Who Killed Rare?

[BreakABone]

Thought this was an interesting read on the State of Rare and its history.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ho-killed-rare

[Neo]

Kristin Shepard

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Neo

Kristin Shepard

I usually go with the one-armed man!

[KillerGremlin]

It wouldn't be Gametavern if I didn't find an anti-Nintendo spin but....

Proof that Nintendo's philosophy doesn't translate to the rest of the gaming industry? I feel like Rare was a longtime joint Nintendo venture, and sort of died when they were forced to meet the industry demands of big games. Same goes with Sega. This isn't a knock on Nintendo, in fact this is a big sideways compliment. Nintendo has many philosophies that seem to align with the indie game companies and small developers of yesteryear.

Or maybe it is as simple as small indie companies change when they get new staff.

There was a lot of talk about Microsoft screwing Bungie over. That hit much closer to home. Halo 2 when originally announced had all sorts of cool shit that never made it into the final game. There was talks of destructible environments, more use of dark spaces and flashlights, different vehicles for different terrain...I mean tons of cool stuff that looked like it was in the beta stage. And then the game was delayed for a year, a bunch of shit disappeared, the single player was kind of "meh" and the big thing was online gaming which was fun but kind of dumbed down as well.

So who knows what extent Microsoft gets involved with their projects.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

It wouldn't be Gametavern if I didn't find an anti-Nintendo spin but....

Proof that Nintendo's philosophy doesn't translate to the rest of the gaming industry? I feel like Rare was a longtime joint Nintendo venture, and sort of died when they were forced to meet the industry demands of big games. Same goes with Sega. This isn't a knock on Nintendo, in fact this is a big sideways compliment. Nintendo has many philosophies that seem to align with the indie game companies and small developers of yesteryear.

Or maybe it is as simple as small indie companies change when they get new staff.

There was a lot of talk about Microsoft screwing Bungie over. That hit much closer to home. Halo 2 when originally announced had all sorts of cool shit that never made it into the final game. There was talks of destructible environments, more use of dark spaces and flashlights, different vehicles for different terrain...I mean tons of cool stuff that looked like it was in the beta stage. And then the game was delayed for a year, a bunch of shit disappeared, the single player was kind of "meh" and the big thing was online gaming which was fun but kind of dumbed down as well.

So who knows what extent Microsoft gets involved with their projects.

Nintendo's philosophy, really only has to work for them and their 2nd party.
And, not to be surprised, it makes sense. One of the few companies that are still around after 25 years.. and who continue to be relevant in the grand scheme of things.

That said, it just seems like Rare was mismanaged and let some success go to their head instead of just focusing on being a good developer, they KNEW they were a good developer.

[KillerGremlin]

I consider Nintendo relevant, yeah. I wish they focused on innovating in their games and less so with hardware or gimmicky tech shit. I still adore many Nintendo titles, or titles developed for Nintendo. Pikmin is one of my favorite games ever, and reminds me of games like Plants vs. Zombies or World of Goo. Games with a ton of quirk, big heart, and gameplay that is even bigger than the quirk and big heart. When a game captivates me like that, it reminds me that gaming is really art. There's been a handful of Nintendo games that have had that effect on me.

Nintendo held licensing rights over Rare, right? So that must have made it hard for Rare to develop new games. I think that is another factor brushed off. I remember when Rare was sold to Microsoft, the big talk was the fact that Nintendo retained the licensing rights to all of Rare's interesting franchises.

[gekko]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

There was a lot of talk about Microsoft screwing Bungie over. That hit much closer to home. Halo 2 when originally announced had all sorts of cool shit that never made it into the final game. There was talks of destructible environments, more use of dark spaces and flashlights, different vehicles for different terrain...I mean tons of cool stuff that looked like it was in the beta stage. And then the game was delayed for a year, a bunch of shit disappeared, the single player was kind of "meh" and the big thing was online gaming which was fun but kind of dumbed down as well.

So who knows what extent Microsoft gets involved with their projects.

Bungie put out an anniversary video recently which tells the whole story. Things like Bungie was out of money and approached Microsoft looking to be purchased, and all what happened during Halo 2 which caused them to be cut. If anything, Bungie was lucky they were able to be sheltered from the corporate Microsoft culture. Rare being so far away, I assume is the same way.

But either way, cutting things is part of game development, you just usually don't hear about it because it's bad marketing. Just be happy the game actually shipped.

[Professor S]

Short answer... Darwin. Evolve or die.

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by gekko

Bungie put out an anniversary video recently which tells the whole story. Things like Bungie was out of money and approached Microsoft looking to be purchased, and all what happened during Halo 2 which caused them to be cut. If anything, Bungie was lucky they were able to be sheltered from the corporate Microsoft culture. Rare being so far away, I assume is the same way.

But either way, cutting things is part of game development, you just usually don't hear about it because it's bad marketing. Just be happy the game actually shipped.

Thanks, I never knew this. This is very interesting.

I enjoyed Halo 2 very much, but I was pretty jaded for a while when it came out. I dislike dual wielding...but I love murder ball or whatever that mod is where you hold onto the skull for a minute to win.

Playing murder ball on Lockout...oh man. So frantic and awesome. That's easily one of the best gameplay mods ever.

[The Germanator]

Very good article. I haven't really kept up with the current generation, but I knew I haven't heard anything from Rare in a long time. They were such an important part of my gaming history. Their run of games for N64 (probably my gaming heyday) was pretty amazing. I looked forward to every single one they made and more often than not they succeeded.

Their output for NES is amazing too...and since that's the era I seem to be stuck in, it's pretty sweet that they made RC Pro-Am, Battletoads, Cobra Triangle, Snake Rattle n' Roll.

I know I'm living in the past, but their legacy is pretty great in my brain.