A 'Rare' Miscalculation (editorial) - Article
by Pat Fass , posted on 07 May 2007 / 2,390 Views
During the summer of 2002, the rumors had started to swirl that famed developer, Rareware, was possibly leaving the friendly confines of Nintendo. Those rumors culminated in a September announcement that same year, which broke the heart of Nintendo fans everywhere. How could Rare no longer be associated with Nintendo? Where will the next Banjo sequel come from? Will there be another Banjo sequel? How could the evil empire of MS sink so low as to steal away one of every Nintendo fan's favorite developers?!?!? Fast-forward to the year 2007 and now, new questions have to be answered. Did Nintendo realize that Rare's best days were behind them when they sold their shares? Did MS somehow corrupt Rareware into a mediocre company? What exactly is going on over in Twycross land?!?!? And, while these questions persist, the answers are very hard to come by. There seems to be no logical explanation for what has happened to this once proud company...
...except that there really is a good explanation for all this - Rare has not changed, their audience has changed. Yes, there has been staff turnover (most notably, the recent departure of the Stamper Bros.), but the core ‘Rare philosophy’ has always remained in place, and it is a philosophy that doesn’t appear to work well with the Xbox audience. This is the single most important fact that all gamers must understand and accept. This was a calculated risk by MS that has clearly not paid off, and one has to wonder how much longer this will be allowed to continue.
Rare games have always been about 'E' for 'Everyone', a trait that fit perfectly with Nintendo's own company line. They were a direct extension for Nintendo to continue to reach their target audience - everyone. Over the years, Nintendo's influence could be felt in nearly every Rare game that was released. From the use of Nintendo properties to overall gameplay elements, Rare games exuded the same level of polish (and then some) that Nintendo had always been known for. And it was this style that MS craved to help push the XBox into the 'casual' home - they couldn't have Nintendo, so they went for the next best thing.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the alter - MS must not have realized how long it would take for Rare to develop games (something that Nintendo fans had LONG been aware of and, in some ways, understood and expected). In fact, it would take Rare until 2003 (almost two full years after the Xbox launched) before they released their first game under the MS brand after which they didn’t manage to produce another game until the Xbox 360 was released. By the time Rare had kicked into gear and started producing, MS had already found itself with an established following - the 'hardcore gamer'. With Rare missing at the Xbox launch, the biggest gun for MS was Halo - a great game in it's own right, but certainly not targeted at the same audience Rare is known for. With two years under it's belt before Rare's first game hit the console, the XBox fanbase had been formed, and this same fanbase is what forms the overall character of the Xbox 360 audience as well. A quick scan of the 'million selling' games on both the Xbox and the Xbox 360 will quickly reveal the types of games that sell on these systems - none of which resemble the games Rare typically makes.
So, back to the original question of what happened to Rare, the answer is nothing. The games they create are, for the most part, still critically acclaimed, but they remain commercial failures, as they don't generate the same level of sales as they once did on Nintendo systems. Games like Viva Piñata receive generally high marks from most reviewers, but then fail to sell. In fact, after nearly six years of MS development and five releases, only one Rare game has managed to break the '1 million sold' mark (Perfect Dark Zero). Why is that? Is it because a game like Viva Piñata is a bad game? Or, is it simply because the MS fanbase is not interested in such a title? The better question is - would that game have sold better on a Nintendo system? And the answer would be an overwhelming - Yes!
From Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, to their lone Gamecube release Starfox Adventures, Rareware had been a consistent 'million seller' company for Nintendo. The Nintendo audience that their games were developed for, ate up everything Rare put on the shelves. But, with the switch to the Xbox camp, Rare found itself with an audience apparently uninterested in ‘Nintendo style’ games and because of this, has failed to achieve the level of success they have always been known for.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Rareware over the next few years – when the Xbox 360 cycle begins to wind-down and a new ‘next-generation’ is upon us, will Microsoft continue to invest money in this company? Or, in an effort to start realizing profits faster in their ‘gaming division’, will they simply cut their losses and let go of Rare? What will become of Rare if/when MS decides they’ve had enough? Will they be courted back to Nintendo-land or will they become a 3rd party developer making games for all systems?
The ‘Rare situation’ may get resolved sooner than anyone expects – a lot will be riding on the success or failure of the long awaited Banjo sequel. If this game, like most Rare games, receives the kind of grades that indicate an ‘above average' game and it still fails to break into the ‘million seller’ club, MS might have to cut the cord. With the losses that the gaming division continues to post, and with greater losses likely to occur as MS begins to ramp up for another generation of hardware, they will have a hard time justifying the investment in a company that is clearly not making them money.
A 3rd party status for Rare would be very interesting as it would give them the ultimate freedom to develop the games they want to create. And, having the ability to dictate their own timelines (much as they do now, but on their own dime) might lead to some amazing games. But no matter how many games or on which systems they might decide to release them on, there is one thing almost certain – their games would continue to sell best on Nintendo platforms…
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I will admit the audience on Xbox is not optimal for Rare's games. But their quality has suffered tremendously. Even larger then the switch from Ninty to MS will be if Rareware closes. People won't make as big of a fuss but if MS drops them, as you believe, who will pick them up? EA? Activision? They'll be swallowed whole.
As long as it comes and the soundtrack is as good as always ( Click Clock Wood = best game melody ever), I don´t care what Rare does
crusin usa and killer instinct was both an agreement between nintendo, rare and midway. and also the arcade versions were huge successes and that is how they got their name out there. after the arcade died rare started to fade. if banjo 3 comes out in teh next year or two its gonna fail. just cause the demographic and fanbase will not buy it.
I think Jet Force would be a better fit for MS...its probably one of the finest third person shooters ever made, and its hard to make that type of shooter good...and its a million seller too
I think 360's graphics and power would be perfect for an explosive and vivid game like JFG...and it would be interesting to see the characters get updated
No reason for Viva Pinata to do well? I'll give you a few reasons why it should have sold like crazy.
- E for Everyone, it's a game that parents could play with their kids on the 360 (Doesn't hurt that the game is apparently quite good)
- This game is very similar but much larger in scope then Animal Crossing. Look at Animal Crossings sales on the DS, people love this genre now.
- The game has a freaking TV show... Kids can watch the cartoon every Saturday morning.
- Microsoft had a lot of marketing for this game, I saw more advertising for this then I saw for most other 360 games.
I loved Viva Pinata.
I wish Rare would just go back to Nintendo...they work together well.
Crusin'? As in Crusin' USA? That was a joint-venture between Nintendo and Midway (loved that game...).
If somebody can create a banjo game better than the original, it's nintendo and rare. TOGETHER. The only company that can make games as good as Intelligent systems, or with as much magic as EAD, is Rareware.
I speak for many Nintendo-fans when I say: RAREWARE RETURN!!!
Killer Instinct and Cruisn' won't be utilized because most of the real talent at Rare is gone now. Nintendo was very smart to sell of their half of the company, and get one last bit of profit from Rare. Rare won't have permission to use half of the characters they have used in the past (donkey kong, star fox, etc) unless it's for a Nintendo console.
While it's possible Rare's best days may be behind them, they're hardly mediocre.
Rare released 3 games during the 360's first year. Seems like they're doing okay in terms of development time.
I do agree, though, that Microsoft doesn't seem to know how to market Rare games, and it doesn't appear as if they will either. The next Perfect Dark should be easy to market, but the only experience they've got with platformers is Oddworld, so I'm not expecting much from Banjo.
Still, Rare's a status symbol for Microsoft, one that they probably overpaid for, though making sure Nintendo can't have them was worth it. Taking away half a dozen Nintendo million sellers is probably the best thing of this whole deal. They're going to have to get a hell of an offer to give them up. They're not just going to say "Okay, you're free to go."
Rare's sitting on some good licenses, notably Killer Instinct and Cruis'n, which they need to utilize.
I won't say demographics are not an issue, but I don't believe it is THE issue. I can't speak for Rare's SNES days, as I was in college and couldn't afford games back then, but IMO Rare is what salvaged the N64. Yeah the 64 had some great 1st party games but if not for Rare the console would have had little else to recommend. OK, Killer Instict and Jet Force Gemini weren't necessarily the best games ever, and I think we can just chalk up Mickey's Raceway to cashing a paycheck, but at least none of them sucked. The rest of the lineup was solid. Blast Corps was always an overlooked gem, Banjo and Conker were the best platformers not featuring a plumber, DKR held its own against MK64 (the only one of a slew of imitators) and Goldeneye is still considered one of the best games ever. Even Banjo Tooie and Perfect Dark, while not on par with their predecessors, deserved their high marks. So in a 5 year time span, they managed to put out 10 titles, at least one of which remains a classic and at least another 4 or 5 of excellent quality. None of them sucked. Who wouldn't kill for that?
With the new generation, key creative people left, their output dropped dramatically (from 10 titles to 2.5), and the quality impressed absolutely no one. They had a chance to fix things by embracing a franchise with PDZero, but again the quality wasn't there. It sold for the same reason King Kong sold - there wasn't anything else to buy! Until the Rare brand removes its tarnish, I don't want to hear a thing about demographics causing poor sales (whether the cut from Nintendo is to blame is debatable on each side - clearly they benefitted to some degree on some titles, but I don't think Shiggy helped Dinosaur Planet one bit).
Now comes Pinata. OK, maybe they're getting some quality back, but that's clearly a niche title. No reason it should have done very well.
At this point, Rare can only find its way back by taking a known franchise - Banjo, Conker, Dark, Killer Instict, etc - and making an absolutely stellar new game. Then they need to do it again, preferably in the same decade. That will reestablish their brand, and allow them to branch out to quirky titles like Pinata with a greater chance of bringing in a loyal audience.
DKC for the win! RARE+PS3 Woooooo!
The only game that ive seen them make thats been selling well recently was DKR on the DS, and thats on a nintendo console...
BK sold 3.65 mil, but BT sold less than half at 1.5 mil (I also agree that the first one was better).
Do they honestly think Banjo 3 will sell big on the 360? The franchise was already fading on the N64. With no sequel last gen and the completely WRONG target audience, this game is going to bomb like crazy.
They should just cut the cord now and save themselves the trouble.
The problem with games like Viva Pinata is that it appeals to an age group that the Xbox 360 hasn't been selling to because of either price or game offering. They should use Rare to try to expand their audience in that area, but also it will require at least one price drop since most parents are unlikely to get expensive consoles for their children.
Goldeneye is a true classic. But yeah then key people started leaving Rare, Perfect Dark was delayed for a while and was released towards end of N64s life with the whole Expansion Pack add-on (still a great game though).
Starfox on the GC looked promising but lacked anything special and took away too much from the series.
Timesplitters was ok but Timesplitters 2 was great really had the Goldeneye feel, Timesplitters 3 was awful and the new Perfect Dark a huge dissapointment.
I still have respect for Rare, Viva Pinata is a positive step for them but will not save them.
Leave MS!! I would love to see them team up with Nintendo again there is surely a huge potential with the Wii / DS. Even if they became a 3rd Party developer it would surely help them breathe and regain their crown.
Viva pinata has still sold over 250k a number i find impressive given the game and the system
It should be interesting to see how Banjo-Kazooie 3 turns out since the original team from the earlier Banjo-Kazooie games is making it.
exactly the good developers left to form there own studios. Just play time spiltters 1 and 2 and you will see what i mean. That goldeneye/perfect dark feel but improved.
The real reason Rare went down the toilet:
"Key members of the GoldenEye development team left Rare soon after beginning work on Perfect Dark. Head of Software Martin Hollis was the first to leave in 1998, working at Nintendo of America on the GameCube, and in 2000 he started his own company, Zoonami. Other members such as David Doak left soon after he did and formed Free Radical Design.
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.
...
Between 2000 and the final acquisition of Rare Ltd, more than 50 people left the company. After the acquisition was complete, at least 30 more left"
A game company is the talent of the people, all summed up. Nothing more, nothing less. Rare lost its people.
I just hope they don´t ruin Banjo Three. It´s my main reason for buying a 360. I hope thet at least double the amount of worlds, and keep Banjo and Kazooie as playable characters. And put Mumbo as the transformation guy (Humba Wumba sucked). Lastly, keep the gibberish talk. It is one of the things that mke it unique.
I'm not sure we can attribute Rare's lack of success to the "E for Everyone" thing. Rare had titles that would work on a 'hardcore' fanbase like Killer Instinct and Goldeneye. And we did in fact see that PD0 sold well, but as has already been said, it wasn't up to the standards of their earlier games.
Oh I forgot about Kameo, that was shit too. That kind of a game should be a little longer than that at least lol
A game like Killer Instinct would fit in with the 360, they should bring that franchise back.
Also Perfect Dark Zero was crap, it sold a lot because it was the 'it' game to get at the 360 launch and I'm sure many others regret buying that crappy ass game.
Yeah, your analysis is correct. It is not all Miyamoto, but it helps. But there were more factors, soo many, in fact, that it is amazing MS did not forsee this.
I doubt it was Miyamoto singlehandedly pulling up the quality of games of an English studio. Miyamoto famously lashed out at Rare when he was working on Yoshi's Island, and Nintendo told him to make the game more like Donkey Kong Country. The basic idea of his statement was "Donkey Kong Country is proof that players will buy pretty games with poor gameplay." And certainly Miyamoto knows little about making a first person shooter: GoldenEye was Rare's second biggest game ever, behind DKC. So I think you can stop overcrediting Miyamoto.
What they did do is mimic Miyamoto games (SMB>>DKC, MK64>>DKR, SM64>>Banjo/DK64) and try to add some interesting gameplay concepts to them (sometimes far too many concepts, resulting in hugely varied gameplay, but some of it rather weak and buggy... Prime example being DKC3... And sometimes really exciting and well-executed concepts, like the kart/plane/hover and adventure aspects in DKR).
I think the editorial explains rather well the failure of Viva Pinata, but it doesn't explain the collapse of the company beyond that. And its wrong to say Rare was an exclusively Nintendo-esque company--they had hits with Killer Instinct, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Conker, etc. But Nintendo gave them a customer-base excited about their projects, and I think they gave Rare a necesary balance which the broken corporate culture of Microsoft will never provide. I think the loss of some key figures from the company was important. I think the transition period was handled poorly (porting Kameo from GC to XB finally to 360, for example). I think the loss of the Donkey Kong franchise, which accounted for 10 million sellers to-date counting the portable remakes, six of which sold at least 3.5 million, was crippling. And I think Microsoft got screwed by Rare's focus on Nintendo's portables.
It would be interesting if Rareware got cut loose. They were one of my favorite developers back in the day. DKC2 is one of my favorite all-time games. With some speculating an inevitable collapse of the entire XBox project, it just might happen.
No Miyamoto=No Good. MS wanted to reach the casual, but they couldnt, and still wont. Very nice editorial.
Very interesting editorial.
Interesticng concept....Totally true, I think we all agree.
LOL alright Lionel
hey talon, copy-paste the article and give a link, if you could
