200°

Ex-Rare Developer: “Microsoft Wanted to Make Rare into What it was With Nintendo”

Chris Seavor is a pretty chilled out guy. He worked at Rare for 17 years, overseeing many a legendary title like Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark and Conker’s Bad Fur Day (before and after it became the most risque game on a Nintendo console at the time). He also worked on a ton of canned games like Perfect Dark Core, a darker version of the title inspired by Deus-Ex; Urchin, a dark fantasy game focusing on “dirty fighting”; and Ordinary Joe, a horror title.

In an interview with Eurogamer, where he spoke at length about the titles and his departure from Rare, Seavor also talked about why Perfect Dark Core was shut down, and Microsoft’s vision for Rare.

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eurogamer.net
dedicatedtogamers4164d ago

The problem is that Microsoft wanted to make Rare into the CASH COW that it was with Nintendo. The problem is that when they let Rare do their own thing, they made Kameo, PDZ, and Viva Pinata 1 and 2. None of those games were the "cash cow" that Microsoft was looking for. So what did Microsoft do?

They milked.

"Oh, we're coming out with a new Banjo Kazooie game! But wait, because we want to push more XBL Gold subscriptions, let's radically change the core gameplay to allow for XBL online play"

And even THAT didn't work, which is why Rare now makes flail-your-arms Wii Sports clones nowadays.

StrongMan4164d ago

Well said. MS kills creativity. Even Bungie found a way to get out of their contract with MS so they wouldn't be locked in a basement making Halo forever.

from the beach4164d ago

Rare made the games they made, dude. I happen to think their output over the past decade has been very good, but if people within the company aren't happy they only have themselves to blame.

lategamer4164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

Rare made creative games. Grabbed by Ghoullies, Kameo, PDZ, Viva Pinata, and Nuts and Bolts. The thing was, the games didn't sell that well, nor were they AAA. Kameo has 79 on metacritic, PDZ has 81. And Microsoft let Rare do there thing, they didn't interfere. Rare fucked up, Microsoft has some part of the blame, but it's not like Rare wasn't given chances. They were given many chances.

Now, even if there games are not that great, they still sell well. And the Avatars they developed are still used and great source of income for Microsoft.

Edit: I wasn't a big fan of most of there (Xbox 360) games, but I have to admit, Viva Pinata was awesome. It's a shame it gets labeled as a kiddie game. Its very deep. If you haven't try the demo out on XBL and buy the game. It should be cheap now a days.

Cueil4164d ago

Bungie didn't find a way to get out of their contract they were wholly owned by Microsoft. They asked Microsoft if they could buy back their company and Microsoft respected the developer so much they allowed them to do so. You think Sony would let their studios buy themselves back to independence? Or that Activision would let Blizzard go? I don't think so.

THE_MACGREGOR4163d ago

In a basement? wow your a fool. Bungie had it made...apparently ya never watched the behind the scenes that shipped with halo 2....
and bungie got to branch out . They overseen the hd version of Marathon and I.P which they got to keep from Microsoft. M$ didnt do them any wrong . Prolly the one studio that was treated like a God above all else.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4163d ago
Eyeco4164d ago (Edited 4164d ago )

The thing that doesn't make sense to me is, why would Microsoft need a Talented dev like Rare, to make simple casual, lame Wii party game knock off's it makes absolutely zero sense to me, there are plenty of small niche 3rd party dev houses that can do that, just look at the Wii's library for christ sake.

it doesn't seem logical to spend £300 million on a talented dev just so they can end up making cheap Wii clones, yes their profitable but like I said there are plenty of small dev houses that would have done that and probably wouldn't have costed 300 million to purchase, what a waste of time, money, and talent.

lategamer4164d ago

Rare made many games over the years. Grabbed by Ghoulies, Conker Reloaded, PDZ, Kameo, etc. They didn't sell as well or were acclaimed as well as Microsoft would like. So Microsoft put them to work on Kinect games, which sold better than any of there previous games. As a business, Microsoft wants to make money. And that seems logical to me. Its a shame we won't see these franchises, maybe next gen :/?

GraveLord4164d ago

and even those Kinect Sports games aren't the blockbusters Microsoft wanted...

Locksus4164d ago

They've sold well nevertheless.

StrongMan4164d ago

Good read. So sad to see what they did it to RARE.

Eyeco4164d ago

In all fairness allot of their key players did leave in the early 2000's to fomr Free Radical, why do you think Timesplitters 2 was so badass

FarCryLover1824164d ago

Should have let Rare do whatever they wanted to do.

ronin4life4164d ago

There are three key Nintendo 2nd party studio stories; Rare, Silicone Knights and Retro.

Rare and Silicone Knights went straight to hell after their ties with Nintendo ended(with a former SK employee all but confirming Nintendo was an important driver in their management), and Retro was turned to gold after its aquisition by Nintendo.

While the whole Rare story speaks volumes of MS(as does Bungee) I think it also says a lot of Nintendo.

MorbidPorpoise4164d ago

'' I didn't like what was done with her character in Perfect Dark on Xbox 360. Personally, I didn't think the character was very strong, who she was. She is meant to be this assassin and it's like, oh, she looked a bit like a pantomime. She looked very corny.''

Couldnt agree more with him.

Would love to have seen Core finished, Zero to me lost the Cyberpunk and dark look and feel of the original, which was why I fell in love with the franchise.

More I read these (Been a fair few last couple of years) I really wish MS didnt shut down the devolpment of pretty much all there games, Urchin, Core, Kameo 2, Conker 2.... After the average launch release titles, these could have reinstated Rare to how they were with Ninty.

Its a shame they wernt given a 2nd chance.

Show all comments (28)
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?"

purple1016d 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 ☝️

Zeref5d 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.

DarXyde5d 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.

PhillyDonJawn5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

Einhander19725d 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.

MrBaskerville5d 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.

shinoff21835d 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.

Profchaos5d 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 5d ago
isarai6d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref5d 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.

MrNinosan5d ago

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

mkis0074d ago (Edited 4d ago )

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

Einhander19726d 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.

6d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19726d ago

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

6d ago
5d ago
Zeref5d 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.

DarXyde5d 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.

Einhander19725d 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.

Einhander19725d 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.

BehindTheRows5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

Zeref5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

Chevalier5d 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.

Tacoboto5d 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.

shinoff21835d ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto5d 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 5d ago
Hofstaderman5d 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?

crazyCoconuts5d 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.

Xeofate5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

crazyCoconuts4d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic4d 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.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel12d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8811d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing11d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS11d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder11d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff218310d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.