Rare wants to make Killer Instinct 3, but Microsoft says "no"

Ex-Rare employee, Donnchadh Murphy, who worked on games like Killer instinct Gold, Conker's Bad Fur Day and many others gave an interview for the website Not Enough Shaders.

Here is a portion of the interview:
NES: -"Are there any Rare games you would like to see as HD remakes on Xbox Live Arcade?"

Donnchadh Murphy: -"Probably the same game every Rare fan wants to see and that’s KI3 (Killer Instinct 3). We all wanted to make KI3, but Microsoft were more interested on broadening their demographic, than making another fighting game. So it never got made, I doubt it ever will."

In this interview, Murphy also talked about Conker and some other aspects of the company.

[Silver-Hawk]

I wish Sony owned rare. Even if Nintendo owned rare I feel like killer instinct 3 would be gimped or not made

[user5467007]

I feel like that aswell but for me it's more about Conkers Bad Fur Day...I have no doubt they would respect the Banjo franchise and we would get a true Banjo threeie BUT the way Nintendo are now with this whole casual friendly approach I do not see them puting full support behind Conkers Bad Fur Day 2....if they did it would be toned down a lot and I would hate that.

Sony has shown us they let developers have their freedom on games so maybe then they would let Rare do what they want.

To me this shows me that Microsoft don't have gamers in mind...it's like they don't care.

We want Killer Instict 3 Microsoft...and why did you have to cancel Conkers Other Bad Fur Day for Kinect crap <sigh>

"There was numerous projects that were put forward that I believe would have been huge hits, but MS rejected them one after the other. I remember seeing a couple of prototypes that Chris Seavor had designed and was working on, that looked amazing, but alas they got shelved. It seemed that MS didn’t want to take the risk in Rare doing anything outside the younger demographic, they quickly forgot the companies heritage. We started to lose a lot of great talent then, people were losing job satisfaction, so they just left."

So it's pretty much settled Microsoft killed Rare instead of improving them.

[hkgamer]

Agreed with microsoft killing rare,

Actually what happened with rare anyway? Microsoft started of the generation with the intention of making great games and having developers on their side. Which was partly why Microsoft bought Rare to have PDzero released on it. Did they lose trust with them? or do they want their first party studios to make more kid friendly games?

What has rare done betweeen the time from the release of PDzero and the release of Kinect? actually serious to know the answer? Why would Microsoft abandon what Rare is famous for and obviously the reason why they bought them the first time round.

[OhMyGandhi]

I think Rare killed Rare.
you can't tell me that "Nuts and Bolts" was Microsoft's fault.

[DasBunker]

Sad but true.. SNES/64 Rare era will live only in our memories.
RIP Never forget.

@Above

By the time they were developing Nuts & Bolts, it was just probably the carcass of Rare left by MS.. just a shadow of it's former self.

[srcBFMVBMTH]

Agreed. Also seeing how Fable turned into a Kinect game, and that the next Gears of War (After Gears of War 3 but before Judgement) was going to be a Kinect game. Something Microsoft pushed for but was ultimately cancelled by Epic. It's kinda sad that that's all they focus on now -_- Killer Instinct 3 could have been awesome. But it's clear they don't have the core gamer in mind much anymore. Wouldn't be surprised if Halo 5 on 720 turned out to be a Kinect game. Lol

http://www.digitaltrends.co...

[SilentNegotiator]

"I think Rare killed Rare.
you can't tell me that "Nuts and Bolts" was Microsoft's fault"

You mean the platform gone XBL-friendly racer?
Nooooooo, Microsoft couldn't be at fault for that.
/s

Sorry, but Kameo and Viva Pinata were great games. They didn't "die before Microsoft bought them" like fanboys want to believe. They died when Microsoft decided that their primary development field should change to generic Kinect sports games.

[Blacktric]

This and nothing else;

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[palaeomerus]

"Sorry, but Kameo and Viva Pinata were great games."

Yeah. And Nuts and Bolts was a pretty great game too. Not what Banjo Kazooie fans wanted but still a lot of fun and beuatiful. I even liked 'Grabbed by the Ghoulies' and the 'Conker's BFD' remake.

PD:Z was okay though I was never much of a PD fan,got over Goldeneye quickly, and never much liked the Timesplitters games. I just don't much care for that style/type of console FPS.

[Tainted Gene]

I generally have no ill will towards Microsoft but this is crazy. With all the fighting games that have been releasing in the past 5 years, this is the time to make killer instinct 3. But for any corporation profits are the main motivator and nothing else.

Plus, in the back of my mind I knew Rare would never really be back to form as it was in the 90's (look at Nuts and BOlts.... great game but not a Banjo/Kazooie game. In fact a Rare employee said that it was another with a Banjo coating to please fans).

Reason being that when Microsoft bought Rare a majority of the original Rare team left before the move to Microsoft Studios. So in truth RARE has been dead since literally when being bought by Microsoft.

EDIT:

Pretty much wat Devilish Six said below....:)

[Gazondaily]

Pretty disgraceful of Microsoft really. Stifling creativity and vision by having a really short sighted plan. From reading the article, RARE really thrived in an environment where there were no shackles in terms of freedom (see how Conker was rescued).

It's sad to read even though Nuts and Bolts and Viva Pinata were good games.

So much potential going to waste on Kinect.

[TheRealSpy]

it's sad how little you people understand business. Rare wouldn't have gone with MS unless they needed to be acquired. and MS wouldn't turn down KI3 if they thought there would be a large enough market for it.

there isn't some sinister plot to deprive ppl of franchises they enjoy. it's business. and despite the irrational mentality of most people here, Sony would do the exact same thing. ...or maybe they wouldn't and that would explain why Sony's market value has plummeted over the last couple years.

[Perjoss]

"SNES/64 Rare era will live only in our memories"

Actually you can still plug a SNES or N64 in and play those games right now. That's the beauty of the non digital distribution age, those games are yours to play forever.

[Legion]

They used Rare as a team/tool to Launch their Kinect. With it as their primary focus.

And you know what... it turned out to be a perfect cash boom for MS.

I don't own Kinect myself but it sure has helped MS grow their system into more of a family friendly console regardless of what so called hardcore gamers might think.

So be it... and KI was never really a good game... come on... we have to admit it was little more then another fighting game... and the shock value of long ago doesn't cut it in today's market.

[Knight_Crawler]

Well said Real Spy and Legion - The honest truth is that KI was never on the same level popularity wise with Street Fight and Mortal Kombat and the reason is because KI was born on a console while SF and MK were born on arcades which were way more popular at the time.

Most the people here asking for a new KI is asking for it based on Nostalgia and some times people just have to leave things as that - imagine if MS Rare did make a new KI, with out the original Rare team this game would not be the same and fans would still be complaining how MS killed KI and Rare.

We consumers only see one side of a business transaction and dont realise that games cost alot of money to make and if your games does not sell as well or is not well received then you will a lost on your financials.

No one can deny that Sony pumps out allot exclusives games but there is a reason why Sony is in the red financially because its hard to maintain AAA exclusives when your not making a profit on them or barley breaking even.

Yes we dont have shares in Sony so why should we care - if Sony keeps recording losses then Sony's market value drops, if Sony market values drop then investors will want to pull out, if investors pull out then the funding stops, if the funding stops then the games stop.

[EVILDEAD360]

I always LOVE when the RARE topic comes up..it’s fun to watch internet fantasy vs. reality

It’s always hilarious to see how people pretend MS held RARE sooo far back that the never released ONE game.

But, let's keep 100% real for once…let’s put in context what the ex-Rare artist is trying to say.

He’s saying that MS didn’t approve certain proposals that ‘HE’ believed could have been hits, but can ANYONE blame Microsoft?

They bought RARE for close to 400 MILLION DOLLARS on the strength of the Nintendo hits Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong Country etc.

Of course they hoped RARE would emulate the Nintendo success and expand the 360 beyond the ‘too core’ mantra it had.

But, the funny part is people NOW cry that Rare should release this and that..but when they DID release them it was a different story..

Kameo get’s supposed love Now and people scream sequel, but that game didn’t get mass love from the critics. I remember Peter Moore reflecting how critics were overly harsh on it. G4Tv had the review pull back then gave it a 80..Eurogamer gave it a 50..it didn’t sell..it got bundled

Perfect Dark Zero..G4TV at the time gave it a 60..most gave it 80s..did ok at launch but wasn’t close to a hit of Rare’s stature.

Banjoo: nuts got straight panned by some critics..which was opposite of what many fans felt about the game..Gametrailers gave it a 67..IGN gave it a 65…it didn’t do well at retail and ended up being bundles with another game.

Viva got the critical love from many..and even some crossover cartoon love..but the game as a whole didn’t get numbers until it was a greatest hits title..

By the time the viva sequel arrived it sold horribly at retail.

People can bash MS all day but they literally used RAREs talents to boost them to where they are now with some smart decisions.

RARE was a big part of the LIVE overhaul that brought the Avatars and it turned out to be a huge success.

Look at how completely silly the hate that MS gets for having Rare develop ONE launch game for Kinect.

The results are hands down the biggest hit Rare has had this whole gen and the biggest (and bestIMO) game for Kinect.

I'll take a Killer Instinct Next Gen..not now. If Rare rushed even an above average product, it would get crucified.

People claim the would support titles like Conker's but in the reality words are simply words. Take the PS3's Twisted Metal this year. The game was on EVERY exclusives list known to man, but it didnt do great numbers. In fact, if KI got the same support the headlines wiuld be like Alan Wakes. Same with Perfect Dark HD..it came and went. So who knows if and when KI HD is in the cards.

I hope Rare continues the success it's had into next gen..where their services will truly be needed.

Just my humble take

Evil

edit..great post from Knight Crawler above..

[mcstorm]

@TheRealSpy & Legion I agree with what you have said and I was about to put the same thing. Rare still make good games and fun games at that.

Viva Piñata and banjo kazooie were fun games for the 360 but at the time they came out it was just the core gamers who wanted FPS games had the 360 and they did not sell very well.

This is why Rare started on Kinect Sports and I have to say both of them are one of the best Kinect games for the 360 they are fun and imo are better than Wii Sports and sports champions as they are a game that everyone can get into very easy.

MS are still building a name for the Xbox people keep forgetting this and it is only there 2nd console and the Original Xbox did not sell that well and had a very short life.

If you look at what MS have done in the 10 years of Xbox you have to give it to them for the size of the market they have got and the games Rare have brought to the Xbox brand have been some of the best in the xbox short history.

A lot of people on here are saying MS don't give us enough games but if you look at the way this gen has gone for the core the best selling games on the 360 have been Halo, Forza, Gears and Fable as the 1st party games so they are giving us games that people want to by where Sony on the other hand are giving us lot of games but people are not buying them for example Resistance and Motor Storm. (Im not saying they are bad games but they are not selling well) Just like Alan Wake on the 360.

MS know they are coming to the end of the gen and are giving people what they want in terms of games and I think Rare will be a big part of the core next gen with Big Park taking over games for the none core.

I don't think rare are a dead company they are being used as part of the plan by Microsoft to get the xbox name as being the market leader by doing a lot o back ground work on the 360 software and giving us games like I have put above.

I would love to see Killer instinct on the 360 but then again there are a lot of games on older consoles ide love to see there be a new version of and if they come out grate if not I still have the original game to play as it is still as fun and good to play as the day it came out.

[oricon]

"BUT the way Nintendo are now with this whole casual friendly approach I do not see them puting full support behind Conkers Bad Fur Day 2....if they did it would be toned down a lot and I would hate that."

This gen for first Nintendo has actually been publishing mature rated title unlike, n64/nes/snes era where they didnt, saying their all casual friendly approach.

Also saying that their all casual friendly now is also stupid, Nintendo since the NES days have always been about creating titles that everyone can play, everyone acts like with the Wii they started to go with this approach in gaming.

[WombBat]

This interview was good, but it hurt my soul as a rare fan.

[MoveTheGlow]

Banjo: Nuts and Bolts had a solid introduction against the demographic-broadening that Microsoft had been pushing on them since they arrived. That talking TV thing with the computer sound effects? Come on.

First he talks about how no one likes platformers anymore, then he forces a sluggish Banjo to run a linear, bloated parody of a Banjo platformer (a corporate bigwig's berating of what a platformer is), all the while Banjo and Kazooie are older and fatter to drive the point home that MS (and most likely other potential investors before them) thought platformers were old, bloated, and washed up. You think that's about Nintendo? No way.

It's the game equivalent of what's most likely a nightmarish board meeting Rare had, and probably more than once. It's a meta-commentary in a decent vehicle game. It's a thinly-veiled apology and explanation for their fans. One of the coolest things ever. How has this not been mentioned yet??

[nukeitall]

@TheRealSpy:

You said it so well, I'm just going to repeat it!

"it's sad how little you people understand business. Rare wouldn't have gone with MS unless they needed to be acquired. and MS wouldn't turn down KI3 if they thought there would be a large enough market for it.

there isn't some sinister plot to deprive ppl of franchises they enjoy. it's business. and despite the irrational mentality of most people here, Sony would do the exact same thing. ...or maybe they wouldn't and that would explain why Sony's market value has plummeted over the last couple years."

[n4f]

im pretty sure m$ wanted to port ki3 on kinect

jump and punch on your cat to do a combo breaker and kick and dance so you can do a ultra

[prototypeknuckles]

I agree nintendo and rare already have good history, and Sony does let its developers experiment with new and forgotten ips

[dedicatedtogamers]

"Please Microsoft. We're dying inside. Let us make GAMES like we used to"

"No, RARE. Your highest-selling software is Kinect minigame collections. Make more Kinect!"

"But the fans have wanted a new Killer Instinct for YEARS"

"HAHAHAH! You should know better by now, Rare, that making exclusive games for our fans is SOOOO 2009."

[Mottsy]

Fans? Who the hell is cold? Now shut up and make More KINECT!!!

[NastyLeftHook0]

if sony owned rare you KNOW you would get a killer instinct game.

[Brosy]

What defunct franchises has sony made sequels to? I can't think of any. Troll harder.

[Imalwaysright]

Sony takes risks! To say otherwise is idiotic at best. Games like Heavy rain, LBP, TM, SoTC, Motorstorm... were risks that very few Publishers would take. MS certainly wouldnt make those games and I dont give 2 shits if those games sell 100 copies as long as i get to play them.

Many fanboys here seem to care more about MS making money then having games to play. "Oh no if MS makes a new KI theyre gonna lose money. I bought a 360 to give MS money!!!" Are you people GAMERS or MS shareholders? Sony takes risks and because of it I get to play unique games that no other publisher would make and as long as Sony thinks outside the box i wont have any problems supporting them.

[blackbeld]

For sure Killer Instinct will be released if Sony owned Rare.

Hope M$ will ever turned around.

They only care about competing Apple, Google, Sony and other grazy stuff. But gamers ohh no...

[attilayavuzer]

@Imalwaysright
"Sony takes risks!"

Sony also lost 6 billion this year and laid off 10,000 people. But I'm sure playing a few HD classics makes up for the population of a small town being unemployed.

[Statix]

@attilayavuzer:

Layoffs are part of how the world works, especially in today's down economy. If a company wants to survive, it needs to cut corners when the occasion calls for it. Are you really trying to act like Microsoft hasn't laid off people en mass, by the thousands, before? I guarantee you that Microsoft and most other companies out there are planning even more layoffs this year.

[fermcr]

pufff.... another fighting game? No thanks. Kudos to Microsoft for not allowing it.

Let Rare make another game (just not another Kinect game). A new IP would be great, to see if they still got it.

[Awesome_Gamer]

Thank god for Sony..

[Jazz4108]

God has nothing to do with that greedy arrorgant company that has lost its way.

[nerdkiller]

i agree nintendo is to into casual now sell the rights to sony and nintendo should sell the metroid franchise to sony to. f msoft to

[ConstipatedGorilla]

I like my Xbox, but Microsoft as done absolutely nothing useful with Rare. Rare would be much better in the hands of Sony or Nintendo.

[mrbojingles]

Nintendo just bought the Fatal Frame series (rumored) and they still own the rights to Eternal Darkness. Just because they don't make too many games like Killer Instinct doesn't mean they wouldn't if they thought there were enough fans for it.

I'm sure if RARE was owned by Nintendo it would have been made by now. I mean, Nintendo did put out all those old RARE games in the first place.

[nerdkiller]

exactly nintendo feel there's more casual fans so they make only wii sports and mario games they stopped making core games except a few but do you remember when they took chances like guist or bad fur day now they discontinue games like project hammer lets face it sony is the only one now who takes chances nintendo and msoft went casual

[ConstipatedGorilla]

Eternal Darkness was excellent. One of my favorite GC games. I really wanted a sequel to that one.

[Stansolo]

Sony get RAREWARE on you side because your the only company that will let the do the magic they did when with nintendo.
Microsoft, I hate you for not letting Killer Instinct grace the xbox 360.
Microsoft only wanted RARE so they could kill them off, RARE was a threat if someone else had them on there side. That's how I see it.

[attilayavuzer]

I'm pretty sure the ~150 or so people complaining about not getting KI3 are about the only people who want it in the first place.

[Gamer1982]

Rare dont exist anymore so the titles crap anyway. Its an ex rare employee who wants to make it.

[ALLWRONG]

If Sony owned RARE they would just shut it down like they been doing recently. At least with MS they still have jobs.

[lodossrage]

They'd buy them and let them go about their business or make new studios out of them altogether. Which they've ALSO been doing recently

[coolbeans]

"Are there any Rare games you would like to see as HD remakes on Xbox Live Arcade?"

Why would he answer with Killer Instinct 3? I'd like to see Jet Force Gemini makes its way over to XBLA.

[Lord_Sloth]

Jet Force Gemini was awesome! I spent so many hours on that game with my bro. Same with Perfect Dark. Rare was my lover on the 64.

[DivineAssault]

another reason i hate microsoft.. wtf wouldnt they let em do it??? its a great series & needs to be revived..

i guess its all about money for them instead of making fans happy.. I dont blame rare for making $hitty games as of late.. Microsoft isnt letting them do what theyre passionate about doing

[Mottsy]

They are in the money business not video game business =/

[elitesupreme]

They're in the videogame business to make money off of hardware and software sales. How they go about getting that money is their business. Same thing applies to Nintendo and Sony.

[slaton24]

as long as microsoft makes money off of halo and gears of war they will never care to much for any other games thats not all about crapbox...yeah i like sony more because they care for the gamers young and old...nintendo is only fun with mario and zelda, and i own a 360 but never at all truly play it

[NellyNel_7_1_3]

That is a load of BS!!! Mann, MS are bunch of pricks for this! I want another KI 3 game like right now... MS just let Rare go already you are not doing anything with them at all.

[KMCROC54]

Buy them if u want them but i seriously doubt they will be sold anytime soon. But good luck with our wants

[NYC_Gamer]

I guess MS would rather Rare pump out kinect garbage

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

I always thought all the 360 units being sold was to the casuals. Now we know that the hardcore games is not the #1 money maker for M$.

Kinect after Kinect game -- check

Their #1 shooter only has some of the original devs + no beta + perks = the story of MW3

I am glad I converted to the dark side.

[JamieL]

I don't see why anyone would have to be on one side or the other only. I am on games side. I like all systems with good games and right now that’s MS, Sony, and Nintendo. I'm so glad I don't let some misguided since of brand loyalty dictate what I play. I just can’t see myself missing Halo 4, or UC3, or Skyward Sword, or any really cool game because I dislike a company that cares NOTHING AT ALL for me. It’s really childish to miss out on games for such a STUPID reason, and your only hurting yourself. Power to the multi-console owners out there.

[Mustang300C2012]

Another ex employee about some claim again.

[Xperia_ion]

Exposed!!!

[Belking]

We will be seeing KI and even more from Rare next gen. I'm sure they will release the old ones as arcade titles sooner or later. MS doesn't like to spill the beans on all of their stuff too soon.

[dedicatedtogamers]

"MS doesn't like to spill the beans on that HUGE number of unannounced games they have coming out, guize!"

Been hearing than since 2009. Been laughing at it since 2009.

[DiRtY]

Why are there more Xbox 360 exclusive titles than on any other console this year? No trolling, just a fact. Actually the Xbox 360 has more games than any other console this gen. Another fact.

But keep living in your N4G world, where everything Sony does is awesome. Even the embarrising PS vita numbers are okay somehow, even though it does 50% of the 3DS before the price cut and the Vita already had a holiday season in Japan.

Or the lackluster lineup for this holiday season, PSABR, Sly and Sports Champion 2. Awesome.

Ah I know, "XBLA does not count and Kinect does not count either." Let's ignore that Minecraft on 360 outsells every PS3 exclusive this year. Or that Kinect killed the PS Move.

Let's ignore that Sony is not a big player in todays world at all. Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, LG have passed them quite a while ago. SCE lost more money this gen than they earned with the previous two combined.

Sony would do awesome stuff with Rare. Just like they did with Zipper or BigBig. Sony bought Zipper 2006 and closed them 2012, lots of people lost their job. But hey, Sony never said which games they should make.

Sony bought BigBig in 2007 and closed them 5 years later. Again, lots of people lost their job, but Sony was so kind to them.

N4G ignores all of this. Sony is so nice and MS is the devil.

Been hearing that since 2007. Been laughing since 2007.

[AtomicGerbil]

@DiRtY

Clearly you don't read many articles around here!

[DiRtY]

Ohhh the irony.

3 hours after I wrote my post, Sony closed their studio in Liverpool. Opened in 1984 (!!!), bought by Sony in 2001, closed by Sony in 2012. Lots of people will lose their job again.

Yeah, Sony should own Rare...

[MrBeatdown]

@Dirty

I like how he said something about MS's game announcement strategy, and instead of you actually responding to his point, you ramble on about literally everything and anything else you could think of about Sony, even though it's all completely unrelated.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

@Dirty First I liked to start off with this: LOL you are so mad! Secondly: "Why are there more Xbox 360 exclusive PC ports on any other console this year?" "Actually the Xbox 360 has more PC ported games than any other console this gen." *fixed.

And PSABR is lackluster? NEOGAF, N4G, and gamefaqs users would like to have a word with you. Also, let me guess, another Halo is what you would consider a jam packed holiday season right? lmao! Sony, like all other companies has its shady side, but you would be a moron to not see that Sony is the lesser of two evils here. Especially from the perspective of a gamer.