280°

“Rare makes the kind of games the world doesn’t already have” – The Legend of Rare

We talk to Rare about what makes it one of the UK’s longest-running and most important development studios.

Mr Pumblechook1490d ago

The industry should be celebrated - but for exceptional achievement and the middling Metacritic scores for Rare's biggest recent game (XBO 69%, PC 67%) suggest this isn't the case. Rare has made a multiplayer game which some people enjoy but to allow their own comment that “Rare makes the kind of games the world doesn’t already have” as the headline is just allowing the subject to control the editorial angle, MCV and writer Seth Barton have let themselves down, this is just a puff piece.

carcarias1489d ago

Agreed.

I would also argue that Rare suffers from simply not being the same company it used to be in terms of staff and vision, similar in some ways to the decline of Bioware.

If they want to big up a UK company there are better ones to choose from nowadays.

Nyxus1490d ago

"With the studio having succeeded, critically and commercially, in bringing gamers together in its social-centric pirate simulator. It looks to be continuing on that core idea of social gaming in Everwild."

Was kinda hoping that would be a single player game again...

Obscure_Observer1490d ago

"Was kinda hoping that would be a single player game again..."

Single player, yes. That´s what I think Everwild is about. Some co-op modes are to be expected though.

Ausbo1490d ago

If everwild launches in the state that sea of thieves does, I’m out.
It needs to at minimum have a story at launch. None of this “discover your own story” that they advertised with sea of thieves.

PyroMessiah861490d ago

Sea Of Thieves has a fair bit of content now though and gets better and better. I've had a lot of fun with it. If it was released now Metacritic would be like a 85 or so

CaptainCook1489d ago (Edited 1489d ago )

Sea of Thieves still had more content than Gran Turismo Sports on day one

kltpzyxm1490d ago

Wish they would go back to making great games

isarai1490d ago

Lets see, wii sports ripoff for Kinect, Pirate MMO, Fantasy MMO, how are these things we haven't already had?

Obscure_Observer1490d ago

@isarai

SoT is a UNIQUE game! There´s nothing out there to compare. Quit the falacy and give credit when credit is due.

isarai1490d ago

Blackwake and Atlas my guy, and im sure there's more buried deep in steam somewhere

NecrumOddBoy1490d ago

And they released a barren waste of a launch to get ahead of Ubisoft's Skull & Bones which looks to crush it as pirate skim (Black Flag still is one of the greatest in the theme).

Rare that we grew up with is long gone.

MrVux0001490d ago

Keep telling yourself that.

The undeniable truth is, the old ''Rare'' that i loved and praised many times in the past, is long gone.

neutralgamer19921490d ago

Obscure

Credit for what exactly? Launching a game with barely any content ? Boring repetitive and now if they finally improved it we need to start giving credit why ?

Launch you game ready to play especially I am talking about console makers. They are wealthy enough to not launch a game before it's ready(I am talking about Sony, Ms and Nintendo)

Dragonscale1489d ago

Black Flag had better pirate elements and was actually good unlike sea of theives.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1489d ago
1489d ago
CaptainOmega1490d ago

What are they even talking about? Maybe 20 years ago this applied to them.. but wtf has Rare done lately to make a game the world doesn’t already have?

Obscure_Observer1490d ago

Sea of Thieves.

No company has a game like that.

rainslacker1490d ago

There are any number of Korean MMOs that have the same quest grinding structure as SOT. Maybe not set on a boat, but that one thing hardly makes them unique enough to warrant the claim made by the title.

CaptainOmega1490d ago

i hope you’re kidding...

ziggurcat1490d ago

"Sea of Thieves.

No company has a game like that."

Just Cause would like to have a word with you...

1490d ago
WickedLester1490d ago (Edited 1490d ago )

There's a reason for that. Were it not for Game Pass this game would be a distant memory. Even those numbers are deceptive. Just because a thousand Game Pass subscribers stopped by Snooze of Thieves for 15 minutes, MS counts that as 1000 people are "active players". That's a bogus metric.

ShadowWolf7121489d ago

That's because they have quality control. :P

No but seriously, MMOs are a dime a dozen, and the state SoT released in had it generic as hell. Even now it doesn't look a whole lot better, imo.

They certainly are NOT making games the world doesn't already have. Even their next one looks to be taking visual cues from Breath of the Wild and Horizon, at the very least.

1489d ago
Black-Helghast1489d ago

@iceman

Or maybe most people have common sense and know that Rare is not what it was and shouldn't be making claims as if they were the valve or the naughty dogs of the gaming industry.

ziggurcat1489d ago

@shaggy:

Open world sandbox. Doesn't matter whether it's an online pirate game or a single player game with huge destruction. Lots of companies have had games like SoT, it's not a unique concept.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1489d ago
Show all comments (48)
80°

Rockstar Games Founder's New Studio Is Working On AAA Open World Action Adventure Game

Rockstar Games founder Dan Houser's new studio, Absurd Ventures, is currently working on a AAA open world action adventure game.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
porkChop15h ago

I'm really curious to see what he's going to do. It seems like a GTA-style game, but I wonder how it'll differentiate itself.

Goodguy013h ago(Edited 3h ago)

A new studio making a AAA game. Yea, that'll go well. I still think new studios should only make small games for a few years to build up teamwork and trust within.

shinoff21832h ago

That's a good point but if they have the talent it may not be needed

Mr_cheese57m ago

And the industry experience like this guy clearly does

anast28m ago

If it weren't one of the founder's of one of the most prolific open-world game studios, I would agree.

120°

Hypercharge Unboxed Dev Saddened By Claims It'll Be 'Dead' Without Xbox Game Pass

One of the big Xbox releases heading our way in May 2024 is the long-awaited Hypercharge Unboxed, which is finally bringing its "first and third-person shooter action figure game" to Xbox consoles on Friday, May 31st.

Sadly, ahead of launch, the game's official Twitter (or "X") account has been highlighting the "trolls" who are claiming that because it's not launching on Game Pass, Hypercharge Unboxed is already set up for failure on Xbox.

helicoptergirl1d 7h ago

It's horrible what people will say, but the truth might be harsh. There is a good chance it might not do well on Xbox if it's not on GamePass. There is a strong possibility that is the case. We'll see.

When it launches on Playstation in the future you can rest assured it will sell much better. The devs have confirmed it's coming to Playstation in the future.

"It is built in the Unreal Engine 4. The game was released on the Nintendo eShop on January 31, 2020 and on Steam on April 27, 2020. The development of Hypercharge: Unboxed for the Xbox platform was officially announced on July 16, 2022, with the developers also confirming future support for the PlayStation."

ZeekQuattro1d 6h ago

I remember having this on my radar years ago for the Switch but never pulled the trigger on it. Crazy it's still not on PlayStation yet.

northpaws22h ago

And that's the problem of GamePass.

JEECE21h ago

Unfortunately once people are conditioned to expect to get something as part of a subscription they already pay for, they are unlikely to buy it a la carte. Some games, including this one, now look like "Gamepass Games" to a huge chunk of the Xbox audience. Maybe this game will buck that trend, and I wish them luck, but I'd imagine they'll have a rough go trying to sell this game on Xbox.

shinoff218320h ago

Hopefully their game not selling on Xbox doesn't stop them from bringing it to ps. I can't imagine why a developer would go Xbox first if their not on gamepass. Good luck to them though.

JEECE20h ago

Yeah I can't figure that out either. I mean I understand why you go there first if you get a Gamepass payday, but if you are just trying to sell copies it doesn't make sense. Fewer users overall, and a smaller percentage of those users are willing to buy indie games a la carte.

Jingsing19h ago

Yeah, I can't understand it either unless there is some deep routed fan-boyism from the developer, which isn't very clever if you are trying to make a living. Fatshark is a perfect example of a developer sending their games to die on Xbox and they kept doing it.

Jingsing19h ago

British guy saying Xbox is his dream console doesn't really sit right does it. 5 generations of PlayStation in the UK and you haven't figured out what console is going to make you the most money. That is the mistake you've made.

JEECE9h ago

I wonder how old he is and when he got into gaming. For a certain segment of gamers, it can be difficult to overstate how influential the Xbox 360 was.

Jingsing5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Fair, but by the end part of the 360 it was a pretty much a damp squid and then they've had two terrible generations of consoles after the 360 and still sticking with Microsoft and calling it your dream console at this point is for the birds. His game launched on Switch first now Xbox. It seems he has some preference for all platforms before PlayStation regardless of financial outcome. That isn't to say they won't do a PlayStation release. Also the UK was pretty much instrumental in launching PlayStation from a software perspective.

90°

Epic Games Faces $1.2 Million Fine Over "Unfair Practices," Plans to Fight Back

Epic Games is facing a $1.2 million fine by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets over "unfair practices" in the Fortnite shop.

Sciurus_vulgaris1d 14h ago

It might be cheaper to simply pay the fine. Fighting said fine could cost millions due to court and lawyer fees. Fortnite generates well over a 100 million in each month, so Epic has plenty of cash.

franwex1d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

But if they did pay it, then they are basically admitting that they did something they weren’t supposed to be doing. If they fight it, they may win and continue to have a sense of urgency for their micro transactions thus making more money long term.

Goodguy0122h ago(Edited 22h ago)

Meaning more suits to follow from others if they don't fight as well.

Not a fan of Epic nor fortnite and their micro transactions. But the game is heavily supported and is free to play, all store items are completely cosmetic.

1d 4h ago
Furesis1d 1h ago

I'd fight back too. These are kinda meaningless reasons to fine someone like really for THAT. It's like they just wanted to make money or something.

Sephiroushin15h ago

There is a law for something, but even if its stupid follow it because if you break it you pay for it; if they knew they cant place a “buy now” in NL then just dont do it!