670°

Rare are about to become a whole lot more valuable

Europe-nintendo.com writes "Rare were the stars of the 5th generation. Releasing the famous Donkey kong 64, Banjo kazooie and Banjo Kazooie tooie, and of course the legendary Goldeneye. They made millions on the Nintendo 64, however this tempted Microsoft as they entered the console wars. They were snapped up by Microsoft for a hefty $375 million, the most ever payed for a gaming studio. However since their purchase by Microsoft Rare haven't yet made a truly blockbuster game, either in terms of sales or reception.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Conker reloaded were the first two Xbox games Rare made while under Microsoft's rule, both of which barely scraped along the average mark and neither of which sold particularly well, and Grabbed by the Ghoulies was the biggest flop in Rare's history. Rare's mass appeal on the Nintendo 64 was the massive casual market. Although the Playstation dominated the scene, the Nintendo 64 still had millions of casual gamers, games such as Banjo Kazooie and Donkey kong are the sort of colourful games that appeal to these gamers. One of the reasons Rare have underperformed on the Xbox and Xbox 360 is probably due to the fact that the Gamecube and Playstation are more appealing to the casual gamers."

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europe-nintendo.com
PirateThom5660d ago

One of the reasons Rare have underperformed is because they have never made casual games.

Oh, and the fact they're a shadow of their former selves.

Adamalicious5660d ago

Yeah, I thought all their talent pretty much bailed when Microsoft bought them.

crimsonfox5660d ago

they let me down super crazy when they tried to re make conkers..it was better on 64

BWS19825660d ago

all left when Free Radical was formed. It's Rare, but then again, it's not, when you have such a substantial departure.

vhero5660d ago

yep as with most companys that get bought out there best members leave and form a new company when bought out which makes buying out usually pointless these days as you buy sequels but there usually crap as they never have the greatness of the originals.

Tomdc5659d ago

bit harsh guys! I dunno bout there history with N-64 cos I aint that old but I know banjo kazooie is a good game by them.

Besides the takeover of microsoft happened a a generation transition. It could be they stooped in quality due to the jump to the next platform rather than the microsoft takeover.

AuToFiRE5659d ago

Yeah those were the smart ones, its just like EA buying T2, all the good ones bail and start their own company

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5659d ago
ape0075660d ago (Edited 5660d ago )

microsoft,bring back the original rare team and the 360 will be the greatest system of all time without a doubt,ms and nick borton knows that very well.

Omegasyde5660d ago

Most of the original rare team is spread throughout free radical and eidos.

They should let bungie take over Rare for restructuring.

Th3 Chr0nic5660d ago

Bungie and Microsoft just parted ways so why would MS let rare team with bungie

Th3 Chr0nic5660d ago

To summarize the article:
Rare used to be great then microsoft bought them and they havent done anything good since. They are still around and might make something awesome in the future.
End Summary

In closing: This can be said about almost any game studio that had some big hits but are still alive and kicking the crap out like a cow patty factory.

EndHawkstrike5660d ago

Why?Why Rare?Why you have betrayed BIG N?Nintendo fans are crying for your games,they want little cute pathetic games like viva pinata/liehard wannabe pokemonfather,Fatjoe & Babooie,and,and,and so for!Are you OK?Can you be normaly please?Can you die please?Micromof can close your plastic studio,you know?

PirateThom5660d ago

Nintendo sold their stock in the company to Microsoft, as if they had predicted it was going to burst.

BlackRaven855660d ago

Exactly, they would have closed it down.

Adamalicious5660d ago

What are you talking about? If you're insinuating that blogs are somehow against the submission guidelines then you need to stop drinking the N4G rumor-mill kool-aid.

whothedog5660d ago (Edited 5660d ago )

no I'm "insinuating" that a blog that states the obvious by a random person doesn't need to be "news", I read a pointless article is what I'm getting at. and Didn't the rules say blogs by no one important is not really considered news sooo...

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50°

The Rise of the Metro Series

A look back at 4A Games' admirably consistent post-apocalyptic shooter franchise.

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gamingbolt.com
atharazka27m ago

good to know it's being better now

60°

The Nordic Game 2024 (NG24) Spring conference is to host more than 150 speakers

"While the 20 year anniversary edition of Nordic Game, NG24 Spring's homepage on 21-24 May in Malmö, Sweden, is getting closer, the organizers announced that more than 150 speakers are now lined up for the show." - Nordic Game.

170°

I Miss When Games Came In Full Package Rather Than Broken Mess Filled With Microtransactions

The gaming industry has drifted away from offering full-fledged games to putting unfinished titles that are jam-packed with microtransactions on the market.

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gamescordia.com
Christopher1d 18h ago

It's not the fault of the gaming industry. Gamers were told what was happening, were warned about where this would lead, did nothing, and now are acting like it's the fault of publishers that they kept buying these games and investing in MTX. If only those gamers at that time felt as strongly about these things as they do Helldivers 2.

Hugodastrevas1d 17h ago

I don't think MTX target the common gamer but instead predate on the so called "whales". It's gambling pure and simple.

Christopher1d 15h ago

Oh, so it's okay to buy MTX-laden games as long as you don't spend money on MTX, which has led to even more MTX-laden games with even more predatory practices where content that used to be unlocked is now behind paywalls?

C'mon now people. You gave the corporations and inch, and they kept taking and taking. Community members told people that investing in these things alone would only lead to more and more MTX and putting more and more behind paywalls. But it's only the fault of the corporations, not the people who kept supporting it with purchases as more and more was taken away?

Hugodastrevas1d 15h ago

@Christopher that's a straw man, I didn't say any of that I just added context.

-Foxtrot1d 13h ago

Well exactly

People stand up for something which seems small to them and they get called whiners or negative. Then years later the shit hits the fan and they all go “why is this happening?” Like they are innocent.

The issue aswell is younger gamers who grew up with all this thinking it’s normal and we all just look like old farts yelling at clouds when we’re trying to help us all, even them.

Crows9018h ago

Who woulda thought that listening to your elders could be a good idea...too late now

Hofstaderman18h ago

It all started with that damn horse armour. Back then I thought nobody was stupid to buy into that crap. How wrong I was....

CrimsonWing6917h ago(Edited 17h ago)

I like how people move the goal-post. First it’s, f*ck any game with MTX’s, f*ck GaaS games, f*ck this game with “optional” MTX’s (Dragon’s Dogma 2), Helldivers 2 is ok because it’s fun and even though it has Battle Passes or Season Passes and MTX’s it’s ok because… you don’t need to buy them? 🤷‍♂️

HellDivers 2 is the best selling game this year. Just think about that, games like FF7 Rebirth sold poorly, but a continuous game that lives off recurring revenue sells extraordinarily well. Then we’ll hear everyone b*tch about a GaaS future.

I really wonder what this industry would’ve been like if we never gave into this crap, and yes I’m saying “WE” since I’m guilty of it, but man it’s literally no closing the door once it’s been opened.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 17h ago
Hugodastrevas1d 17h ago

This is what amazed me the most when playing hours upon hours of stellar Blade version 1.00.00 no bugs, no crashes, no sudden drops in frames, no screen tear, no falling from the world, just a complete package on a game under 50GB.
I think Korea will play a major role in gaming in the long run , because they're releasing banger after banger.

isarai1d 17h ago

Still pretty common to find if you stay away from the AAA publishers, in the last 10yrs ive probably only bought like 3 games combined from EA/ACTIVISION/UBISOFT. Even now i still buy games that work right out the box perfectly fine. Just recently got like 6hrs into Alone in the Dark, and not a single sign of any of that bs, really enjoying my time with it.

shinoff21831d 9h ago

There's such a misconception about every game needing a patch,this and that when in reality it's not even close. You nailed it isarai

Crows9018h ago

It's really only AAA devs and publishers that seem to have these constant problems

z2g20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

And we as gamers have to accept our role in that. Constantly never being satisfied. Constantly demanding more while paying less. Constantly demanding better frame rates, better graphics, more modes and faster faster faster…. Then review bombing the product when a demand isn’t met. Meanwhile those same demands are making games more difficult, complex and more expensive to create than ever before, on shrinking timelines that burn out employees and make their lives miserable.

You wanna know why so many games get delayed? Cuz the original release dates weren’t realistic to begin with, but you can’t tell a gamer their game is further away than they want to hear. Some dev or game designer will be threatened physically. That builds even more pressure and rushing. We are officially squeezing water out of rocks and still complaining about that how hard you have to squeeze the rock be just waiting for rain. Most of the time we take it out on the developing studio, when it’s the publisher making the calls.

All you need to do is read the comments on most websites and social media to see how toxic, entitled and petty the gaming community at large is, and realize how that transforms into impossible expectations on the parts of game makers.

Crows9018h ago

Nope. Some gamers are to blame. Never demanded anything you mentioned.

A fully finished and functioning product is a standard. It's not demanded. If someone sells you a tv that only works 60% of the time are you going to recommend it OR write a review calling out the obvious problem...it's not a demand...it's a standard.

A standard triple A publishers can't seem to hit consistently.

thorstein17h ago

You've never heard of planned obsolescence.

HankHill14h ago

I take it you like microtransactions? 🤣

Kinza5501220h ago(Edited 20h ago)

This is one battle that gamers have never won, hahaha. They were parading recently for their "win" against Sony. Where's the energy for this one, guys? LMAO!

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