Difference between revisions of "Rare Ltd."
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However, prior to both of these events, Rare had already publicly lost staff from other teams. In 1997 a small number of employees (Oliver Davies, Oliver Norton, Steve Patrick, Jeff Stafford, Christopher Gage, and Adrian Smith) left and formed a new studio to be known as Eighth Wonder. They were signed with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (who made sure this defection was well publicised in the games press) and were all set to develop a new PlayStation game. There were high hopes that this would produce an amazing game; provisionally titled "Popcorn". EDGE magazine even profiled the project, showing a game that looked like a 3D version of Bomberman. However, despite being shown by SCEE at the 1998 ECTS, the game was never released. Eighth Wonder are believed to have experienced a number of internal problems and, by 1999, the studio no longer existed. | However, prior to both of these events, Rare had already publicly lost staff from other teams. In 1997 a small number of employees (Oliver Davies, Oliver Norton, Steve Patrick, Jeff Stafford, Christopher Gage, and Adrian Smith) left and formed a new studio to be known as Eighth Wonder. They were signed with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (who made sure this defection was well publicised in the games press) and were all set to develop a new PlayStation game. There were high hopes that this would produce an amazing game; provisionally titled "Popcorn". EDGE magazine even profiled the project, showing a game that looked like a 3D version of Bomberman. However, despite being shown by SCEE at the 1998 ECTS, the game was never released. Eighth Wonder are believed to have experienced a number of internal problems and, by 1999, the studio no longer existed. | ||
===Microsoft era=== | ===Microsoft era=== | ||
Up from the end of 2000, people from Activision and Microsoft visited Rare. In November 2001, Microsoft trademarked It's Mr. Pants, a game that was released three years later. In September 2002, the Stamper brothers sold their 51% interest in Rare to Microsoft; following this, Nintendo sold their 49% stake in the company as well. Microsoft paid a total of $ | Up from the end of 2000, people from Activision and Microsoft visited Rare. In November 2001, Microsoft trademarked It's Mr. Pants, a game that was released three years later. In September 2002, the Stamper brothers sold their 51% interest in Rare to Microsoft; following this, Nintendo sold their 49% stake in the company as well. Microsoft paid a total of $375 million for the company. Because of this, Rare is now a first-party developer for Microsoft's Xbox and its successors. This left Donkey Kong Racing, which was due to be released for the Nintendo GameCube, unreleased. The trademarks of the characters from the games that Rare made for Nintendo consoles (such as Conker of Conker's Bad Fur Day and Banjo of the Banjo-Kazooie series) were retained by Rare (apart from intellectual properties originally developed by Nintendo, including Donkey Kong and Star Fox). Despite the acquisition, Rare still developed games for Game Boy Advance, and now develops for the Nintendo DS, as Microsoft is currently not participating in the hand-held video game console market. Rare has never developed for Sony platforms. | ||
In 2002, Star Fox Adventures became the only Rare game released on the Nintendo GameCube with an average Metacritic score of 82/100. Rare's first Xbox game, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, was a beat 'em up action game. | In 2002, Star Fox Adventures became the only Rare game released on the Nintendo GameCube with an average Metacritic score of 82/100. Rare's first Xbox game, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, was a beat 'em up action game. | ||
In August 2003, Rare and Microsoft made a deal with THQ for Rare to publish games for the Game Boy Advance, which, as of December 2004, have included Sabre Wulf, a game based on its Ultimate character, [[Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge]], a "midquel" to the two Nintendo 64 games, and It's Mr. Pants!, a puzzle game that was originally developed as "Donkey Kong: Coconut Crackers", and featured the company's unofficial mascot. January 2005 saw the completion of this deal, with the release of [[Banjo Pilot]] (which, before being acquired by Microsoft, was in development as ''Diddy Kong Pilot"). Rare also ported and extended the Donkey Kong Country series, which was published by Nintendo. | In August 2003, Rare and Microsoft made a deal with THQ for Rare to publish games for the Game Boy Advance, which, as of December 2004, have included Sabre Wulf, a game based on its Ultimate character, [[Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge]], a "midquel" to the two Nintendo 64 games, and It's Mr. Pants!, a puzzle game that was originally developed as "Donkey Kong: Coconut Crackers", and featured the company's unofficial mascot. January 2005 saw the completion of this deal, with the release of [[Banjo Pilot]] (which, before being acquired by Microsoft, was in development as ''Diddy Kong Pilot"). Rare also ported and extended the Donkey Kong Country series, which was published by Nintendo. | ||