Rumor: Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark Coming to XBLA

[Bond]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/GoldenEye007box.jpg

Citing reliable sources, Xbox Evolved is reporting that Goldeneye 007, the original Perfect Dark and the original Banjo-Kazooie are all headed to the Xbox Live Arcade thanks to a deal worked out between all of the studios and license holders.

Goldeneye, according to the rumor, will hit XBLA shortly after the new Goldeneye, being developed by Activision, is released. The site also says Rare is examining the rest of their back catalog for future XBLA titles. We've contacted Microsoft for comment but haven't heard back yet. We'll make sure to update once we do.

Source: Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/342745/rumor-goldeneye-007-perfect-dark-coming-to-xbla)

If true, this would be pretty awesome.

[thatmariolover]

It would be pretty awesome. I guess I'm skeptical until I see something concrete, as Nintendo has been trying to iron out the rights since November of 2006. Then again, seeing as Goldeneye hasn't been released in all that time on the VC, it may mean Nintendo was denied.

[Angrist]

Didn't Nintendo keep certain rights to Rare games? Hm probably not, just the original Nintendo characters.

Anyway, they were both great games with sometimes awful framerates, let's hope they fix those!

[BreakABone]

Goldeneye is a really really weird game.

As there are two other rumors floating around right now as well

First from eGM which claims MS pulled the plug on the game recently for no reason.

The other stating that XBLA would see an enchanced port while VC got the original, but Nintendo shot that down because they were getting short changed.

Also this game is just all over the place with licesning.

[Bond]

I sincerely doubt the game will be updated with new features regardless of what system receives it.

Here is Gamespot on the rumor:

"Several hurdles stand in the way of GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64 being ported over. For one, Nintendo has expressed interest in bringing the acclaimed shooter to its own arcade classic depository, the Virtual Console. "Would I love to see it on [the] Virtual Console? Absolutely," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said of the game in 2006, continuing, "But there are a lot of issues there... Suffice it to say we would love to see it, so we're exploring all the rights issues."

One of the primary issues Fils-Aime undoubtedly meant revolved around licensing. Currently, the 007 license rests in the hands of Activision, which announced it had acquired the rights to the brand from Electronic Arts during the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo. However, with Activision planning to resuscitate 007 later this year with its first take on the franchise, the publisher could do much worse than rereleasing the pinnacle installment in the franchise to pique gamers' interest.

The development deal also seems likely, considering the unique status Rare maintains as a Microsoft-owned studio. Though Microsoft purchased Nintendo's stake in the UK-based developer in 2002, Rare has continued to release games for Nintendo's handheld devices. In addition to several Donkey Kong Country installments on the Game Boy Advance, Rare most recently brought its signature pint-sized gorilla to the DS in 2006 with Diddy Kong Racing DS. The developer is also planning to bring its papier-mâché garden Viva Piñata to Nintendo's popular portable later this year.

Rare also has precedents for developing on Microsoft's virtual arcade. In March, Rare released Jetpac Refuelled on Xbox Live Arcade, which is a reimagined version of its 1983 shooter classic Jetpac for the ZX Spectrum. Speculation also abounds that the developer will be creating an Xbox Live offshoot of its Viva Piñata series titled The Fast and Furriest, rumored to be a sports minigame compilation that will incorporate the Xbox Live Vision camera."

It seems pretty credible to me.

[BreakABone]

I sincerely doubt the game will be updated with new features regardless of what system receives it.

Here is Gamespot on the rumor:

"Several hurdles stand in the way of GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64 being ported over. For one, Nintendo has expressed interest in bringing the acclaimed shooter to its own arcade classic depository, the Virtual Console. "Would I love to see it on [the] Virtual Console? Absolutely," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said of the game in 2006, continuing, "But there are a lot of issues there... Suffice it to say we would love to see it, so we're exploring all the rights issues."

One of the primary issues Fils-Aime undoubtedly meant revolved around licensing. Currently, the 007 license rests in the hands of Activision, which announced it had acquired the rights to the brand from Electronic Arts during the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo. However, with Activision planning to resuscitate 007 later this year with its first take on the franchise, the publisher could do much worse than rereleasing the pinnacle installment in the franchise to pique gamers' interest.

The development deal also seems likely, considering the unique status Rare maintains as a Microsoft-owned studio. Though Microsoft purchased Nintendo's stake in the UK-based developer in 2002, Rare has continued to release games for Nintendo's handheld devices. In addition to several Donkey Kong Country installments on the Game Boy Advance, Rare most recently brought its signature pint-sized gorilla to the DS in 2006 with Diddy Kong Racing DS. The developer is also planning to bring its papier-mâché garden Viva Piñata to Nintendo's popular portable later this year.

Rare also has precedents for developing on Microsoft's virtual arcade. In March, Rare released Jetpac Refuelled on Xbox Live Arcade, which is a reimagined version of its 1983 shooter classic Jetpac for the ZX Spectrum. Speculation also abounds that the developer will be creating an Xbox Live offshoot of its Viva Piñata series titled The Fast and Furriest, rumored to be a sports minigame compilation that will incorporate the Xbox Live Vision camera."

It seems pretty credible to me.

Pretty much what I was saying.
Its in some weird limbo where everyone wants it, but everyone needs a deal that works best for them and that is gonna be hard to work out I think.

[thatmariolover]

Frankly, if it came out on both I'd be more likely to get it for 360. They seem happy to improve the framerate on their emulated releases - unlike Nintendo who continues to disappoint me by releasing N64 games being emulated at the same speed they ran on their original console (ie, freaking terrible framerates).

Edit:
I'd like to elaborate on the reasoning behind Nintendo's decision. The main reason they're sticking with a standard framerate is because they've stuck with the emulator they wrote for the Zelda Collectors Edition released on Gamecube. They take the emulator and then tweak the settings to run whichever game they happen to be releasing at the time and bundle the settings data with the ROM file when you buy it from the Virtual Console. That way they have to do minimal work in maintaining the emulator and can pick and choose which N64 games to release based on current computability with the emulator and can delay having to actually improve it (whether by adding features or adding broader/better compatibility) until the last possible second. It's a lazy tactic and it sickens me that the homebrew community would give a million times the effort in providing quality releases relative to the effort Nintendo is willing to expend.

:rant:

[Angrist]

I know a guy whose Super Mario Bros 1 plays faster than it's supposed to be. He calls it "SMB on speed." Nintendo could really do better....

[KillerGremlin]

The Arcade this would be cool, Banjo-Kazooie is a classic.

I wish people would let Goldeneye die. It was tons of fun back in the day. It was the N64's Halo...And just like with Halo, the PC was already ahead of the game. What made Goldeneye fun was the 4-player multiplayer. And it still is fun every once in a while, especially when you get 3 buds, a N64, and some booze.

[BreakABone]

Frankly, if it came out on both I'd be more likely to get it for 360. They seem happy to improve the framerate on their emulated releases - unlike Nintendo who continues to disappoint me by releasing N64 games being emulated at the same speed they ran on their original console (ie, freaking terrible framerates).

Edit:
I'd like to elaborate on the reasoning behind Nintendo's decision. The main reason they're sticking with a standard framerate is because they've stuck with the emulator they wrote for the Zelda Collectors Edition released on Gamecube. They take the emulator and then tweak the settings to run whichever game they happen to be releasing at the time and bundle the settings data with the ROM file when you buy it from the Virtual Console. That way they have to do minimal work in maintaining the emulator and can pick and choose which N64 games to release based on current computability with the emulator and can delay having to actually improve it (whether by adding features or adding broader/better compatibility) until the last possible second. It's a lazy tactic and it sickens me that the homebrew community would give a million times the effort in providing quality releases relative to the effort Nintendo is willing to expend.

:rant:

Hmmm...

Well all I would say is that Virtual Console seems pretty intent on giving you as close as possible an experience as the original game.

However, I could see many enhanced ports/versions making its way to WiiWare. So maybe there are some plans in regard to that.

[gekko]

That's assuming the game was designed (code design) in a way where the framerate can be adjusted easily. People have this magical idea that framerates can be improved simply by sticking it on better hardware. Yes, and no. It depends on the code.

PC games, since their designed for changing hardware, go through additional steps to ensure the game plays the same at faster framerates. That's why you can usually display it and you somehow think your gaming experience is improved by hitting triple digits. As long as you and NVIDIA's CEO are happy, it will continue.

Consoles are a different story, and finding someone familiar with GoldenEye's code is nearly impossible. You'll be paying a team to figure out the code, fix the problems, and release it. Even if it goes up to 60fps, the characters will still move at the same slow-ass speed, then will just be drawn twice as many times.

[thatmariolover]

That's assuming the game was designed (code design) in a way where the framerate can be adjusted easily. People have this magical idea that framerates can be improved simply by sticking it on better hardware. Yes, and no. It depends on the code.

PC games, since their designed for changing hardware, go through additional steps to ensure the game plays the same at faster framerates. That's why you can usually display it and you somehow think your gaming experience is improved by hitting triple digits. As long as you and NVIDIA's CEO are happy, it will continue.

Consoles are a different story, and finding someone familiar with GoldenEye's code is nearly impossible. You'll be paying a team to figure out the code, fix the problems, and release it. Even if it goes up to 60fps, the characters will still move at the same slow-ass speed, then will just be drawn twice as many times.

No, if it is compatible with the code and the horsepower is available then increasing the framerate is not an issue (assuming the developer knows what they're doing). Now that Wii homebrew has been unlocked (see my other thread) and homebrew developers are given a free hand, this will become self evident. All that matters is that you have it tracking the timing so that the game speed doesn't increase 1:1 with the framerate. Regardless of if Bond would still move slow, or the animations were poor, the movement would still be smoother. Explosions wouldn't have to slow the framerate down. The fact is, Nintendo is using an old emulator, designed for Gamecube hardware, that they've barely touched since the Zelda Collectors Edition was released.

[gekko]

You actually need to track the time on many, many different items, on top of the loop itself. You're assuming that's been done, but in all likelihood it hasn't.

There's a reason N64 emulators are designed to emulate N64 hardware. If you want to improve it, you need to hire a team to fix it. Why would they do that?

[thatmariolover]

You actually need to track the time on many, many different items, on top of the loop itself. You're assuming that's been done, but in all likelihood it hasn't.

There's a reason N64 emulators are designed to emulate N64 hardware. If you want to improve it, you need to hire a team to fix it. Why would they do that?

I don't know, to offer a better product?

Most of the work (in regards to timings and specific hacks to get a game to run) for many of the N64 titles (including Goldeneye) has already been done. There are many open source N64 emulators and several documented instances within the source with examples commented out.

Now that Wii homebrew is possible though, I guess I'll just wait for the Mupen64 port.

[BreakABone]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165391

Seems like the only thing they were planning on doinng was adding online play and removing the characters who did not want to make a re-appearance.

I would assume they would sharpen up the graphics and fix the framerate, but wasn't mentioned.

And who knows sometimes emulated software on XBLA has shown to be a bit... worse? I think the Sega games are victims of that though.

[Bond]

Nintendo must have wanted a ridiculous share of the profit if Microsoft wouldn't agree to the terms.

[gekko]

Nintendo financed the entire production of the game. I'd assume they would.