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Rare doesn’t regret jumping ship to Microsoft

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Old-school Rare fans wistfully long for a time when the studio was responsible for great games like Banjo Kazooie (the platformer, not the weird build-em-up flight game), Killer Instinct, Goldeneye 64 and Donkey Kong Country. Instead, they’ve been getting Avatar goods and Kinect Sports. While fans may regret the UK-based developer’s purchase by Microsoft – ending a long-time partnership with Nintendo – Rare itself is a much more bullish.

Rare studio manager Scott Henson(who admittedly didn’t work for Rare during its Nintendo heyday) insists Rare’s "lived up to its potential". Speaking to Industry Gamers, Henson said "We didn’t fall off the map. We might have changed and evolved. Our focus is different, but we haven’t fallen off the map." "Fallen off the map is interesting when you sell over three million units," he said boasting of the company’s success with Kinect Sports.

"I like that [sort of]falling off the map. It’s great success in this industry," he added with more than a hint of sarcasm. "If you look at what Rare has done," he went on, "whether it was Killer Instinct in the arcade or Donkey Kong Country and pushing pre-rendered graphics, they always innovate as a studio. That has stayed the same."

Do you think Rare’s lived up to its potential? Rare certainly does.

"We delivered as much to the platform as any other studio. With the success of Kinect Sports and what I believe will be a successful Season Two, I think Rare lived up to its potential," Henson iterated, also affirming that  Rare’s work on Xbox Avatars "goes far beyond anything the studio has ever done".
Looking to the future, he said "We’re excited about Season Two and it’s something to celebrate. The title itself is about connecting people to video games. It’s a new Rare. It’s an exciting place to push boundaries for what’s possible."

Personally? I prefer the old Rare. While they have given us a few Xbox 360 gems this generation; like the beautiful, criminally underappreciated Kameo (which deserves a sequel) and Viva Pinata (Yes, it’s actually really good) and Perfect Dark Zero. Ok, scratch that last one out.

Source : IndustryGamers

Last Updated: September 15, 2011

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