Earlier today, Microsoft issued a press-release which stated that subsidiary Rare has received a new, distinctive look in anticipation of the 25th anniversary of the developer later this summer. Rare was officially founded in 1985 and developed popular first-party titles for SNES and Nintendo 64 during the ’90s, such as Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, and the Banjo-Kazooie series. After the organization was acquired by Microsoft in 2002, the organization developed titles for the first-generation Xbox, two launch-titles for the Xbox 360 and later created the Viva Piñata-series. The founders of the studio, brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, had already left the organization in 2007.
Microsoft calls the identity of the studio both “modern and classic”, stating these are adjectives that describe Rare well. Four distinct logos have been released, all of which can be found after the jump. It is currently unclear why the new identity of Rare includes four different logos.The website of the studio will also undergo a full re-launch in the near future, refecting the new identity.
It is unclear on which projects Rare is currently working, though more details are expected to be revealed at the upcoming E3.
We know that Rare has been in charge of a lot of Natal mini-games, but I’m pretty sure they are working on something else too, maybe another Banjo?
Well when Rare can make another game as iconic and good as the Donkey Kong Country Titles, then tell me cause I would love to know. What they did with Nuts & Bolts just wasn’t really a Banjo game, and PDZ was a disgrace.
That’s hard to guess to be honest. Practically all of the big names that made the classic SNES and N64 games have long since left the company. Only Robin Beanland is still there from the SNES days from the audio side of things.
There’s a reason Nintendo went with selling Rare off to a direct competitor (even with Rare wanting to separate) and why the Stamper brothers (founders of Rare) left as well.
Shame too because the Rare of old made some of my favorite games. Hopefully they get it back on track.
Grant Kirkhope just said this on Twitter “I have to say I don’t like this re-branding of Rare thing….. But what do I know…..” He was a big audio dude for Rare back in the day. The first of the big three audio guys to leave Rare (with David Wise following) and Robin still there.
Yeah, some companies go down and they just don’t come back to what they originally were. Sadly, Rare has been locked off and hasn’t produced a good title in years. They produced the Avatars, which in my opinion needs a lot of work, but I see what Microsoft is trying to get at by having the Avatars (appeal to a more casual gaming audience).
I want to see what they are doing with Natal, just to see if they really have plunged off the deep-end for sure.
The reason why Nintendo sold off their part of Rare was because they only owned 49%. The Stamper brothers owned 51% of the venture, and sold this stake to Microsoft. With 51% of the shares, Microsoft practically owned to company, which made Nintendo’s part of the shares pretty much useless… so they sold their share to Microsoft.
Yeah. But I believe there was some friction going on between Nintendo and Rare around this time. Specifically the Stamper brothers and Nintendo. That’s why they didn’t sell their shares to Nintendo. I don’t think Nintendo would have taken the shares if offered at that time either (that’s just my opinion). Rare lost a lot of talent before the sale with Microsoft took place. Remember David Doak and Martin Hollis?