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| [[File:Rare logo.png|thumb|200px|Current logo (2015-present).]] | | [[File:Rare logo.png|thumb|200px|Current logo (2015-present).]] |
| '''Rare Ltd.''' (formerly trade-named '''Rareware''') is a British video game developer that created the ''[[Banjo-Kazooie (series)|Banjo-Kazooie]]'' series. They are also best known for developing some other games, including ''[[mariowiki:Donkey Kong Country|Donkey Kong Country]]'' and ''[[rarewiki:GoldenEye 007|GoldenEye 007]]''. | | '''Rare Ltd.''' (formerly known as '''Rareware''') is a British video game developer that created the ''[[Banjo-Kazooie (series)|Banjo-Kazooie]]'' series. They are also best known for developing some other games, including ''[http://mariowiki.com/Donkey_Kong_Country Donkey Kong Country]'' and ''{{wp|Goldeneye 007}}''. |
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| ==History==
| | Prior to the Nintendo GameCube era, Rare was a second party developer for [[Nintendo]], meaning all of their were exclusively published on Nintendo consoles. In September 2002, [[Microsoft]] bought the entire company from Nintendo. Since then, Rare has been a first party developer for Microsoft, and would exclusively publish their home console titles on Xbox systems, including ''[[Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts]]''. |
| The origins can be traced back to 1982 when Tim and Chris Stamper founded ''Ultimate Play the Game''. The studio saw early success on personal computers like the ZX Spectrum with titles like ''[[rarewiki:Jetpac|Jetpac]]'', ''[[rarewiki:Atic Atac|Atic Atac]]'', ''[[rarewiki:Sabre Wulf|Sabre Wulf]]'', and ''[[rarewiki:Knight Lore|Knight Lore]]''. One day, the team decided to focus on the international market. They created a subsidiary called Rare in 1985 to reverse engineer the Famicom hardware to learn its inner workings, something that [[Nintendo]] had previously claimed to be an impossibility. After impressing Nintendo with its tech demos, Rare was granted unlimited budget for developing Nintendo Entertainment System games. At this time, the team decided to sell the Ultimate Play the Game brand to U.S. Gold, and the entire company was renamed to Rare. A string of successful NES releases followed, including ''[[rarewiki:R.C. Pro-Am|R.C. Pro-Am]]'', ''[[rarewiki:Snake Rattle 'n' Roll|Snake Rattle 'n' Roll]]'', and ''[[rarewiki:Battletoads (1991 video game)|Battletoads]]'', and several licensed games.
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| In 1994, Rare acquired several SGI computers and used them to create a boxing game tech demo, which eventually became ''[[rarewiki:Killer Instinct|Killer Instinct]]''. Nintendo was so impressed with this demo that they would purchase a 49% stake in the company, making Rare a second-party developer. Nintendo would entrust Rare with making several ''Donkey Kong'' titles, including the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series, the ''Donkey Kong Land'' series, ''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]'', and ''[[mariowiki:Donkey Kong 64|Donkey Kong 64]]''. Banjo made his debut appearance in ''Diddy Kong Racing'', and a couple of months later, in 1998, ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'' was released for the [[Nintendo 64]]. In 2000, Rare released a sequel titled ''[[Banjo-Tooie]]''.
| | Since Xbox has no portable competitor, Rare's handheld still developed some titles for the [[Game Boy Advance]], including ''[[Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge]]'' and ''[[Banjo-Pilot]]''. Their handheld division was shut down in 2008, leaving for no future handheld installments of ''Banjo-Kazooie''. |
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| On September 23, 2002, Rare released ''[[lylatwiki:Star Fox Adventures|Star Fox Adventures]]'', which was their last game as a second party developer for Nintendo. One day later, [[Microsoft]] bought out the entirety of Rare. As a first-party developer for Microsoft, Rare would make games exclusively for the Xbox line and PCs. Some of their early titles for the Xbox line of consoles include ''[[rarewiki:Grabbed by the Ghoulies|Grabbed by the Ghoulies]]'', ''[[conkerwiki:Conker: Live & Reloaded|Conker: Live & Reloaded]]'', ''[[rarewiki:Kameo: Elements of Power|Kameo: Elements of Power]]'', and ''[[rarewiki:Viva Piñata|Viva Piñata]]''. Rare would also collaborate with Nintendo and [[THQ]] to publish a few games for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Two ''Banjo-Kazooie'' titles, ''[[Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge]]'' and ''[[Banjo-Pilot]]'', were released for the Game Boy Advance during the years 2003 and 2005 respectively. In 2008, Rare released a sequel to ''Banjo-Tooie'', titled ''[[Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts]]''. Shortly after its release, ''[[Banjo-Kazooie (Xbox Live Arcade)|Banjo-Kazooie]]'' and ''[[Banjo-Tooie (Xbox Live Arcade)|Banjo-Tooie]]'' were re-released as Xbox Live Arcade titles.
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| In the 2010s, Rare created a few ''[[rarewiki:Kinect Sports|Kinect Sports]]'' titles. For the second half of the decade, they spent a majority of their time developing the online multiplayer title ''[[rarewiki:Sea of Thieves|Sea of Thieves]]'' and releasing updates for the title. In 2015, Rare released the compilation title ''[[Rare Replay]]'' for Xbox One, and among the games it included are the Xbox Live Arcade releases of both ''Banjo-Kazooie'' and ''Banjo-Tooie'' as well as ''Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts''.
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| ==In-game appearances==
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| *In ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'', Rare Ltd.'s logo appears on both a crate and a flag in [[Rusty Bucket Bay]].
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| *In ''[[Banjo-Tooie]]'', Rare Ltd.'s logo appears on [[Mr. Fit]]'s suit and shoes. In the [[Banjo-Tooie (Xbox Live Arcade)|Xbox Live Arcade port]], once the final [[Mystery Egg]] is hatched in [[Heggy's Egg Shed]], [[Heggy]] also mentions a "very special Heggy egg award" that "might be useful... one day." [[Kazooie]] then mentions that "at least that means [they'll] get to see [their] 20th birthdays," but [[Banjo]] replies by saying that "surely Rare will make the next game faster than that."
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| *In ''[[Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts]]'', Rare Ltd.'s logo can be seen in some boxes and containers in [[Showdown Town]]. It can also be seen on the sole of Mr. Fit's shoes.
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| *In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', Rare Ltd.'s logo appears on Banjo's backpack.
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| ==Gallery== | | ==Gallery== |
| {{other wikis|ConkerWiki=1|RareWiki=1|SuperMarioWiki=1|Wikipedia=Rare (company)|LylatWiki=Rare}}
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| <gallery> | | <gallery> |
| BanjoKazooieRarewareLogo.jpg|Artwork of [[Banjo]] and [[Kazooie]] with the Rareware logo from ''Banjo-Kazooie''
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| BK Jinjos Rare logo.png|Artwork of two [[Jinjo]]s with the Rareware logo from ''Banjo-Kazooie''
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| B-K Group with Rareware.png|Artwork of Banjo, Kazooie, [[Mumbo Jumbo]], [[Gruntilda]] and a Jinjo with the Rareware logo from ''Banjo-Kazooie''
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| Rareware logo.jpg|Rareware logo (1994-2003) | | Rareware logo.jpg|Rareware logo (1994-2003) |
| Rare logo 2003.png|Rare logo (2003-2010) | | Rare logo 2003.png|Rare logo (2003-2010) |
| </gallery> | | </gallery> |
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| [[Category:Rare|*]] | | [[Category:Companies]] |
| [[Category:Video game companies]]
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