, they keep Those We Do Not Speak Of happy and distracted.

Theyellowflash304214d ago

I loved Rare growing up, what Microsoft did to them is horrible and should be written about a million times.

Dr_Salvitor4214d ago

yeah i die a little inside every time i think about it. good thing the people who left are trying to form together and make good games like the real spiritual successor to banjo.

iamnsuperman4214d ago (Edited 4214d ago )

What happened to Rare is bad but an article about Microsoft letting rare go is dumb. Rare have/are made/making profitable games for Microsoft so why would Microsoft let them go.

4214d ago
SilentNegotiator4214d ago

Too many people blame employees leaving the studio, but Kameo proved that Rare had some of their charm and good design still around at the turn of the generation.

And BK: Nuts and Bolts probably never would have been a racer if MS had not been pushing XBL on the studio. And then they pushed Kinect on the studio and that was the end of it. The talent that showed itself in very early 360 titles was buried in gimmicks and forced multiplayer.

NewMonday4213d ago (Edited 4213d ago )

Kameo was a game by Rare with very big potential

unfortunately Kinect happened

Eyeco4213d ago

Microsoft bought Rare for 300 million have they actually made any game that was worthy of their price tag ?

Highlife4213d ago

What's the point. Rare isn't Rare anymore anyway.

wastedcells4213d ago

True, something must be wrong there.. Rare, Bungie, Bizarre and ensemble just to name a few of the top all either left, shut down or failed miserably years after Microsoft got their hands on them. wonder why?

fei-hung4213d ago

Questions for those who gave a 360:

1) would you prefer if Rare developed games like they did on the N64 as supposed to what they gave developed under MS?

2) do you hold MS or Rare accountable for a lack of quality titles that were developed by Rare on the N64?

3) do you think Rare developing titles like they did on the N64 would have performed better or worse than those now?

4) would MS and or Rare been better of with those titles or their current titles under MS?

Sitdown4213d ago

If Microsoft was the downfall of RARE, why was Nintendo okay with letting them walk? Nintendo saw the writing on the wall, and Microsoft just got stuck holding the bag.

AAACE54213d ago

Most of the good people had already left rare before ms bought them. Ms just wanted their popular games and hoped there was still some talent left who could bring them back up.

Ms will probably disband rare and hand the franchises off to a different studio within 2 years.

Y_51504213d ago

@SilentNegotiator Oh yeah! Kameo was the ONLY game ever made me oh so close on making the decision to go 360!

AzaziL4213d ago (Edited 4213d ago )

Microsoft took the "Killer Instinct" out of em, get it?

*crickets*

Nah honestly, Rare could make one of the most anticipated fighting games since MK and SF, but we all know it'll never happen, RIP.

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 4213d ago
Alos884214d ago

"Those We Do Not Speak Of"? That's an accurate title, since I have no idea who you are talking about.

SilentNegotiator4214d ago (Edited 4214d ago )

Because everyone with anything vaguely negative to say about the 360 is a PS3 saboteur.

I mean, how could a true 360 fan be disappointed with the direction MS took Rare?

lol

Knight_Crawler4213d ago (Edited 4213d ago )

Question to the author of these article: How do you know Rare is not happier now with MS? MS pays these guys good and MS also gave these guys a huge building with lots of toys.

People think the because your not making AAA games that developers are unhappy but developers do not think like celebs and as long as they are making games and have a steady income they are happy.

Working on AAA game sis way more stressful and time consuming that working on smaller projects...Rare are happy at MS and I do not think that they would want to go on there own and have a 50% chace on failing and loosing everything.

Go watch the making of Gears of War 1, those guys were practically living at the EPIC building - I can see why Cliffy B wanted a break.

The old Rare died before MS purchased them and MS did Rare a favour because Nintendo was ready to shut them down.

Theyellowflash304213d ago

why did all of Rare's top developers leave and second guess MS everymove if they were happy with them?

Freak of Nature4213d ago

Rare stories make it to the top because people know what they "were"...

But hope burns eternal... Rare is diversifying, they are looking for 2D and 3D artists to create art for **Win 8 Mobile and Tablet devices**...

They are looking for experienced people to run online services or Free-to-play experiences....

But in the end I wish the Stamper brothers were still there and true blue old school Banjo's and Conkers were being given this gen and Next gen reboots...

Beastforlifenoob4213d ago

Funny thing is Micro payed 375MIL to Rare, everyone here is acting like Microsoft stole the company THE COMPANY SOLD ITSELF TO MICROSOFT CORPORATION FOR 375.000.000 DOLLARS NO ONE STOLE THE COMPANY CALM DOWN!!!

fermcr4213d ago

Microsoft gave Rare a couple of chances, but they simply didn't deliver stellar games for the X360... so now they make Kinect games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4213d ago
4214d ago Replies(6)
1upgamer994214d ago

No kidding, Rare was awesome. When you bought a game and it had Rare on it you knew it was going to be AWESOME. Now look at them. I wish Nintendo would have out bid Microsoft for Rare.

KMCROC544213d ago

how can u outbid yourself
when you are saling the remaning stake in said company.

Bowzabub4214d ago

Meh, they should have made a Master Chiefs Bad Fur Day... Would've sold 12 million on day 1!!!

DasTier4214d ago

Hell, your not half wrong. If they came out with a modern Conker game which involved/mocked all of the 360 exclusives such as Halo, GOW, and even go back as far as the Kameo/PGR games. I would buy it, I bet they could easily make a great game out of that.

Belking4214d ago

Hate to disappoint people but MS is keeping Rare. MS actually brought them back to profitability. Blame nintendo for letting them go. Anyway, I'm excited to see their new games on xbox720.

NYC_Gamer4214d ago

But where are the quality Rare games?that's fine them making profit and all.

Belking4214d ago

Every game Rare has made for xbox is quality to me. Its totally subjective. They are now profiting again with MS and that's what counts. Their Kinect games have sold millions and it has been confirmed they are developing two to three titles for xbox 720 and they aren't kine t only titles.

Neonridr4213d ago

so sales = quality now? If that is the case then the Call of Duty games are the highest quality games around. Kinect Sports is cute and all, but hardly compelling stuff from the studio that brought us Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and Conker.

1upgamer994213d ago

At this point in time they can have Rare...None of the original GREAT Rare game designers are there anyway. Now Rare is just a name that was once good. No real great games in the past 10 years. So Microsoft has no big win on that anyway.

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240°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere10h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN8h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos5h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

peppeaccardo16m ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

PassNextquestion10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger8h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Profchaos10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto9h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos9h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long6h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel8h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator8h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

Show all comments (16)
80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10111d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref10d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde10d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197210d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville10d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff218310d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos10d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
isarai11d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref10d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan10d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis00710d ago (Edited 10d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197211d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

11d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197211d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

11d ago
11d ago
Zeref10d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde10d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197210d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197210d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier10d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto10d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff218310d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto10d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Hofstaderman11d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts10d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts9d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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