Is Crash PS4’s Success Evidence That Microsoft Should Look Into Reviving Banjo Kazooie and Conker?

With Crash having been as successful as it was, is it not time that Microsoft look into a real, large scale revival for both of these series [Banjo Kazooie and Conker], because given the fierce nostalgia for them (arguably more nostalgia than for Crash Bandicoot, given that the platforming audience was more prominent on the N64), Microsoft could have a big hit on its hands if it played its cards right.

[StormLegend]

Yes and even if it didn't I would love a remake of banjo-kazooie. It's time to bring back old platformers! Sadly MS may never do anything with it.

[Kingthrash360]

I thought they were at least remastering banjo and battle toads because of phils shirts...but I guess they'd rather focus on old 360 games. It's a missed opportunity.

[Shadowlee]

That makes no sense? Lol complains ms wont focus on old og xbox games then complains about ms focusing on old 360 games😂(technically just giving a bc greenlite) you ppl are funny man.

[sonarus]

OK. I would seriously consider buying base Xbox one for banjo kazooie game made by rare

[Kingthrash360]

A remaster and BC are 2 vastly different things.
Crash remasted...and crash BC are not 2 old games one is old another is updated to this generation's graphics....it'll be nice to see that happen to banjo...no? Also bango was never on xbox and couldn't be a BC game...it would have to be remastered....

[DiRtY]

To be fair, the old Banjo games got HD upgrades for the Xbox 360. So "MS may never do anything with it" is not correct.

But MS owns tons of IPs that should see some love. Crimson Skies, Jade Empire, Conker, Banjo, MechAssault, Perfect Dark... Soooo much potential.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Microsoft does not own Jade Empire, I believe it is owned by EA (via acquiring BioWare).

[XanderZane]

They need to bring both Conker and Battletoads games to XBox One exclusively (not on PC). I thought we would at least have another Perfect Dark exclusive by now after we got one for the XBox 360.

[mcstorm]

I don't think we will see any more Xbox only games and why would they as opening it to pc gamers gives them more people to sell it to. Ide love to see a banjo game. For me I prefer Microsofts way of making the Xbox one play 360 and Xbox games as I think we have way to many remastered games this gen and less and less new ips coming. Ide love to see both sony and Microsoft throw out some old ips but new games not remastered as both have classics and we all know how many Nintendo have to.

[XanderZane]

@mcstorm
They need to make XBox only games so the system will be more demanding. They release Battletoads, Conker 3, Banjo & Kazooie 4, MechAssault 3, Lost Odyssey 2 and 3-4 new IP's on XB1X (not on PC), more gamers will be interested in buying the system. Not saying they need to neglect PC. They can make exclusive PC games for that market as well. They should have released a new Flight Simulator & Age of Empire exclusive for the PC by now.

[SirBradders]

I don't think they have the audience for it anymore.

[Retroman]

I'm hoping Success of Crash, Sony kick in gear start ps4 Jax and Daxter production . if that happen MS forget about Banjo and Conker beating PS4 sales.

[RommyReigns]

Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy PS4 is a preorder bonus for Uncharted The Lost Legacy on PlayStation Store

[Chevalier]

https://blog.us.playstation...

[andrewsquall]

No, Spyro PS1 games next :) And this is what Spyro should look like in game http://spyro.wikia.com/wiki... not like that ugly, kill it with lava, abomination on the right of that background image.

[rainslacker]

I honestly don't know if Banjo or Conker were ever as mainstream as something like Crash. Both were good games, but Crash was pretty much the mascot of PlayStation for most of the PS1 generation, and is very recognizable. Crash was also kept alive through other ways in other generations, including the last....for better or worse.

I hate to say it, but the only people I ever see talk about BK or Conker are hardcore Xbox fans. While I'm sure there are quite a few of them, I don't know if it's enough to really drive enough sales to warrant a revival. A big remaster or remake just seems like it'll end up like Phantom Dust or Voodoo Vince....which were also games with a relatively limited fan base.

[NerdBurglars]

This is a litte different though. Crash has been gone for many many years. Banjo was already remastered and revived to a degree.

[DigitalRaptor]

Not only this, but Banjo or Conker were never HUGE icons like Crash was as the mascot of PSOne.

They never sold huge or had a comparable degree of cultural impact.

[SCW1982]

100% yes

[ModiJi]

Banjo will not have similar success. The fanbase is just not there

[babadivad]

Who knew the Crash fanbase was there. That game came out sooo very long ago. I'm sure Activision is honestly surprised at it's success. I don't understand it either but whatever.

[RommyReigns]

Highest selling PS4 game for the month of June on NPD (in the last day of June!), most physical copies sold of 2017 (so far) in the UK (considering plenty of awesome games also came out earlier this year, no need to mention the list as we all know what games they are), always topping or near the top of the PS Classics Download list for years.

A great game is always considered great no matter how 'very long ago' it came out. The key word for why Crash is a success is 'nostalgia', Vicarious Visions did a superb job in modernising the game whilst maintaining the nostalgic properties.

[andrewsquall]

The amount of people I know (in Ireland) who heard about the Crash announcement at E3 2016 and was excited, without even any gameplay shown, and these people aren't even dedicated CASUAL gamers, was astounding. It was clear the Crash remake/remaster was going to be huge.

[PhoenixUp]

@ baba

You can tell the fanbase is there just by looking how how frequent the Crash Bandicoot games were near the top of this best selling list of PlayStation Classics on PSN.

Hell you can look at it right now and see that all four Crash games are currently at the top followed by all three Spyro games, and which is blatant proof that people are still interested in these platformers.

https://store.playstation.c...

Nobody should be surprised that N-Sane Trilogy is a success

[PhoenixUp]

Nope. There's never been a time where an exclusive platformer turned out to be a big seller on an Xbox console.

Plus Rare Replay itself didn't even prove to be as big a seller on Xbox One as it potentially could've on something like Wii U. If a collection that actually includes both original Banjo-Kazooie games and Conker's BFD could do great commercially, then another revival wouldn't stand a better chance.

[ShottyatLaw]

It's not like there's a long list of platformers on Xbox to really say whether there's a market or not.

But Rare Replay actually debuted at #1 in the UK, and made it into the top 10 of NPD. It's a great little compilation that sold well. But that revenue probably went to fund SoT.

[PhoenixUp]

Platformers don't sell well on Xbox consoles period. Most multiplat platformers tend to sell worse on Xbox, and the exclusive platformers that did hit retail never dramatically took off.

VGC has RR at less than 1 million. You'd think. A compilation containing such beloved games would sell a lot more.

http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I think Rare Replay may have sold more digital than physical copies.

[PhoenixUp]

You really going with that tired flawed excuse?

RR has no reason to sell more digitally than physically

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

It had a strong digital push. Most of people I know that bough Rare Replay, bought digital copies.

[PhoenixUp]

Every game has a strong digital push 😑

There's nothing about RR that would cause it to sell better digitally than any other retail game. That's just a flawed excuse and you know it.

The people you know aren't indicative of the entire consumer base.

[DarXyde]

The fact that it had so many games for $30 should make it a steal regardless, but I do think most may have bought it digitally. I think most games now do comparably or better digitally unless the physical version has a special edition. I'm a physical guy and while people often complain about a digital future, I think they're fine with either version so long as they have a choice.

[ShottyatLaw]

What exclusive platformers are you talking about? Nuts and Bolts?

I bought RR digitally btw. Its a collection of smaller games that are individually downloaded. It was also a digital packin game.

[Jmanzare]

@phoenix
There was a console bundle with a digital copy of rare replay

[rainslacker]

Huge digital push? For a game selling based on nostalgia which consists more of people who prefer physical to digital?

I know 3 people, and myself, didn't buy the collection because they locked quite a few of the games to digital download only.

[Kiwi66]

Lol so first people say MS needs to put out more games but now people say they shouldn't ?

[PhoenixUp]

Microsoft can try but it still won't be successful. History already proves it

[FallenAngel1984]

"This flies in the face of conventional wisdom that the modern market, reliant as it is on AAA games and titles geared towards a mature audience, no longer has any place for mascot platformers. Indeed, platformers and mascot games at large are a style of game that died out in the 1990s- and only Nintendo has been able to consistently keep both styles of games relevant. Any time someone wanted a new big budget high profile platformer or mascot led game that wasn’t by Nintendo, they were told that such a game couldn’t do well in the market as it exists today."

So we're just going to conveniently forget how well Ratchet & Clank '16 sold last year? Not to mention hat we've had plenty of non-Nintendo platformers succeed in the 2000s.

Conker never proved to be a big seller on N64 or Xbox, it just became a cult classic cuz of its great content.. Idk how well it sold on GBC though. Last time we saw Conker was in the failed Project Spark DLC & bastardized in a Hololens video.

Yookah-Laylee hit with a thud critically and commercially, so you just know another full fledged Banjo-Kazooie game developed by current Rare wouldn't fare any better.

In fact after Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts flopped, the current Rare has since then only worked on original IPs such as the Kinect Sports games and Sea Of Thieves, and outside of a Compilation Re-release of their catalogue of older games through Rare Replay, the studio has never looked back at its library of old IPs (save for a supervisory role over the 2013 Killer Instinct reboot, handled by two different developers).

[nevin1]

"Conker never proved to be a big seller on N64"

To be somewhat fair to Conker, he was released when Dreamcast and PS2 was in full swing while GameCube and Xbox were releasing the same year. Do I have a argument there?

Anyway, I 1st played Conker in 2007 and it was fun playing splitscreen. I should boot it up Sunday.

[FallenAngel1984]

When Conker released, Dreamcast had already been close to discontinuation.

Conker didn't sell on N64 for a number of reasons. Yes 2001 was a terrible year for every non-Mario N64 game, but Nintendo stunting Conker's BFD marketing campaign & also printing a small amount of cartridges for it pretty much ensured its flopping.

[RommyReigns]

I bet the physical copy sells for a ton on eBay nowadays.

[FallenAngel1984]

Well obviously, you should see how high the N64 version sold on those sites because it was rare(no pun intended). It was often above $100

Thank god Rare Replay came to let peoplee experience the original for a cheap price

[TheOttomatic91]

After the financial success Microsoft HAS to see the profit in doing a Remaster/Remake treatment for both series, unless of course they still believe GaaS is the future of Xbox.

[FallenAngel1984]

Both series already had ports and remakes on Xbox platforms

[CyrusLemont]

Banjo Kazooie needs a full reboot like Ratchet and Clank, a sequel at this point wouldn't sell. It needs to be "new" and easily marketable to a new generation and tell a more fleshed out story from the beginning.

The lore is there, it just needs the right writers and game mechanics. Maybe after Sea of Thieves Rare could took a look. Playtonic failed to capture the mass market because it was too nostalgic and not evolutionary enough.

When I think of next gen Banjo, I think of comparing something like Red Dead Revolver to Red Dead Redemption 2. Just because a game has a different tone to your usual ultra violent titles, doesn't mean it can't be successful. Crash Bandicoot's success should hopefully show Microsoft that. They need to do the reboot approach though, not the remaster.

They could easily make Banjo Kazooie their Mario mascot if they invested big into a game for them. But they won't, and I'll be an old man before I get to see another B&K game.

[babadivad]

Agreed.

[FallenAngel1984]

You really want Microsoft to do more work on pre-existing Rare properties after seeing what they're going to do with Conker?

https://www.microsoft.com/e...

[CyrusLemont]

Eugh that's painful. How does such a tragedy even occur. Waste of an ip.

[LP-Eleven]

Not necessarily, because they don't have the history that Crash does. If Microsoft is to revive those franchises, it should be based on the principle(s) of bringing back said franchise (and due to fan request), NOT due to the success of Crash Bandicoot on PlayStation (its home).

[goken]

i think ms needs to bring back alan wake

[FallenAngel1984]

Not going to happen with Remedy becoming a multiplat dev again

[Imalwaysright]

Remedy owns the IP.

[medman]

No, because Microsoft and whoever they hire would f it up, or start it then cancel the project when they find out they can't deliver on the promise.

[Silly gameAr]

Was Banjo and Conker as popular as Crash?

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Banjo during it's prime had similar popularity to Crash.Conker, however was not as popular as Crash, but has a large cult following.

[babadivad]

Answering the title, No.

[KingTrash]

I have no doubt that Microsoft is already on this but games take 3-5 years to develop so it's gonna take time. That's it.

[timotim]

While I would love to see both Banjo and Conker reboots, a couple things really strike me as odd about the title of this article. For starters, Microsoft has already done what activision did with Crash years ago. Not only on Xbox 360 with Banjo 1&2 teamsters but also A Conker remaster on the original Xbox. Just recently all three was apart of Rare Replay and they look and play very well.

However, what Microsoft needs is complete REBOOTS of these franchises. I would love to see a new Conker in a similar vein as Ratchet and Clank. Would love to see a new Banjo in a similar vein as Mario titles. Action and platforming. Conker could have amazing multiplayer with some effort put in. Would also love to see a mature Kameo reboot. I feel all these games can easily be modernized.

[FallenAngel1984]

Careful for what you wish for, it might come true

https://www.microsoft.com/e...

[timotim]

Yes, I'm aware of that Conker project already. However, a AR title for a $3000 device would not be the same as a AAA studio working on a new Conker title for Xbox. Hopefully you were just playing around.

[andrewsquall]

@timotim But that is just it. Microsoft would rather do THIS to a beloved icon then bring a proper game that everybody would pay money for and maybe even purchase their console for lol.
Even the re-release of Conker on the original Xbox ended up being an atrocious censored mess. What happened there?

[TheColbertinator]

As much as I'd like that perhaps its too late.

Rare isn't the same studio it was back in the 90s and they've never truly matched their charm back then(apart from Viva Pinata).

The IPs that Microsoft could dig up have great potential but its also important to have studios fully dedicated on those projects.

[timotim]

I actually feel that if any of these franchises were to get rebooted, a studio other than rare would have to work on them. We see what the ex Rare guys did with yooka Kaylee...its too much of a throw back and plays it too safe. I think these games would need fresh takes. Banjo would have to use voice overs of actual voice actors, not sub titles as an example.

[BeRealisticNow]

I feel like the success or failure Super Lucky's Tail is going to be a big part in whether MS decides to bring back Rare IP like BK and Conker

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

The decision to help fund Super Lucky's Tail, over Conker of Banjo is baffling.

[timotim]

That depends on the quality and marketing of Lucky Tail. I mean if the game is average, no one should expect it to be a huge success, but the quality is high and Microsoft does a good job marketing it yet it fails to do good commercially, I can see that making them think twice...

[Zjet]

Not really the same im sorry but in the US Banjo was big. Rest of the world its not as mainstream.

Here in NZ people barely know Banjo let alone Zelda.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Crash and Spyro however everyone knows....

Crash is selling systems to mums and dads who arent even gamers anymore.

Banjo ain't gonna do that worldwide im sorry.

[capjacksparrow]

They will not have the same success, by any means. The main differentiator lies within the fact that the Crash series started it's life on Sony's PS1 (and had it's glory days there). Many Playstation fans were probably nostalgic and hungry for the content. With Banjo, a mainline entry from the series came out about 9 years ago from Microsoft and sold under a million copies. This may have something to do with the fact that the original Banjo and it's sequel were Nintendo exclusives. I don't see them being able to justify the cost and time.

Now, if they were to question the revival of Spyro, I could definitely see that becoming successful, though not quite as much as Crash due to Crash having been the higher earner, even back in the day.

[TheColbertinator]

Your post reminded me more than ever of those good days.

Crash,Spyro and Banjo Kazooie were all excellent each in their own way.

[Yohshida]

Banjo remade with a big budget would be a megahit. People want a proper game for decades.

[Profchaos]

No I loved the concept and art style of both but the controls always felt floaty and off.

But then again I proffered spyo over all other platform games

Rare replay was as close as we are going to get unfortunately

[GNCFLYER]

Dumb question but since Activision owns this is it possible with the success they port it over to XB.

I'm a PS guy but neighbor owns an XBOX and asked me if it was going to be on XB. I said no because I actually thought Sony owned it.

[Platformgamer]

Yes for conker

[ILostMyMind]

Nops! According to Phil Spencer, single player campaigns are not appealing to the public. It has to have some multiplayer mode and microtransactions. 🤔

[Phill-Spencer]

Oh yes they should. Would be a good start for a broader xbox portfolio. Ofcourse it should be high quality games.

[DanteVFenris666]

If they ever want me and like minded individuals to every buy there console than yes

[WelkinCole]

For the very few platformers fans on the xbox perhaps its worth it.

[eyeDEVOUR]

Its evidence that they should bring back Socom since it beat crash and got first place on Sony's own "building the list" poll