Perfect Dark Was Set in 2020, But Where Is The Franchise These Days?

Rare acts like they have shelved the game for the indefinite future.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Outside of some rumours, and both Kevin Lobb and Phil Spencer stating they are interested in the franchise, Perfect Dark is “dead”.

[_SilverHawk_]

We all know and have seen that Microsoft doesnt like to nurture franchises to make them bigger and better as time goes on. They like to milk and throw away franchises. Look at how big halo was as well as gears but those games are just a fraction of what they used to be. I remember halo being the biggest franchise in gaming but now its mediocre.Perfect dark was a big franchise in the past but Microsoft didnt care much to make it bigger. They just figured they'd put minimal effort towards a sequel that was marred with issues and not even a better game than what was released when Nintendo owned the franchise.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Nintendo never owned the Perfect Dark franchise. Also, Nintendo was too supportive of Perfect Dark, as they refused to bundle the with an Ram Expansion Pack. Plus, Nintendo wasn’t pleased with the 3 million + units Perfect Dark sold on the N64.

Perfect Dark Zero reviewed well and was popular on Xbox Live for about year after it was release. However did wasn’t as well received as the original perfect dark. Nor, did it reach MS’s sales expectations. I think the Perfect Dark Zero would have done better had it released before Halo 2.

[King_Noctis]

“ We all know and have seen that Microsoft doesnt like to nurture franchises to make them bigger and better as time goes on“

Halo, Forza, and Gears say Hi.

[UltraNova]

I'd like to think MS is passed that "milking" stage now that they have enough studios and the drive to make more games (seemingly). That said, I don't expect them to drop the 3 franchises that kept them afloat all these years as long as they try new things with them in order to make them feel fresh. Sony has shown they can do it. Nintendo does the same for decades now so making sequels is not a bad thing as long as they innovating.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@king noctis

You just listed every game they've nurtured in 15 years. Back in 2010 all I heard was Fable, Halo, Gears, and Forza. Now Fable is dead and we are one less franchise thanks to their incompetence. What happened to Lost Odyessy, Crimson Skies, Conker, Blue Dragon, Brute Force, Amped, Mechassault, and Kung Fu chaos? Oh wait those games only undersold thanks to low install base. Better never touch them again or anything like that. Let's just rehash our big heavily marketed sellers for a decade and a half.

[King_Noctis]

“ You just listed every game they've nurtured in 15 years.”

This is my response to Silverhawk when he said MS doesn’t “ like to nurture franchises”.

“ Now Fable is dead and we are one less franchise thanks to their incompetence”

If you believe the rumor, it was strongly suggested that Playground Game second team is working on a new Fable for Xbox SX.

“ What happened to Lost Odyessy, Crimson Skies, Conker, Blue Dragon, Brute Force, Amped, Mechassault, and Kung Fu chaos?”

Same thing could be said to games like Earthbound, F-Zero, Golden Sun, Twisted Metal, Motorstorm, MAG, and many other. No company can maintain and keep releasing old IPs. Let not be a hypocrite and point the finger to only MS.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@king noctis

You act as if MS had some prior old IPs they stopped making. Halo is going to be 20 years old next year, Gears will be 15, Forza is 15 years old this year. Halo was a launch title for their first console and all the games I listed came at least 1 or 2 years after launch and they only ever had one entry with no further backing by MS. Their 3 biggest IPs are the old IPs they never changed out. It doesn't matter what either Nintendo or Sony does with old IPs because they at least invest in NEW IPs' beyond the one off entry. All this junk coming out from their new studios will just be one off entries when they fail to be system selling material. I don't see Sony rehashing the same games from 15 years ago from a tired old IP as their big system sellers. Perfect Dark has all the potential to be that IP given they put all their money on Zero for their launch title. But that failed and all they did was remake the first one and stick it on XBLA. They have all the money needed to market, they just don't have the talent they need in this industry. Their 2 flagship titles aren't even made by the original studios anymore.

[King_Noctis]

“ Halo is going to be 20 years old next year, Gears will be 15, Forza is 15 years old this year.”

Do you know how old is Mario? Zelda? Pokemon?

“ It doesn't matter what either Nintendo or Sony does with old IPs because they at least invest in NEW IPs' beyond the one off entry. ”

So games like Ori, State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, Cuphead, Bleeding Edge, Everwild, and Grounded aren’t new IP that MS have invested in? And do you know that they had just resurrected some old IPs like Battletoad, Flight Simulator, and Age of Empire?

“ I don't see Sony rehashing the same games from 15 years ago from a tired old IP as their big system sellers”

You might have forgotten games like Gran Tourismo, Uncharted, God of War, and the yearly release that is MLB The Show. I’m not saying MS is perfect (far from it), but to point your finger only at them Is simply hypocritical.

[Double_O_Revan]

I have always found Microsoft's purchase of and complete disregard for Rare a weird mystery. They bought this legendary company so many years ago, but just tossed it aside and never took advantage of it or it's IPs properly.

[MadLad]

The fact we were never given a proper follow up to Banjo Kazooie blows my mind to this day.

[DaDrunkenJester]

The reason Nintendo let Rare's shares go is because their games didnt sell that well. Then during the bidding war between MS and Activision a lot of the main people who created Rare left. Then they tried Banjo Nuts and Bolts, they tried Perfect Dark Zero... both not doing well. So it makes sense why they would move away from these and start new IP's.

Rare Replay was their acknowledgement of their past and I think that's where it needs to lay because Rare now is not Rare then.

[BLizardXD]

@ taco
agreed. they were preoccupied it seems supporting their fresh IP with more content. (sea of thieves)
which received reception from gamers wanting more content. if anything next gen will be up for grabs for familiar old titles. also sporting some next gen enhancements.

[SCW1982]

Banjo Tooie you should try it.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah it's funny, they had plans for Banjo-Threeie, Conkers Other Bad Fur Day (with storyboards and concept art), Perfect Dark and Kameo sequels yet Phil Spencer, being in charge of First Party Studios, shut the ideas down.

Even now you'd think they'd have two teams, one working on new IPs and the other looking at older ones.

[DaDrunkenJester]

Likely because they weren't big sellers. Banjo Kazooie sold 3.6mil... Banjo Tooie only sold 1.5mil. That is a big drop off in sales.

And Conker was a major flop sales wise. MS tried to get some interest back in it with the Xbox Live Arcade release and such but it likely didnt do well either.

https://www.google.com/amp/...

And Kameo I dont even think hit 500 thousand.

[Concertoine]

Those games werent shut down when Phil Spencer was at the helm. Either way, the company isnt the same and most of the old talent was gone by the time the 360 came out.

I think the company had already peaked in the N64 years and was on the downturn with games like Tooie and DK64, Conker (which are all great creative effort but poorly designed games) and Star Fox adventures. The talent was moving on before Nintendo even sold.

I think the company has always shined when they were allowed to make what THEY want. Not made to make PD, Banjo, or Kinect games. Sea of Thieves, Kameo and Viva piñata are easily their best games since MS bought them, and its because you could see the passion in them. SoT was rushed to the shelves by MS, but has developed into a really unique and fleshed out game. Their new game looks good for the same reason, it doesnt look like MS said: “hey make this”

[Vits]

It was actually rather balanced in the first couple of years. With new IPs (Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kameo: Elements of Power, Viva Piñata) and old franchises (Conker: Live & Reloaded, Perfect Dark Zero and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts) making a appearance.

The issue was that none of those titles really took off. Their only million seller was the original Viva Piñata and while the others got good reviews on release the public perception of them kind of shift over time. For example: Perfect Dark Zero had a average of 8 out of 10 when it first came out, but after a couple of years it was regarded as a disappointment.

Rare would only have a overwhelm successful title with the Kinect Sport series. That sold more than all their previous titles combined.

[DaDrunkenJester]

Exactly.

[gangsta_red]

Rare has gone on record saying they do not want to work on old franchises.

https://www.google.com/amp/...

I do agree that MS should take advantage of a lot of their older IPs, especially Perfect Dark.

It's a no brainer to bring that back.

But people around here talk about letting the devs have freedom to create new IPs and then when MS does that with Rare they complain that MS isn't forcing them to turn out the same old, same old recycled games.

[DaDrunkenJester]

Damned if they do, damed if they don't. Some people will never be happy with anything MS does.

[NXFather]

Put the date God Said.

[EazyC]

They really screwed up this gen not using their IP roster properly. Just Halo, Gears and Forzas... Same old same old

[gangsta_red]

Rare has made all new IPs since they've been with MS...and yet you're complaining about MS and the same old same old

Hilarious

[BlackRaven85_1]

I guess you assume Starfox Adventures was a hit before Microsoft bought them, right? That Microsoft tainted the company after the purchase. Oh, do you such weird memories. The Rare everyone knew from the SNES days died way before Microsoft got them. Facts.

[Double_O_Revan]

"The Rare everyone knew from the SNES days died way before Microsoft got them."

Are we forgetting that Rare was still completely killing it during the N64? Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark.

One game didn't taint the company. And people have a dislike for Adventures because it wasn't a real Star Fox game. And that's because that's not the game it started out being. It was an ambitious new IP for the N64 that Nintendo not only had them change for the GameCube, but also change the characters and story to utilize Star Fox.

[Poopmist]

The people who made Perfect Dark left Rare to make Timesplitters

[BlackIceJoe]

I'd love to see a new Perfect Dark. I do wonder if changing the formula up, would be a benefit for it or not and what I mean by that is changing it from a first person shooter, to a third person shooter.

You got hints of a TPS in the Xbox 360 version and I can't help but wonder what a whole game would look like.

I also think bringing in elements like how Deus Ex is an immersive SIM would be perfect for the universe of Perfect Dark.

[MadLad]

We need more immersive sims in general. It's basically only Arkane focusing on them. At least in the AAA space.

[BoredDemon]

it was not "perfect" after all

[gamer7804]

honestly I prefer they focus on new franchises, AAA 3rd person action adventure and some 3rd person RPG would be nice, we really don't have any of those on xbox. (perfect dark has alot of potential as an IP, a humorous coop fps)

[DaDrunkenJester]

I'm pretty sure The Initiate stated they are doing a 3rd person action adventure. Obsidian is hiring for an AAA RPG, but I believe they said it would be first person.

[Prubar]

Let Gears take a few years off and get the coalition to take a stab at er.

[Shuckylad]

Personally never rated it back on n64. I have a absolute mint copy of it too. Think I opened the box like twice in 20 years. I enjoyed golden eye tho.

[Mozillayaseen]

Microsft should hand those IPs to outside developers (good ones at that) to work on those IPs if they don't want to force their studios to work on them.

[Tross]

In MS's pile of IPs they could be using but don't, from studios they could be using but don't. This is the real reason why people don't like it when MS buys studios. Hopefully their new acquisitions won't be used for a game or two only for them to be sat on indefinitely as well. Actually, I suppose Rare did turn out Sea of Thieves. Are they really so small a studio that that's all they were able to do in the past however-many years though? And can't Rare outsource their IPs if that's the case? In any case, Rare isn't the only MS-acquired studio who isn't exactly firing on all cylinders.

[gangsta_red]

They've done more than just Sea of Thieves....Kameo, Viva Pinata, Kinect Sports, Sports Rivals, Nuts and Bolts and now Everwild

[CaptainHenry916]

All below average games imho. They're wasting their talent

[Knightofelemia]

Rare has a bunch of other untapped franchises besides Perfect Dark all though it is a great game Microsoft can tap even more Rare titles besides Battletoads.

[PhoenixUp]

Perfect Dark is undoubtedly one of Rare's finest works. Some would argue it surpasses the critically acclaimed GoldenEye 007 as the British developer's greatest FPS title of all time, from both a technical and story-line perspective. However, the game pushed the capabilities of the Nintendo 64 to its limit, and many in the industry observed, bringing the overworked development team to its breaking point as well. Tensions rose within the UK office as staff were under pressure to deliver, leading to many heated arguments internally and externally with Nintendo and missed deadlines. Some journalists believe that, with many staff resigning and leaving to find their own companies, the game effectively broke Rare, even before Microsoft's later acquisition.

[BlackRaven85_1]

And getting handed the Starfox ip didn't help matters either by Nintendo. Their games just weren't selling.

[Terry_B]

Dead like almost everything from the original Rareware and almost everything Microsoft gained through buying studios many years ago.