[RARE] Turns down fanmade doc | Big fansite closes | New canceled game surfaces

MundoRare, Rare's biggest fansite since 2001 closes but the owners share their frustration and spill the beans on company missmanagement and more projects cancelled by Microsoft before closing the door on their way out.

http://mundorare.com/news/2010/07/mundorare-closes/

25th Anniversary Documentary******************************

Early in May, we showed Rare our most ambitious project to date. We planned to film an hour long documentary about their 25 years of history, to be shot on location in England, presented in HD and ready to be distributed freely via Xbox Live and Internet.

The project was formally introduced through a briefing that included a fact sheet, script, interview guidelines, several resumes and a demo reel. The crew behind the movie consisted of none others but us, since we also happen to be a team of filmmaking and journalism graduates with very good knowledge of Rare's history. And best of all, the project was going to be shot at zero cost, because we had access to all the equipment we needed through a variety of professional sources.

Unfortunately, some days ago, Rare's PR department finally denied our permission to shoot arguing that the film wasn't going to be "on message."

Shutting down the website was an option we were already considering in case we couldn't make the process of working on it worth the effort. Therefore, we designed a win-win deal that could have resulted in a wonderful project for us and a terrific treat for fans everywhere. Despite its ambitious scope, we felt it was an irresistible offer. In fact, we are still puzzled over their response. It was a risk-free operation to be carried away with all legal safety measures deemed necessary and full of good intentions. It simply makes no sense. It has changed our perception of Rare forever and leaves us with no other option but to end our support for them. Yet it wasn't the only cause.

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During the last nine years, we have never criticized Rare without a good reason. Still, ever since Microsoft's buyout, they have been receiving negative backlash in almost a constant basis. People turned their backs at Rare because they never really managed to deliver a hit like the ones of their Nintendo years.

At the time development focused on Kinect, projects like a third Perfect Dark were ruled out. Rare also spent an entire year working on GoldenEye 007 without even knowing if Microsoft was going to be able to release the game, which led to the cancellation of a finished product after wasting months of hard work.

(...)

We were the only ones to tell the truth behind the Conker sequel that was never made. Conker's Other Bad Day.

Saberman Stampede (CANCELED) *****************************************

In Rare's history, there have been a significant amount of unreleased titles, titles that have been in development for many years only for production to stop for whatever reason. Some of these titles are very well known (Goldeneye XBLA), while others have been kept away from the public domain with very little information (Urchin, Arc Angel). This feature is about a title that is an example of both: the story of a title that was not only well known since it was first revealed, but a title that has also been hidden in secrecy regarding its existence, rise, and fall that we will never get to play.

Fortunately, this song has a proper ending.

Thanks to a Rare employee who will remain anonymous, the true story, the chorus and final verse of Stampede's Swan Song, begins here:

As we all know, the game started as Donkey Kong Racing, but it apparently never got farther than the E3 2001 promo video before it became Sabreman Stampede. In the beginning, Sabreman Stampede, like its former incarnation, was a racing game involving jumping from one animal to another, and racing towards the screen. According to our source, "a number of people from the development team consider this [version] to have been the most enjoyable & playable state of the game."

When it moved to the Xbox, it went more into the adventure genre. In this game, we find out that Sabreman had a wife named Flo. They would crash land on the island in a hot-air balloon/blimp (the artwork seen seems to imply that they settled on a plane crash). Sabreman would talk and befriend the villagers, perform tasks for them, and learn how to ride the animals, which could get him to his destinations quickly, and allow access to new areas. These changes happened late in the game's lifecycle; according to our source, it was "somewhere in 2004 / 2005 it took on more of a sandbox adventure ****"

The game originally had a cartoony **** Sabreman had "a huge head and tiny arms." Tim Stamper sat with the artists and got them to "squash" Sabreman's model body to resemble the original Spectrum model. However, Microsoft suggested that it go from cute to a more realistic look, in which the artists tried to get a compromise between cute and realistic.

http://www.mundorare.com/features/stampedes-sorrowful-swan-song

GameplayVids***********************************************************

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

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They canceled a Conker's Bad Fur Day sequel? Really?

EDIT:"We actually started on a direct sequel which was going to be called 'Conker's Other Bad Day' which dealt with Conker's somewhat unsuccessful tenure as King. He spends all the treasury money on beer, parties and ****. Thrown into prison, Conker is faced with the prospect of execution and the game starts with his escape, ball and chain attached, from the Castles highest tower."

Wow, this is sad.

They canceled a Conker's Bad Fur Day sequel? Really?

EDIT:"We actually started on a direct sequel which was going to be called 'Conker's Other Bad Day' which dealt with Conker's somewhat unsuccessful tenure as King. He spends all the treasury money on beer, parties and ****. Thrown into prison, Conker is faced with the prospect of execution and the game starts with his escape, ball and chain attached, from the Castles highest tower."

Wow, this is sad.Thunderdrone

Yeah, I remember this game being in the release list of a Nintendo magazine when the Gamecube had just been released. Always wondered what happened to it.

But this really is a sad story. Rare was one of the most talented developers around and I somehow think they still are. Conker: Live & Reloaded from 2005 still showed glimpses of Rare's brilliance, and apparently Nuts & Bolts was well received by the old fans as well, although I have yet to play it. Well, now they're condemned to making games such as Kinect Sports or whatever it's called, which prevents them from showcasing their zany, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek way of making games. After the original Xbox era I still had some hopes that we would get to see the 'real' Rare again, but even though they seemed to recuperate a bit by releasing some successful games, they still aren't no way near the masters they were in their Nintendo years. I still respect them, and probably always will, but I think a company such as Rare just cannot be itself anymore once it's a part of a company such as Microsoft.

Thats what happens when a good studio is used i a bad way by the company which owns it they shouldn't have left Nintendo.

Rare became a joke years ago. Why 360 fanboys/Rare fanboys never seemed to accept this was beyond me.

Sounds like Microsoft is soon going to close yet another studio.

Anyone surprised? This is what you get with MS...

Rare became a joke years ago. Why 360 fanboys/Rare fanboys never seemed to accept this was beyond me.

RobBourne

Yeah, they've only released 3 AA games and 1 AAA game this gen :|

They clearly suck.

The System Wars game isn't relevant here; metascores are a better metric of developer output, and on the 360 Rare has been a A-AA developer.

Sounds like Microsoft is soon going to close yet another studio.

Anyone surprised? This is what you get with MS...

lucky_star

SecretPolice is going to go through the roof.

I just dont understand what MS wanted to get out of Rare. The article says that when they made a few games, they were always told to make the art more 'mature' and change their games to be more grown up. Rare were so successful because they were just being Rare with Nintendo, doing what they wanted with helpful pointers. And now they have them making a crappy looking sports game. Any dev could have made that which just leaves me puzzled. Just what did MS expect to get out of their £375 million purchase of Rare?

The System Wars game isn't relevant here; metascores are a better metric of developer output, and on the 360 Rare has been a A-AA developer.

shinrabanshou

You are awere that both metacritic and gamerankings are deelpy flawed right?

Hey, you might even call them broken.

[QUOTE="RobBourne"]

Rare became a joke years ago. Why 360 fanboys/Rare fanboys never seemed to accept this was beyond me.

JLF1

Yeah, they've only released 3 AA games and 1 AAA game this gen :|

They clearly suck.

[QUOTE="shinrabanshou"]

The System Wars game isn't relevant here; metascores are a better metric of developer output, and on the 360 Rare has been a A-AA developer.

JLF1

You are awere that both metacritic and gamerankings are deelpy flawed right?

Hey, you might even call them broken.

all the talent left rare

how many times must we tell you

at least blizzard closed down blizzard north

That's a shame the game was cancelled. Microsoft is going overboard with this Kinect thing.

RARE is dead.

Oh i am angry that they canceled the New Conker gamewalkingdream

http://digg.com/d31Y0mY

if anyone can link this thanks

Good job Microsoft. Well done!! We just love how you keep force-feeding all things Kinect down our throats while ignoring blockbuster franchises like conker, PD, Killer Instict, Banjo etc... Wonderful. I just love how you've taken one of the most talented developers in the video game industry and reduced them to uuummm...nothing. Brilliant!! Keep it up!! As I said great job!! Everyone approves. Just listen to the round of applause as you destroy all that is good about RARE.

Its unfortunate that a developer with such amazing ideas is being treated so poorly. I really wish Rare had been given the chance to establish themselves as a third party. The amount of quality games MS is canceling in favour of this Kinect garbage is almost as bad as what Activision is doing to its studios.

Honestly, I also think this is partially our fault as well... since a lot of us passed over the quality Rare titles released this generation and lead them to be commercially unsuccessful. I personally didn't (as I own basically every one except PD0 and the original VP).

Oh man, I remember the greatness that was Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64. Certainly one of my all time favorites.

Anyways, their Company is Microsoft so what do you expect from them? I mean, they make you pay if you want to play online ffs.

Good job Microsoft. Well done!! We just love how you keep force-feeding all things Kinect down our throats while ignoring blockbuster franchises like conker, PD, Killer Instict, Banjo etc... Wonderful. I just love how you've taken one of the most talented developers in the video game industry and reduced them to uuummm...nothing. Brilliant!! Keep it up!! As I said great job!! Everyone approves. Just listen to the round of applause as you destroy all that is good about RARE.

T-razor1

They cancelled a conker sequel? Ouch. that's a big shame, I can't see why Microsoft would do that, don't they understand that there is a large amount of people that want it?fabz_95

Conker was more of a cult game. It got amazing reviews (among which a 99 from IGN), but it didn't do too as well in sales I think. Although that also had a lot to do with the fact that it cost around 100 euros when it came out because Nintendo refused to publish it or something.

And if I'm not mistaken, Conker: Live & Reloaded sold just around 100k copies. Too bad seeing as its multiplayer mode was one of the most solid TPS titles I've ever played.

Its unfortunate that a developer with such amazing ideas is being treated so poorly. I really wish Rare had been given the chance to establish themselves as a third party. The amount of quality games MS is canceling in favour of this Kinect garbage is almost as bad as what Activision is doing to its studios.

Honestly, I also think this is partially our fault as well... since a lot of us passed over the quality Rare titles released this generation and lead them to be commercially unsuccessful. I personally didn't (as I own basically every one except PD0 and the original VP).

foxhound_fox

Poor rare, although I wasn't expecting much, we haven't had any heavy hitters from them this entire gen.

This is terrible news. This is what I've been worried about in SW for the last 2-3 years, but there was always hope to be found by others...now, it's official.

That's disappointing, I don't think we will be seeing any more "Future Rare games" on Xbox lineup lists :P

Rare never should've left Nintendo in the first place - not because Microsoft is this big bad evil boogeyman - but because Rare was only ever at their prime making games under existing IP's

not to mention their top talent leaving at the start of the decade, leading to a relative lack in motivation coming from Rare after that (anybody remember the huge flop that was their first game for the xbox? a gamecube port of a lacking game?)

i mean Kameo was a nice effort, but Perfect Dark Zero was just horribly made

Nuts & Bolts was interesting, but i think everybody just wanted a regular platformer adventure title

Can someone fill me in on why Rare left Nintendo? Did Nintendo not want Rare anymore so they sold them to Microsoft?

SecretPolice is going to go through the roof.

I just dont understand what MS wanted to get out of Rare. The article says that when they made a few games, they were always told to make the art more 'mature' and change their games to be more grown up. Rare were so successful because they were just being Rare with Nintendo, doing what they wanted with helpful pointers. And now they have them making a crappy looking sports game. Any dev could have made that which just leaves me puzzled. Just what did MS expect to get out of their £375 million purchase of Rare?

Oonga

I have nothing else to say that will make it past the GS censers. :evil:

To answer Jelley. Rare needed an influx of capital. They went to Nintendo, Nintendo said no. They then talked with ACTI and M$, and you know how that went. $375 Million later they became 100% Xbox 1st party. Some big RARE developer names have departed over time like :

The Founding Stamper Bros. David Wise, David Doak, Martin Hollis.Oliver Davies, Oliver Norton, Steve Patrick, Jeff Stafford, Christopher Gage, Adrian Smith, and evenGrant Kirkhope!

They won't be closed though, they do help as RARE is the ones that created the Xbox Avatars commishioned by Xbox execs and they are working as a KINECT developer.

Rare, We Barely Knew Ye:cry:

Wow This Sucks! Rare Is Dead, And All Of Those Great Looking Games Got Canceled. It Really Is A Shame to See Such Gaming Greatness Being Used For Such Bad Games.

Well, Good Bye Rare....

And if I'm not mistaken, Conker: Live & Reloaded sold just around 100k copies. Too bad seeing as its multiplayer mode was one of the most solid TPS titles I've ever played.

DraugenCP

Can someone fill me in on why Rare left Nintendo? Did Nintendo not want Rare anymore so they sold them to Microsoft?

Jelley0

That's pathetic how Microsoft manages Rare. Really bad.

Then again, Rare has been dead for quiet some time, even before Microsoft's buyout, when a lot of core people left the team. They aren't the same as they used to be, definitely.

Kameo was good, but definitely not up to par as other Rare titles from the past. Same goes for BK: Nuts and Bolts (imo). Perfect Dark Zero seemed pretty awful from the demo, but I've never played the full game so I don't know.

The thing about Rare (The snapitz view):

Rare was aquired by M$ (late in the XB's lifecycle) to secure a fanbase that the XB sorely needed, teh casuals. The problem was.. because it was so late in the XB's lifecycle nothing they would've released would've made a huge difference in the XB's fate. So all we really got was a remake of Conker and Grabbed by the Ghoulies.. :?

Enter the 360.. Rare explodes on the 360 with 3 noteworthy games.. Kameo, PDZ and Viva Pinata.. All scored well but none ever reached that "block buster" status.. Rare, (as stated by Xbox rep Peter Moore), was past it's time of relevance. Personally I think it's because the demographic the XB brand concentrated on was simply not interested in Rare-like games. Once Rare released Viva Pinata 2 and Banjo Nutz and Boltz to little fanfare and reception, M$ switched their focus to Kinect for future 360 projects.

Bottom Line is M$ isn't going to "kill" Rare off but simply switch their focus.. You can blame a lot of factors (XBox demographic, Rare staff leaving, **** poor sales of good games, ect.) but Kineticmals and Kinetic sports is the final outcome.. :|

I honestly wasn't a HUGE fan of Rare back in the N64 days so I guess I don't have that nostalga towards them that most people do.. But I which they would at least try and release some form of Killer Instinct this gen..

That's pathetic how Microsoft manages Rare. Really bad.

Then again, Rare has been dead for quiet some time, even before Microsoft's buyout, when a lot of core people left the team. They aren't the same as they used to be, definitely.

Kameo was good, but definitely not up to par as other Rare titles from the past. Same goes for BK: Nuts and Bolts (imo). Perfect Dark Zero seemed pretty awful from the demo, but I've never played the full game so I don't know.

Haziqonfire

[QUOTE="Haziqonfire"]

That's pathetic how Microsoft manages Rare. Really bad.

Then again, Rare has been dead for quiet some time, even before Microsoft's buyout, when a lot of core people left the team. They aren't the same as they used to be, definitely.

Kameo was good, but definitely not up to par as other Rare titles from the past. Same goes for BK: Nuts and Bolts (imo). Perfect Dark Zero seemed pretty awful from the demo, but I've never played the full game so I don't know.

OhSnapitz

Not PDZ or Viva Pineta.

I owned Nuts and Bolts, I traded it in after I was done with it and I still have Kameo.

rare has always been really creative, so maybe they are well suited for Kinect. Rare doesn't have to make stuff like Kinectimals. Kinect doesn't have to be Rare's coffinGunSmith1_basic

It Seems Like It Will Though :?