Rare Has ‘Gotten Worse And Worse’, Sea of Thieves Was The Best They Came Up With: Michael Pachter

Sea of Thieves, which has been under development for four years (at least), met with divided reception upon release.

[DeadSilence]

They used to be amazing during N64 =/

[MarineLineman]

Amazing? They used to define entire genres and set the gold standard during both the SNES AND N64.

[Nitrowolf2]

20 years is a long time ago, unfortuanetely companies change. A large chunk have left RARE (in which gave us yooka laylee :/ ). I miss the days they had great titles

Its happens sadly and we are seeing it even today with companies like Square Enix, Konami, Bungie, Bioware, ect ect.

[G3ng4r]

They fell off after banjo-tooie. Many now are the fallen gods of old. Rare was prolific but sega is probably the saddest story.

[InTheLab]

They were fine until they were purchased by Microsoft. People tend to forget that MS is great at killing franchises AND studios just like EA. Rare, lionhead, and running out bungie

What was Rare before they were forced into Kinect prison?

And now look. Because MS has nothing in the tank that's substantial, Sea of Thieves is forced into a high profile status instead of the mid tier like it should be. The same awaits Crackdown.... whenever that happens.

[gamer7804]

none of their games were ever very deep, sure they had some good platforming,. and some good fps, but they were always fairly shallow games in terms of story and character development. I think thats at least part of the reason they've been unable to make a successful transition since the n64.

[DVAcme]

@G3ng4r How is Sega doing badly?? The own Atlus, which has been foing gangbusters and their localization team handles localization for Sega titles, they own Arc System Works, which has THE HOTTEST fighting game right now, and they have franchises like Yakuza and Valkyria Chronicles being succesful both financially and critically. Hell, they even started re-releasing games on PC and giving them new life, like the first Valkyria Chronicles, Bayonetta, Binary Domain and Vanquish. The only blemish they have is Sonic, and that's cause Yuji Naka probably blows Sega's president damn good to keep his job. As far as I'm concerned, Sega is one of the better Japanese companies right now.

[DarXyde]

I'm of the opinion that Rare was always shaky on quality and it was Nintendo that made them great. The sudden shift in quality was pretty stark after leaving them. Granted, I suppose one can argue that Starfox Adventures was weak, but I think it's criticisms come from the understanding that it's supposed to be a Starfox title. Taken on its own, I actually had good fun with it.

[sonarus]

They put out a pretty decent perfect dark though.

[ShadowWolf712]

Since when does Sega own ArcSys? Especially since Sega don't publish their games. ArcSys is independent, I thought.

[Sitdown]

@Inthelab,
Stop spreading lies, they were on the decline, why you think Nintendo let them jump ship. By the time Microsoft acquired them, a lot of the founding pieces had left.

[bouzebbal]

The reception this game got is definitely not a source of motivation for the company.
if this is the best they could come up with, the next rare project doesn't sound that exciting.
i knew they became irrelevant the day they announced Killer Instinct wasn't made by them.. i knew something went wrong with the management of this company.

[UltraNova]

Whats going on with SoT at the moment? It seems talk/engagement with the game evaporated... what's planned for it?

[XisThatKid]

Yea a large chunk of them DID leave and formed the now defunct Free Radical gave me the game franchise that got me into shooters, TimeSplitters.

[Kratos_Kart2007]

Yes they were very good...Can't deny that...

[InTheLab]

@sitdown

I'm spreading lies? You have access to the internet I assume. I was actually around when it happened and can only assume you were probably too young to remember.

Nintendo forced a Star Fox out of them. They were deep into the production of a new IP (something they were known for), and Nintendo forced them to turn it into amother Star Fox game. Myamoto himself did that. So of course they would want to leave for a new publisher. No one knew at that point MS would poop on all of their studios 10 years later.

As for the alleged decline, I'd say a few months after Perfect Dark, and Conker does not equate to a decline.

I'm also reading that most of the talent left. Sure a few leads left but rare was a large developer. It happens. Naughty Dog has had talent leave and they are still the best (or close to CDpR). It's a flat out lie that they were Rare in name only.

[frostypants]

Not to make us all feel old, but that was 20 years ago.

[UltraNova]

I first played B&K back in 1999 i think...damn getting old...

[Relientk77]

Yeah they really went downhill and hard

[trooper_]

I know.

It's a shame what they've been reduced to.

[AspiringProGenji]

Pachter usually talks a lot of shit, but this does not take a genius to say or figure out. Rare has been dead for years

[JackBNimble]

He's just jumping on the hate train for clicks

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Jack

Well to be fair he would be a dirty liar when he would state otherwise.

[G3ng4r]

Oh yeah dreams, the game we've been waiting nearly all gen for.

[SierraGuy]

Some of their old team just released Raging Justice today on all platforms.

[Atticus_finch]

I call it the Microsoft effect. I can bet they would be delivering some good games if they were independent or working with Sony or ninty.

[thatguyhayat]

Im sure they could, developers have said that under Sony and Nintendo they had freedom. Lion head studios and various others have said after thet left they barely had freedom

[G3ng4r]

I think it's more a matter of them losing their way. Donkey kong 64 was mediocre compared to banjo-kazooie then perfect dark on gamecube disappointed. Microsoft bought a sinking developer, would have been the same situation if they'd bought konami after mgs5.
Wasn't even surprised after perfect dark zero when microsoft said okay you guys make kinnect games over there out of the way.

[zeuanimals]

A few key figures at Lionhead left the studio and started Media Molecule back around 2006... Yeah, that Media Molecule. I just read a Rolling Stones interview with the head of the studio and she said they have a ton of freedom. While Sony held their hand at the beginning, they were allowed to basically create the game and tools they wanted from the start. Now they're making Dreams, the ultimate culmination of all of their work.

[SuperSonic91]

And people still wonder why Bungie and Epic left MS

[Psychosious]

Dude, rare snes days are also beast.

[narsaku]

Back in the day :/

...Before someone got a hold of them and ruined them.

Abused them...

T-touched them...

:'(

[coldfus]

I think they still have potential but they are just trying so hard to convert into a modern gaming company which they totally should not. If They stick to their original formula and modernize that then we can some success

[SR388]

Yeah, Ninty should have bought them

[Neonridr]

no surprise.. the N64 was their glory days. Once MS acquired them a good chunk of the core talent had left, and now Rare is only a shadow of its former self.

[WilliamSheridan]

So what you are saying is, the upcoming Ubisoft game Skull and Bones must be a total waste of a game to you! Multiplayer battles with no open world exploration. Even less content than SoT.

[Neonridr]

No, I never said that. My comment was specifically targeted at Rare and how the current team is but a tiny sliver of the Rare of old.

I never commented at all on Skull and Bones. That game could be better or worse, who knows.

[UCForce]

Well, Sea Of Thieves didn’t have story and doing thing over and over again.

[BiggerBoss]

Who mentioned Skull and Bones? It might turn out terrible too, but that still doesn't make Sea of Thieves any better...

[WilliamSheridan]

I mentioned it... I was just wondering if the multiplatform game with less to do was less interesting than the open world create your own adventure game...

It's amazing how people judge exclusives differently.

Again, for the record, I mentioned it...

[showtimefolks]

William

Where did he bring up ubi?

[Dragonscale]

@sheridan, how do you know that about Skull & Bones? Tbh it'll be hard pressed to have less content than shell of thieves.

[porkChop]

@WilliamSheridan

We know you mentioned it. But it had nothing at all to do with Neonridr's comment.

[Stogz]

Dude they've barely talked about Skull and Bones. How do you know it has less to do?? And honestly they'd have to try to have less to do than SoT...

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

WilliamSheridan - MIND BLOWN! That has to be the worst reading comprehension I've ever seen. Seriously some weird stuff your brain pulled out of nowhere.

[BlaqMagiq1]

No one said anything about Skull and Bones or Ubisoft. Get out of your feelings. Rare is dead. Deal with it.

[WilliamSheridan]

@Showtime

Once again, I brought it up. I'm comparing similar games and curious if the other game will get the same level of hate...

[Rachel_Alucard]

This is the worst strawman arguement I've seen all month.

[zeuanimals]

Here's the difference between Skull and Bones and Sea of Thieves: S&B was barely talked about when it was announced and demoed, doubt many are even hyped for it. SoT was praised for its sandbox world and how you can just do whatever you want with your friends. If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be the next big thing.

If SoT wasn't hyped so much, the fallout wouldn't have been terrible, but it being terrible just shined a light on MS's poor first party offerings and management. Skull and Bones could be terrible but it was never made out to be the next big thing, and it's hardly a mark on Ubi since Ubi's still publishing a ton of other games.

[CobraKai]

It’s odd because Will tried to segue a comment about Rare into a comparison with Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones. It was a failed attempt.

Rare at this point is only a name. The talent of the SNES, Arcade, and N64 has since been dispersed. Such a shame

[WilliamSheridan]

Ironically despite all of you Sony Ponies complaining about it, or sold well and people who play it tend to lean towards loving it. Go figure

:shrugs:

[maybelovehate]

I would close that studio at this point. They just aren't a AAA developer. The idea of Sea of Thieves in my opinion is fine but the execution is just terrible. The swimming and combat mechanics are the worst I can remember in a game. And the server code at launch was completely broken. And the optimization work for the Xbox One X was so bad. The PC build was much better as far as optimization but the basic gameplay was still trash. This isn't a major game studio you waste resources to maintain if they cannot do basic gameplay mechanics.

[mark_parch]

the swimming is really bad. when your in a ship wreck sometimes you can't turn a certain way, it's really annoying.

[Codedan]

You mean you hate that it simulates actually being in the water correctly?

[frostypants]

@Codedan, let's not pretend anything in that game is an effort to "simulate".

[mark_parch]

@Codedan
Pretty sure when I'm under the water in real life I can swim in any direction I want

[spwittbold]

ya, the combat is dog-shit.

[Dragonscale]

The whole 'game' is.

[JackBNimble]

You would close yet another MS studio?
Rare may need to get their shit together, but MS is in no position to be closing anymore studios. In fact MS need to open more studios and get some 1st party games developed before they completely sink.

[maybelovehate]

Yes, close it and use those resources to build a good studio.

[zeuanimals]

@maybelovehate

That's really stupid. What we have is a studio without clear leadership. It took them 4 years to make the game and a lot of that time was spent figuring out what they should make. What MS needs to do is hire more and better devs to run the ship back on course, don't just burn it all down.

[DJStotty]

Dont people want microsoft to create more games?

Why close the studio? yes sea of thieves might not have lived up to the expectations, but it is a new IP which is what we want for xbox. We want more games, not less

[-Foxtrot]

Well least someone high up and in his position said it

I'm always flabbergasted how after 4 years worth of development amounted to what we got in Sea of Thieves...it's just mind boggling how another overhyped, disappointment like No Mans Sky can have a team of 15 people and the end result is roughly the same despite Rare having 200 people working on Sea of Thieves. The only big difference between them is the themes and the fact Sea of Thieves has online co-op, that's it.

So the question is and will always be what the fudge were they doing for 4 years? Hello Games worked on their game for roughly the same time and their offices flooded.

By no means is this a stupid "Sea of Thieves vs No Mans Sky" argument or comparing the two, regardless of who made the game, what developer was behind it or what console it was on because the two games are pretty bad with what we got, it's just the entire situation is just unbelievable. Was it intentional or was there serious development issues we're not aware of? Maybe some people are Rare who leave in the future will spill the beans but honestly I said it back during the second or third look at the game and could smell what was coming a mile away...they should have just suck to an old IP, get them back in the swing of things by doing something they've already got established and do a sequel for it. Kameo, Conker, Banjo Threeie, Perfect Dark, hell Grabbed by the Ghoulies would have been a good one since it was the lowest rated one at the time, anything they did for the sequel would have been an automatic improvement to the masses, even though I enjoyed the first game for what it was. Grabbing whatever items around the house for your weapons...could have really improved on that.

[Mr_Wilson]

You should take a couple of minutes to research "copy and paste". It would be a lot more efficient than re-wording the same comment over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

[-Foxtrot]

Urm...what

Off topic much

[ClanPsi1]

But in the end it would still be redundant, which doesn't solve the problem.

[madforaday]

You must remember No Man Sky came out with 3 HUGE free content updates and another one on it's way that is suppose to be even bigger than the last one which was huge as well. Sean Murray lied, that was the main reason for the hate which is fine. The game is actually really fun now and it is going to get better in the future. I can see Sea of Thieves doing the same.

My first doubt with SOT was the combat, the combat looked wonkey and not deep at all. Combat is the reason why we play games. Imagine if Horizon Zero Dawn had an awful combat system... no one would bat an eye at the game even though it had a good story.

[zeuanimals]

You mean fun is the reason we play games. Not all fun games have combat but all fun games have a good gameplay loop. SoT's problem is it lacks a good gameplay loop since everything is so shallow.

[TheCommentator]

@ Foxtrot

"So the question is and will always be what the fudge were they doing for 4 years?"

That is a very good question! I can think of two possible answers:

- It seems, judging by the rumors anyways, that Perfect Dark will be unveiled and ready to launch within 12 months. If true, it would mean that Rare split into two teams and worked on both titles at once.
- Alternatively, none of us have any idea yet how large the first three DLC releases will be, and it's plausible that these DLC packages were intended to be part of the game at launch.

Thad said, your question may be answered in a few weeks when E3 starts or when the last of the three SoT DLCs arrive.

[ClanPsi1]

Thad sounds like a pretty smart guy.

[TheCommentator]

???

[pcz]

rare have always been infamous for taking so long to develop games. but they always released classics.

the fact is, since Microsoft bought them they haven't produced one note worthy game.

[lellkay]

I loved Rare, and I was a big advocate of "giving them another chance" but they have proved with Sea of Thieves that they are just not what Microsoft need. Microsoft need devs putting out God of War level exclusives.

[UCForce]

MS need to let their devs have creative freedom. Not restricted them. More importantly, MS need to focus on making great game then they can focus on the future. That’s the problem with the original Destiny when the game wasn’t come out until September, but Bungie was focusing too much on the future. I can see the problem with Anthem.

[Jinger]

"MS need to let their devs have creative freedom. Not restricted them."

Are you insinuating that SoT failure was the result of MS being too strict? I highly doubt that.

[UCForce]

@Jinger Yes, Sea Of Thieves is new IP. But MS pushed Rare to the limit without giving them enough time to polish and add more contents. 5 years of development and we got this ? Seriously ?

[Jinger]

"But MS pushed Rare to the limit without giving them enough time to polish and add more contents. 5 years of development and we got this ? Seriously ?"

I'm not understanding your logic here... MS pushed a 200 man crew so hard for 5 years that they DIDN'T put any content into it? How does that even make sense? If MS was pushing them then surely there would have been much more to the game. You can't give someone 5 years to make a game then claim you were pushing them when they didn't even provide content worth of 5 years of dev time.

I swear, sometimes you don't even think before you type the crap you type.

[trooper_]

Jinger, several devs complained about Microsoft being too strict on development. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the same case with Rare.

[Golden_Mud]

If 5 years isnt enough to develop a game (specifically a new IP), then the blame falls on the developers more than the publisher. In this case, Rare is clearly not at the height of its career. Suggesting that if given enough time they'd produce a well game is, simply put, wishful thought. Rare doesnt have the talent it once had.

[UCForce]

@Jinger Even former Sea Of Thieves concept artists said Sea Of Thieves was shallow and generics. Even he said the original version SoT was better than this one. So yes, MS still restricted them for not letting them have their own vision.

[Jinger]

@Trooper

No doubt they have been pushy with other devs, I'm not denying that. I'm saying is that SoT doesn't seem to have been getting any push from MS, Rare seemed to have been coasting along for 5 years barely doing anything. If MS was pushing them we would have seen a bunch of content, but probably half baked.

[Jinger]

"Even former Sea Of Thieves concept artists said Sea Of Thieves was shallow and generics. Even he said the original version SoT was better than this one. So yes, MS still restricted them for not letting them have their own vision."

1. I don think that post was ever confirmed to be from an actual employee

2. He never once mentioned it was because MS was pushing them into a different direction. He was complaining that they had a bunch of young people who didn't understand what made a true Rare game and they wanted to make it into this social space instead of a full fledged game.

And even so, it still doesn't look like MS was pushing them, because they barely did shit for 5 years. 343 and Coalition made full on SP and MP games in 2-3 years filled with content and steady after launch support, but Rare couldn't put more into this game in 5 years? That doesn't seem to be an MS fault, that is the Devs fault.

[zeuanimals]

I stated above that a few of the key talents at Lionhead left the studio in 2006, back when it was still running strong. They headed over to Sony and created Media Molecule. How's that for creative freedom?

MS needs to seriously take a page out of their competitors' books because they're gonna keep failing if they don't.

[Obscure_Observer]

@UCForce

"5 years of development and we got this ?"

4 years! And gtfo with this "Microsoft restrict them" BS! Like Fox mentioned above, if a Studio as big and expansive as Naughty Dog with 200+ plus employees failed and delivered SoT below most people´s expectations, blame on RARE and RARE alone!

[TheCommentator]

@ UC Force

How about you quit with the bold-faced lies about MS "restricting developers"? Also, you're contradicting yourself. You said MS didn't give Rare enough time yet in the next sentence remark about Rare having 5 years to make SoT.

Here's a quote from an ex-Rare employee:

"Everybody likes to create this narrative that Microsoft are evil, but that's not the case," Price told Eurogamer. "Phil Spencer taking the mantle of Xbox is one of the best things that could have happened for Rare, because he's always said to people at Rare [as general manager of Microsoft Studios], 'Do what you want to do and we'll back you.'"

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gam...

You don't care about facts though, because you choose to live in a make.believe world instead.

[UCForce]

@TheCommentor I did read it before you posted that link. You should know that MS pushed Rare to the limit that damage their reputation just like Activision did to Bungie. @Obscure_Observer Actually Rare did developed the SoT for 5 years. But then what we got ? A half finished product like No Man Sky.

[TheCommentator]

@ UCFarce

I gave you a link and you give me nothing but your ignorant opinions. You're a fool living in a make.believe world and you can't prove your BS any more than you can disprove my facts (with sources).

[trooper_]

Jinger: Microsoft's focus simply isn't there. I highly doubt they gave Rare full creative freedom, otherwise this game would have been much better.

I grew up with Rare, especially the original Killer Instinct so it's saddening to see them at this stage.

[Jinger]

@Trooper

How much more creative freedom do they need? The game is very creative, it's fun, it has unique things about it but the content just ins't there. Are you trying to say that it's MS's fault that Rare couldn't come up with more than 3 factions in 5 years? It's MS's fault that Rare couldn't finish coding the body of the Kraken in 5 years?

"Microsoft's focus simply isn't there." So are they lacking focus or are they pushing too hard? Which one is it? Seems to me MS put too much faith into the very young Rare and they spent 5 years trying to make pretty water. Everything in SoT just screams that they weren't pushed hard enough. MS should have been demanding more from them for spending 5 years with a 200 man crew...

[trooper_]

Jinger: Why do I have to dissect what Microsoft is doing wrong? Their heart is not in the right place when it comes to games, otherwise they would have been a real threat to Sony.

You can believe what you want to believe but the numbers and critics don't lie.

[ClanPsi1]

What Microsoft really needs to do is just give up and leave the gaming industry.

[Eonjay]

"It became yet another title to add to Microsoft’s ever growing list of games that failed to resonate as widely as Nintendo and Sony’s games do. Why did this happen?"

Because those other two companies are making games. GAAS is completely different. They expected you to 'make your own experiences' and therefore delivered a shallow shell of a game. When a game gets pity scores of 7 and 7.5 things have gone too far. The worst part is that Microsoft hyped this thing up, made a two hour mixer video, sold people this trash and bragged about it.

We also have to remember that Rare is literally just a name that Microsoft purchased from Nintendo to look good. It is not emblematic of past works the old Rare used to produce and Microsoft has made little effort at repairing this situation

[UCForce]

Rare reputation have gone even lower after MS bought them.

[thatguyhayat]

For once i actually agree with this git

[morganfell]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[The_Jackel]

have you actually tested that? like sat there and made sure its only twice during the day😂

[Mr_Wilson]

That really depends on the extent of the damage...

/Looks at UCForce

[morganfell]

"That really depends on the extent of the damage..."

No it doesn't. And I was referring to Pachter. No one in his place in the industry has a worse record. Try going up a few notches and replying directly below UCForce instead of trying to ambush him down here. Otherwise its petty.

[morganfell]

No, you are still wrong. And you are wrong because you think literally. It is a colloquialism. Some would refer to the expression "Even a broken clock is right twice a day" as a metaphorical phrase. Apparently the usage went over your head and you interpreted it by the letter. Sad. Perhaps that explains your lack of understanding driving you to resort to small personal attacks.

[morganfell]

It isn't a phrase meant to be take literally. That is why you are wrong. It isn't a mathematical equation or some finite distance to be measured. It isn't meant to be studied and expounded upon in the halls of science. It is an expression. Nothing more. You focused so hard on the clock you missed the entire point of the matter. Forest for the trees bit in action.

None of this really matters since personal insults are the last line of the defeated. There isn't a participation trophy for you either. You can keep your adolescent island but your maturity, reason, dignity, and intellectual respect are forfeit.

[Ricegum]

Mr Wilson

"You're so stupid it hurts to be part of the same species as you. Please tell me you're actually a ferret?"

Needlessly rude don't you think. The only person here that comes across stupid here is you 😂

[UCForce]

@Mr_Wildon Well, i’m not perfect for sure, but i aware about my flaw not like you. So don’t try to be smart person because you are not.

[Bobafret]

Of course you do.

[bumbleforce]

Hmmmmm weird I know tons of people who play it everyday after work. They are not the type of gamers who go to sites like though. More casual but that seems to be who ms was aiming for

[CrimsonWing69]

Ever since MS bought them they've been a shadow of their former self. I mean DKC, Killer Instinct, Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini all classics... and now... they straight up suck, now.

[Yetter]

Love Sea of Thieves. Can't wait for the update this month and the weekly quests. f all the haters, I've had more fun with Sea of Thieves than any other game this gen

[Kribwalker]

you aren’t the only one. The game has still been selling well almost 2 months from release

https://www.chart-track.co....

hasn’t left the top 20 and was one of the best selling games of april in the UK, a lot of people are having a lot of fun with this game. I’m looking forward to the content updates for sure

[Ricegum]

Way to go, you guys supporting an uninspired shallow game. It's sad to see people happy to see a game like this sell well 😞

[trooper_]

So you're going to sit there and pretend this game couldn't have been better within the four years Rare had to develop it?

Microsoft loves people like you. Accepting mediocrity and pretending its the best game ever.

[AmstradAmiga]

I've not played a game yet I didn't wish something more from. Especially this gen.

[Yetter]

@Unreal01
Its sad to see people like you trying to tell others what they should and shouldn't like

[trooper_]

Microsoft killed Rare.

[Sm00thNinja]

Yeah RARE is RARE in name only none of the original development team works there. They should change their name they're really embarrassing themselves at this point

[mastershredder]

The dipshi7 hack Patcher speaks once again. Um dude, it’s not even the same team of people anymore.... hell..even when their site stopped being amazing and quirky (uncle tusk etc.) it was pretty obvious about the re-org and that rare as we knew it died. So go figure.

This is the best we can do for an annalist. Pathetic.

[Software_Lover]

People only +1 to Pachter when his personal views matches theirs.

[trooper_]

There's times where he made sense. Doesn't make him any less of a flip flopping analyst.

[generationjeu]

It's truly a fall from grace. Not surprising with the mass exodus of talent in the last decade or so. Playtonic has a bunch of Rare vets, plus it must have been soul-crushing to work on so many Kinect games...

[smashman98]

Microsoft needs to disband rare and hire another dev to work on IP like banjo conker and perfect dark. Nothing against rare but sea of theives releasing in the state it did means something is awfully wrong at this studio.

[jhoward585]

RARE is just a name. The talents behind the name are what most important. Lots of things could've changed within the 20 years of RARE's lifespan. Heck, I'm willing to bet many of the original talents at RARE no longer work there. I don't blame them. Thing is, I wouldn't want to work in any of MS game studios because I wouldn't be allowed to explore/expand my creativity to the fullest. Most people don't realize how boring it is to sit in front of a computer for long hours looking at the same animation sequence over and over again. For us, we see everything all at once which is a hell of a lot more exciting. Devs are just as human as we are and if MS don't give them anything to be excited about they will eventually leave the company or end up being unhappy. And, when you're bored you will most likely not have the drive/effort to give it your best.

[obidanshinobi]

Staff come and go throughout the years, it's standard practice in the industry. It happens at all long running development studios.
Still, one of the lead head guys at Rare, Gregg Mayles, has been there since 1989.

Heard a good comment about SoT on a YT review - "It's the best game in the world, for the first three hours....."

[Destiny1080]

its easily one of the best, chicken collecting sims

[InTheZoneAC]

They went downward after the snes

[zodiac909]

No sh*t Pachter...how does this man get paid to state the obvious so many times??

[TheCommentator]

Yeah, but Pachter is never right!

Sea of Thieves is getting 3 content updates in 3 months, and Rare released a game (it would seem a few months before it was ready) that remains successful in spite of the negative press and reviews (and Game Pass). It'll be interesting to see how much these updates add to the experience and how often they'll continue to arrive though. With 3 teams involved in add-on content it could continue to evolve every month for the foreseeable future.

[Kribwalker]

I agree. It’s a game that has sold well even after negative reviews and with people that have been attacking it every chance they get. It will continue to evolve with free content updates, multiple of which have been promised in the next few months.

[TheCommentator]

People (real people who actually played the game, not all the "gamers" that usually post here) won't care in the long run what the game was when it launched as long as in the end it delivers an experience that keeps players engaged in new activities with the DLC.

[ShadowWolf712]

People with a brain wouldn't support practices like this.

Y'all are seriously telling these companies it's perfectly acceptable to launch a full-price game with almost no content so long as they promise to update it later. Boggles the mind how you can't see what a slippery slope that is.

[UCForce]

Let me tell you this. Microsoft killed Rare just like Activision killed Bungie.

[TheCommentator]

Thanks for sharing. Now, the truth:
- Rare split in 2012 and the new studio became Playtonic.
- Rare chose to dedicate to Kinect games.
- Sea of Thieves is very successful in spite of the reviews and Game Pass, and there's only going to be more content from here. So if content sells games, and SoT is selling "without it" then it's going to continue to do very well.

[aConIsDemocracy]

Ms after the Mobile crowd no doubt. Quick money no complaints from intelligent gamers.

[Einhander1971]

I agree I once regarded Rare as one of the best game developers in the world. They defined the snes and n64. But it’s not only Rare, Konami, Capcom, have made some of most iconic games ever especially 16,32 bit era but they aren’t the same nowadays. Both companies have amazing IPs from yesteryear that they could bring back. But the suits that run these companies dont have a clue and have no idea what some gamers want. It’s just profit and f••k the fanbase and the audience that buy games.

[jokerisalive]

Another online only MP game is the LAST thing MS needed to push with its serious drought of exclusives this gen. Rare could have told a unique story with a sp offline campaign for this title and still had a mp mode for pirate battles or treasure hunts. This is why Xbox is where it is.

[360ICE]

Microsoft was always a bad fit for Rare

[Tazzy]

I have to agree with Pachter since Microsoft bought them their games haven't been great like they once were I would have developed Conker 2 before Sea of Thieves.

[BlaqMagiq1]

Rare died over a decade ago. Microsoft buying them was almost like a death sentence. A far cry from their SNES and N64 days.

[corroios]

I cant believe that Rare with 4+ years didn't had time to put somekind of story into this game. I just cant believe. Its not even that hard to make a pirate story....

Sea thieves shows where Microsoft is at this time. It could have been great, but it wasn't. Not because of lack of power, but because the lack common sense. Any gamer with half a brain would tell all the problems the game got...

[jhoward585]

MS/game studios main problem is they cut too corners in the production phase. The Devs don't really have much to do with the creative development of the game. The creative stuff is mostly handled by the artist/writer/game director. Then once everything is done in the pre-production phase it is passed on to the Devs to create the idea/gameplay. So MS needs to hire more artists with a diverse art style/writer/game directors if they want to compete with Sony.

[ShadowWolf712]

The artists, writers, and director are all part of the development team, dude.

[jhoward585]

I guess I use the wrong word. I'm speaking from experience. I agree, but the main initial work is done by the animators/3d modelers/code programmers/etc. Though, I have met a few artists that worked on Call of duty in the past. They told me after they did all of the artwork/textures/ stories board they felt alienated and did not feel like they were part of the teams. I also heard some writers experiencing the same things. Not too sure about game director as I don't know much about their role in the game development process.

[JerseyDon]

The concept of the game was actually great it was just executed very poorly. If it hadoe content and variety in the gameplay it would have been epic. The foundation was there

[Knightofelemia]

Glad I skipped this game I'll just wait for Skull and Bones that Ubisoft anbnounced last year it looks way better. I personally think since Microsoft bought up Rare the company has tanked yeah they have some great franchises that spanned many Nintendo consoles. I think Microsoft is not fully utilizing the company and their ip's that came with the purchase of Rare. Honestly when Rare went up for sale I was hoping Sony or Nintendo would have bought them and fully utilized the company and their ip's. I know one thing if I worked for Rare and found out Microsoft bought us I would be jumping ship.

[Sayai jin]

People usually disagree with patcher...lol.

[Elda]

Sad. Rare's best days were when they developed for Nintendo.

[Xavi4K]

Yet sea of theives is there fastest selling Ip =)

[UCForce]

Yeah, but it’s gone down every single week. God of War is still at NO 1 UK Charts in third week. God of War sold 3.1 millions units in 3 days. That’s the fastest selling PS4 Exclusive.

[Markusb33]

Many of the original talent left before the buy out. They started round the corner from where I live in the uk.

[Psychosious]

Microsoft killed Rare, gutted and directed to doom.

[Kuma]

Face it,SOT is a dog. Let’s move on and look forward to RD2.

[RadicalCannibal]

Pachter, desk jockey. Analyst, finger in the wind. Waster.

[chris235]

after all this one should think people in general were a bit more cautious and not blindly support something that was once successfully branded. but no. ranting on and on about the good old times is much easier, eh. don‘t support BS and you will get your good times back.

[FallenAngel1984]

“They’ve stuck with Rare for 20 years”

The Xbox brand isn’t even 20 years old yet. The Rare acquisition happened 16 years ago, don’t round up to make it sound longer than it actually is

[HeyNowChillax]

Sea of Thieves is an incredible achievement IMO. A game designed around (and promoted to provide) unique coop experiences at sea. I have little doubt they will include more content based on player feedback and make this game even more approachable to a larger audience. In the meantime, the game as it is now is highly polished and will surely stoke the fires of your inner D&D.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Rare what happen to you.

[sprinterboy]

They left

[MorpheusX]

Like Bungie, I imagine Rare is just a name, as the poineers aka original development team are long gone now.

Which mostly explains the current quality of games being released by these 2 once great Studios.

EA isn't the only Studio killer, Activision & Microsoft have a track record as well.

[BadElf]

Ohh yeah, remember Sea of Thieves ?

[TheOttomatic91]

Uh no Sea of Thieves is by far their worst product which is quite surprising when you think about it.

[m2stech]

For once he actually said the right thing, nevertheless most thing Microsoft touches end up dying.

[quent]

I feel like Rare at this point is a step ahead of being where Bioware could end up by the same time next year, reputation wise at least.

I don't se why pubs don't just let devs play to they're strengths, let them do what they're good at and have a reasonable, yet a "guaranteed" amount of financial success with they're games, but instead of that we get corporate meddling, following popular trends and possibly, companies gambling its brands reputation away along with the people that work for them, all for a chance, not a "guarantee", at making as big a profit as they're greed allows

Tldr

They'd rather gamble it all and "try" to get all the profits, then guarantee success and get a reasonable amount of the profits

[TheTony316]

Well, they went downhill the moment MS bought them.

[ScootaKuH]

Microsoft killed Rare. They were far more creative under Nintendo. It's sad to see what they have become

[Profchaos]

20 years ago is a long time ago lots of people that spin good have moved on or retired they are not the rare of old.

[_LarZen_]

For me Sea of Thieves is one of the most fun games I’ve played in a long time. But I get the complaints and criticism. Hopefully the content Rare have planed will be good and that those who have left the game will give it a chance again.

[DJStotty]

Pachter doesnt know his arse from his elbow.

I enjoyed the beta so i will still play it when i purchase gamepass on payday.

[windblowsagain]

Should have gone to Sony. Wasted at MS.

[woozy]

only solace for xbox players that is better than nothing, sad part the game itself is almost nothing, the irony.

[PizzaSteve]

Instead of making all those lame Kinect games they could've had more time to focus only on Sea of Thieves.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

This is why just buying studios does not hlp..you need to manage and curate talent over time, MS sucks at this.

[FernDiggidy]

You guys could have made a brand new Conker's Bad Fur Day, or a GOOD Perfect Dark, or another Jet Force Gemini......but no, you had to make sea of thieves. lol

Change your company name. You are not worthy of the name Rare.

[PS3_Noob]

Another nail in rare's coffin.

NMS is going to launch in Xbox but may be they should still update the game and add some content for free obviously.

[ImportGamer3004]

Rare has been DEAD since 2002.