Mundorare-- world's biggest Rare fansite, closes and says Rare sucks

[Timstuff]

This is some pretty sad news-- and what's even sadder is the implications it has on the current state of former industry titan Rareware. You can read the article at Raremundo's site:

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

If I can add my two cents, I just want to get it off my chest that Rare has been sucking for years now, and it's because all of their key talent jumped ship. Rare's biggest problem on the N64 was that it took them years to deliver a product, but when it was finally out it was almost always pure gamer gold. Unfortunately, that all changed as the N64's lifespan went on. Dinosaur Planet got delayed onto the Gamecube because it was taking so long to make for the N64 that it would have released around the same time that Gamecube was set to launch. When it finally came out it was good, but it was not a killer app the way Rare's past games had been.

I think Nintendo realized that Rare had a problem. Their games were still taking forever to make, but Rare no longer had the talent to put out a killer app. All it probably took was one look at Grabbed by the Ghoulies to realize that this was no longer the company Nintendo had fostered for so many years, so Nintendo sold their stake in them and Microsoft was right there to lap up whatever fell from one of their competitors' tables. Perfect Dark Zero was a big disappointment for fans of the original, and while Kameo and Viva Piñata were decent, they were not killer apps the way Banjo Kazooie or Goldeneye were.

I think Microsoft now realizes that Rare may have been a bad investment, but unfortunately they wouldn't be worth anything if they tried to sell them. Now, Microsoft has downsized them into a studio specifically for making casual games for Kinect, because I think they realized that the only way they're going to get a AAA title out of Rare is if they pretty much rebuild the entire company brick by brick. The only way to get games from them out on time seems to be by focusing on casualware that can be made at a low budget with limited resources, so that's what they're doing.

It's a real shame to see one of my favorite studios go down the crapper like this, but the same thing happened to Factor 5 and Silicon Knights, who were also former Nintendo second parties. There's just plain nothing left at Rare to salvage except some of their old franchises, and sadly Rare no longer has the manpower or talent to do anything worthwhile with them. They are a zombie corporation whose best years are long behind them, and I hate to say it but it's only going to get worse for them from here on out. Their name means nothing to the new generation of gamers, and the generation of gamers that grew up with them have seen the writing on the wall.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Rare's downfall has been outright painful.

 

[StrainedEyes]

I really enjoyed Nuts & Bolts.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

It´s sad but true, Rare is dying as we speak.
The only thing that gives me a little hope is that, with Molyneux´s new job (Creative Director of Microsoft Game Studios Europe), he really wants to help get Rare back to form.
But the all Kinect Sports crap is not helping Rare either.

I want to see a new Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, Killer Instinct...hell, they can even revive Sabreman (from games like Saber Wulf and Knight Lore) and start a new platform series.

 

[Soapy]

It always sucks when a long established website closes down, but their "goodbye" post makes them all sound like a bunch of self-entitled cryasses.

As for Rare, I don't blame Microsoft. I don't see how anyone can. Rare began their long slide to mediocrity during the development of the first Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64.

 

[Crook]

^ lolwut

PD64 was the high-point of Rare's creative spree. I'd say it's when they started developing for the GC that they lost focus and never truly recovered.

 

[Soapy]

The early screenshots of Perfect Dark looked very different from the version released, which is unsurprising considering some of the developers said that they had to change direction with the game. Why did they have to change it? Who knows. Whatever it was caused a lot of key people to leave during development of that game. I think it's crystal clear that's where it began.

 

[Crook]

Are we talking about PD64? I followed that franchise very closely. The early development builds had a few changes compared to the final product, but in terms of tone it stayed the same. I certainly wouldn't say the direction changed.

The sequel, on the other hand, went through a myriad of creative shifts over the 8-year development cycle. This was more evident when the company was gearing towards a more child-friendly image, culminating in the Avatar/Kinect company that Rare now is.

 

[Timstuff]

Rare was at one point toying with making Perfect Dark Zero be a kid friendly game. Joanna Dark was going to be re-designed with a much more Kim Possible-style look, and they were probably aiming for a T-Rating. You can see the design in the video below:



It's pretty obvious that from the beginning MS's intention was to position Rare as their answer to Nintendo. All of their games have been "family friendly" so far with the exceptions being Conker Live and Reloaded and Perfect Dark Zero, and it's been hotly speculated that MS originally planned on Perfect Dark Zero to carry a T rating and be more kid friendly (likely because Goldeneye was played mostly by kids), and only changed direction for it due to the massive backlash from fans (which also likely led to the game being delayed onto the Xbox 360). And when you look at what Microsoft has Rare doing now-- knockoffs of Wii games-- it's pretty obvious that Microsoft doesn't really see Rare as being good for anything except attracting the kind of people who buy Nintendo's games.

 

[hippie_hunter]

It's pretty obvious that from the beginning MS's intention was to position Rare as their answer to Nintendo. All of their games have been "family friendly" so far with the exceptions being Conker Live and Reloaded and Perfect Dark Zero, and it's been hotly speculated that MS originally planned on Perfect Dark Zero to carry a T rating and be more kid friendly (likely because Goldeneye was played mostly by kids), and only changed direction for it due to the massive backlash from fans (which also likely led to the game being delayed onto the Xbox 360). And when you look at what Microsoft has Rare doing now-- knockoffs of Wii games-- it's pretty obvious that Microsoft doesn't really see Rare as being good for anything except attracting the kind of people who buy Nintendo's games.

And the biggest problem with that is that the people who buy Xbox games aren't the kind of people who buy Nintendo games.

 

[Crook]

Rare was at one point toying with making Perfect Dark Zero be a kid friendly game. Joanna Dark was going to be re-designed with a much more Kim Possible-style look, and they were probably aiming for a T-Rating.

Internally, this was before Rare even got bought out from MS. Someone actually talked about this on the Xbox forums a couple days back:

http://forums.xbox.com/33639617/ShowPost.aspx

As you can see, I don't think Rare ever intended to make a tonally consistent sequel for PD. This was a matter of Rare and MS having coinciding tastes.

 

[Fading]

And the biggest problem with that is that the people who buy Xbox games aren't the kind of people who buy Nintendo games.

Agreed. Rare is making mediocre games for a group of players that don't even own 360's. I think in part MS wants to have it's cake and eat it too as well tho. It started it's venture in gaming by going straight after Sony's throat. Which earned it a very loyal hardcore following. Rare being on Nintendo grab duty felt half hearted. Like they were there just to say, "Hey we have those guys who made those N64 games you loved!", rather than Rare being there to actually pump out good games. Now with Kinect they're going straight for Nintendo's throat, and possibly Rare might find a small use again. However I don't think it'll work quite as well. With Nintendo, you know what you're getting, and with Sony they've always been broadly ranged so you know there's a bit of something for everyone. Microsoft changing gears to reach the polar opposite of it's current crowd may not work, and Rare may still end up producing mediocre titles for ppl who still don't own 360's even after Kinect comes out.


As for Rare, yeah it is sad. You remember these awesome developers from earlier gens that now struggle to be mediocre. It even happens to the big players. I remember when Square was pumping out tons of diverse kick ass amazing RPG's on the PS1, one after another. Now it takes them 5 years to put out one luke warm received RPG, and the one ppl are really hyped for is being done by a different team. Rare is just on another level of sad tho. I remember a lot of good N64 games having that Rare title pop up as the game was loading in, and now they make avatar clothes.

 

[Brother Jack]

Rare's downfall has been outright painful.

This.

 

[Soapy]

Guys, it's not that big of a deal. "Rare" is just a name. Most of the people that made the games you have such fond memories of moved on to other studios and other projects long ago.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

They could have at least released a Killer Instinct 1 & 2 Arcade DLC. I'm still bitter about this. I would buy a Wii just to play those two games.

I don't pity Rare at all, they deserve mediocrity.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Guys, it's not that big of a deal. "Rare" is just a name. Most of the people that made the games you have such fond memories of moved on to other studios and other projects long ago.

Rare is not just a name. I remember back when I was a kid I would remember that Rare logo whenever I popped in Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Goldeneye, etc. And of course playing Battletoads. They made some of the best games of my childhood (and for others as well).

That would be like saying Nintendo is just a name. Or Batman is just a name.

 

[hippie_hunter]

They could have at least released a Killer Instinct 1 & 2 Arcade DLC. I'm still bitter about this. I would buy a Wii just to play those two games.

I don't pity Rare at all, they deserve mediocrity.

Nintendo done goofed when they had the opportunity to get Rare's games on the Virtual Console.

 

[Soapy]

Rare is not just a name. I remember back when I was a kid I would remember that Rare logo whenever I popped in Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Goldeneye, etc. And of course playing Battletoads. They made some of the best games of my childhood (and for others as well).

That would be like saying Nintendo is just a name. Or Batman is just a name.

Hey, I loved Rare's old games too, but you have to realize that people make games, not companies. And the people left the company a long time ago.

"Nintendo" means something right now (just as Rare did in the 90s), but if Shigeru Miyamoto and all the other important creative people left, then it wouldn't be the same company. Then "Nintendo" would just be a meaningless, hollow word (as Rare is now).

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Unfortunately, Rare still owns their licenses for Conker, Banjo, and PD. The people who made those games may still be doing games but they can't make a sequel to those games.

I bought a 360 because of Rare. Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie is my favorite 3D platformer (more than Mario). So it really hurts that they've gone done hill since Star Fox Adventures.

 

[BlueLightning]

Very sad to hear this. Mundo Rare Forums were my first exposition to,well, forums. Though I haven't keep a track of their exploits, Mundo Rare have a special place in my cyber heart.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

Who the hell owns Killer Instinct? Rare? Nintendo? What about the Arcade versions?

 

[GhostPoet]

That last Banjo game was horrid.