Archangel3371 said:

Microsoft has kept them working regardless so I find this notion that MS has somehow "killed" Rare ridiculous. I'm kind of doubting this rumour of Nintendo buying them back though.

I doubt the buyback rumour too, but a few ex-rare staff have said that MS killed them so it's not just a forum's wild conspiracy theory.

Here are a few headline stories we've posted in the past.

Microsoft 'f@#$ed' RARE over, ruined the company

Says former Rare composer

The 'magic had gone' after Microsoft bought Rare

Former RARE says

Eurogamer: Who killed Rare?

Did Microsoft ruin Britain's greatest game studio?

Archangel3371 said:

I found Rare games to be just as good as they've always been with Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, Viva Pinata, and Banjo Nuts & Bolts all being excellent games. Unfortunately they just weren't selling even at cheaper launch prices. I think it was just a sign of the times more then anything else and Microsoft has kept them working regardless so I find this notion that MS has somehow "killed" Rare ridiculous. I'm kind of doubting this rumour of Nintendo buying them back though.

I have to totally disagree here man.

Rare was one of my favorite developers before Microsoft bought them, and they single handidly saved the N64 back in the day. Hell, outside of the N64 Zelda titles, I think Rare surpassed ANYTHING Nintendo did on the platform, Mario 64 included. Their games were, for the most part, AAA and polished to a T back then. Now, don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some of the games they've made under Microsoft. Viva Pinata was a great game...Perfect Dark Zero I found to have some great strategy to it despite its many problems....Banjo 3 was a beautiful game though slightly clunky and somewhat boring compared to the older titles. Kameo was a decent launch game. But that's the thing...their games went from AAA to A or under in quality. General opinion and the rating system backs this up. To say they were "just as good" as they used to be is just....no.

And now Microsoft isn't even letting them focus on the kinds of games that made them great in the 1st place. I've said it before, they went to the COMPLETE wrong company for the kind of developer they were. Being 1st party Sony would have been much better for them, and obviously Nintendo will always be the perfect fit. They had no audience on the Xbox or the 360, because people generally only want realistic looking, PC styled shooters & RPG's since day 1 on those machines. The platformer crowd has always been on Sony/Nintendo consoles.

And while MS seems to have a more diverse audience NOW, Rare aren't creating Rare style games anymore.

Ravenprose said:

Everyone's worried about Vader? What about me?! I live in Colorado, ya bastards!

Doesn't ragnaar live there? I always assumed you guys gave each other brofists and watched each others backs so there was no need to worry about your safety.

Dvader said:

I am home, I was in denver yesterday morning, I have about 30 min away from that area. The news is so tragic and sad.

Yeah, terrible news. From a Euro perspective we can't understand how you guys wont have gun control. Guns don't kill people, people kill etc etc. If the dude had come into the cinema with a knife, things would be different.

gamingeek said:

Ravenprose said:

Everyone's worried about Vader? What about me?! I live in Colorado, ya bastards!

Doesn't ragnaar live there? I always assumed you guys gave each other brofists and watched each others backs so there was no need to worry about your safety.

Dvader said:

I am home, I was in denver yesterday morning, I have about 30 min away from that area. The news is so tragic and sad.

Yeah, terrible news. From a Euro perspective we can't understand how you guys wont have gun control. Guns don't kill people, people kill etc etc. If the dude had come into the cinema with a knife, things would be different.

There's been guns for a long time. Why is this only becoming a major problem now? I think it stems more from people being under too much pressure in this age of fast paced modern life than anything else. Even little crappy jobs nowadays have people walking on eggshells, wondering if they're gonna get fired or be able to GET another job, or even a 1st job to sustain any kind of life. Income is low and people are living paycheck to paycheck...companies are treating employees like they are robots that shouldn't have feeling or question anything. Some people are just fucking snapping and going nuts.

Steam has The Witcher: Director's Cut  on sale for $2.49. Almost tempted to get it for that, but I'm not much of an RPG player. Sale ends in 9 hours.

Not surprised about Versus 13....I mean how long does it take to make a game? What I am surprised about is that it was the one to have problems....when they 1st showed all these 13 games off way back when, I thought Versus looked like the best of the bunch. The hell went wrong?