Imagine the repercussions if this is indeed proven true.
An unsavory relationship between Rare and Nintendo.
Ouch.

noooo...

perfect dark 0 better come to and stay with the cube.:(

Office for Windows sucks. Office for Mac is a work of art.

And PD blew chunks. Also, searched around. Activision Press Releases, anything? Notta. Now if Rare just invested all this money, they would release a press release because it's critical to their stock holders. And since they didn't, chances are they haven't bought out Rare. Also, they would want to promote a new purchase, wouldn't they?

Also, IGN doesn't have it, and they at least confirm their news before posting it (unlike GamesRadar).

...

what does pd stand for?:)

Ummmm doesnt nintendo own like 23% of rare or am i just an idiot?

Anyway i dont think rare will leave nintendo they'll have nothing left and have to start over again.

Perfect Dark.... :hmm:

Sony owns some of Square too... but neither Sony or Nintendo own enough of either company to stop them from developing for another console.

and what's wrong with Starting over?

how did pd blow chunks, that game is gonna be the best fps ever.

sony owns 19% of square

nintendo owns 23% of rare

:)

This would be awesome news if it is true. Now it's just a waiting game.

First of all, GamesRadar isn't exactly what you would call a reputable source. At least I don't consider them to be. They posted a story yesterday which was actually Nintendojo's April Fool's Joke (somehow, GamesRadar failed to realize that news posted on April 1st should be taken with a grain of salt. They also don't seem to realize that Nintendojo is rather sketchy as well).

Secondly, I don't think Rare is for sale. The other major owner of Rareware aside from Nintendo is the Stamper brothers (the guys who founded it). For Activision to buy out Rareware, the Stamper brothers would have to give up their share.

Thirdly, sit down and think about this for a second. Rareware is a huge development house of over 200 employees. Activision is not only much less well known but also smaller. Do you really think Activision can afford Rareware?

Fourthly, Activision is a publicly traded company. They would not be able to secretly purchase another company. Since the purchase of Rareware hasn't appeared on any company reports, it's highly unlikely that it ever happened. In these days with the collapse of Enron, companies are being especially careful not to hide their business deals.

Fifthly, Activision's sales were $748 million last year, with profits of $42 million. Nintendo is expected to post over $1 billion in just profits. All of this is publicly available information. Nintendo is not stupid enough to let some other company buy one of their second parties, and Nintendo wouldn't have any trouble at all outbidding Activision for Rareware.

wow, nice post. ur so right too. everyone listen to this, for this is tru. why would activision want to buy rare anyway. there is no reason for it. i dont think rare is leaving nintendo. thats all jus bull. besisdes i never heard it anaywhere esle besides here and afew non official junk sites.

That's a very good point. If Rareware was for sale, which it probabaly isn't, Nintendo would definetly be able to bid more than Activision. I think it's possible for Rare going 3rd party, but I highly doubt Activision would be able to buy it.

That is such a preposterous rumor!

How likely it is for Rare to leave the biggest international console games publisher in the world, to go with Activision(not saying they aren't big too)?

At this point onward, Rare's objective will most likely to move UP in the industry...not take a backward step.

If Rare goes any where, they'll most likely go the independent route, and expand from there.


PS: I suppose if they HAD to go the multiplatform route, Activision is a good resource supplier to have. However, this is Rare we are talking about, they have a name and will be more than willing to expand on it... meaning; Acquisition are out of the mix!.

Xantar, your point is invalid...

1) Nintendo will post 1 billion in profits because they make consoles... and they have the handheld market on lock.

2) What would make RARE more money (not Nintendo)... think about it. Rare could continue making exclusive games for Gamecube plublished by Nintendo and make all the money they made as a 2nd party.... and on top of that they would be able to port (new) games to every system and make a lot of extra $$$.

5 years down the line, Rare being a 3rd party would be a LOT more smart. I'm not even going to touch on the fact that GCN might fail (stping Nintendo from buying Rare)... and Xbox might fail (stoping Microsoft from buying Rare)...

IMO this news makes perfect sense... Rare wants to make more money in the long run.