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Ex-Rare Staffer: Exodus Wouldn't Have Happened Under Nintendo

Posted Mon, 17 Sep 2012 | 09:15 BST by Damien McFerran

Former employee admits that Microsoft sale has changed the company

In September 2002, Microsoft purchased UK developer Rare for $375 million, effectively ending the firm's long-running association with Nintendo - a relationship which resulted in some of the best games ever created.

Fast forward a decade, and Rare is a very different beast. Many key staff members have left, and Microsoft has installed a new set of managers to replace them, including Scott Henson (Xbox), Craig Duncan (ex-Sumo Digital and Codemasters) and Simon Woodroffe (creator of Simon the Sorcerer).

However, in an interview with RareFanDaBase, former designer Chris Seavor expresses the opinion that the company would have retained its original staff roster if it had remained under Nintendo's wing:

RFDB: If Rare were still with Nintendo today, do you think the company would have still been the same as it was all those years ago?

Chris Seavor: Pretty much. Tim and Chris would still be around, Mark [Betteridge], Simon, loads of other people who subsequently left as well…even me maybe. A company isn’t defined by bricks and mortar. It’s a people thing, so yeah , bar a few tweaks it would have been pretty much the same, both the good and the bad.

Of course, change isn't always a negative thing. The team at Rare right now is packed with proven industry professionals with enviable track records. But it's always tempting to wonder "what if?", especially when you look back at the sparkling list of Nintendo/Rare collaborations, which includes such hits as GoldenEye 007, Jet Force Gemini and Diddy Kong Racing.

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/09/ex_rare_staffer_exodus_wouldnt_have_happened_under_nintendo



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really? i thought they would have made kinect games on wii otherwise^^

€dit: ehh yeah it was about the staff and not the game..



Teh sadness.



Déjà vu.


Nothing (notably) new about this article, which is a shame because I love to hear new comments from Chris (in particular) and the other guys :(



Reading these articles always depresses me; I loved RARE games so much. In many ways I liked Banjo-Kazooie more than Super Mario 64, and that's saying a lot.

It's good to fantasize, though, and to wonder, and to wish



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Uh, didn't Rare have a major exodus circa 2000 as well? Regardless, no doubt in my mind that the Microsoft purchase ultimately made it worse.



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Frankly, I am surprised Tim and Chris hung around as long as they did (just over 4 years after the sale). With them looking to sell the rest of the company, I expected them to be out the door soon after. I would imagine Nintendo was worried about the same thing.

Companies are all about the people, and that is doubly true for a software developer. Microsoft ended up buying nothing more than some IPs.



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The Stampers were looking to sell the entire company as early as 2000, and by then many key members of Rare had already left to form Free Radical.

Rare put out hardly any original titles during the previous generation, and this gen they've mainly concentrated on family / kid friendly titles like Viva Pinata, BK Nuts & Bolts, and Kinect Sports.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that it was all M$'s fault that they shifted their software focus soley on these markets, and that hardly any of Rare's successful IPs were touched in the 10 years since they bought them. Aside from half-assed PD and Banjo sequels, they haven't touched their vast library of IPs that could have done wonders especially during the current gen, like a new Blast Corps (imagine the destruction physics!), or a new KI at the height of the 2D fighter renaissance of the past couple of years. I mean come on, we get brand new installments of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, even a new Marvel Vs Capcom(!!!)... but no KI?!?

Get your shit together Rare!



On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:
You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.

NightDragon83 said:

The Stampers were looking to sell the entire company as early as 2000, and by then many key members of Rare had already left to form Free Radical.

Rare put out hardly any original titles during the previous generation, and this gen they've mainly concentrated on family / kid friendly titles like Viva Pinata, BK Nuts & Bolts, and Kinect Sports.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that it was all M$'s fault that they shifted their software focus soley on these markets, and that hardly any of Rare's successful IPs were touched in the 10 years since they bought them. Aside from half-assed PD and Banjo sequels, they haven't touched their vast library of IPs that could have done wonders especially during the current gen, like a new Blast Corps (imagine the destruction physics!), or a new KI at the height of the 2D fighter renaissance of the past couple of years. I mean come on, we get brand new installments of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, even a new Marvel Vs Capcom(!!!)... but no KI?!?

Get your shit together Rare!


I feel that much like the whole golden eye legal stuff...  Rare doesn't have full ownership of Killer Instinct.

What with all the weird credits thrown around... I mean Miyamoto has a producers credit on KI. (At least the SNES verison I know he does.)

I bet Nintendo has exclusive publishing rights locked up.   KI was released before Golden Eye and before rare became a big thing and had any negotiating leverage.   (And nintendo owned part of them.)



I was playing video-games back then... but I remember seeing my brother play Banjo-Whatever and it looked extremely fun!

I wish they were still as good as people said they were.