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Rare Ltd.: Difference between revisions
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'''Rare''' is a British video game development studio based in Twycross, Leicestershire, England. The origins can be traced back to 1982 when Tim and Chris Stamper founded ''{{iw|wikipedia|Ultimate Play the Game}}''. The studio saw early success on personal computers like the {{iw|wikipedia|ZX Spectrum}}, {{iw|wikipedia|BBC Micro}}, and {{iw|wikipedia|Commodore 64}} with titles like ''Jetpac'', ''Atic Atac'', ''Sabre Wulf'', and ''Knight Lore''. However, after learning that microcomputers were only popular platforms for gaming in the U.K. they decided to branch out into other markets. The team decided to focus on the new Famicom and created a subsidiary called ''Rare'' in 1985 to reverse engineer the hardware to learn its inner workings, something [[Nintendo]] claimed to be impossible. After impressing Nintendo with its tech demos, Rare was granted unlimited budget for developing Famicom games, now called the Nintendo Entertainment System in the PAL region. At this time, the team decided to sell the Ultimate Play the Game brand to {{iw|wikipedia|U.S. Gold}} and officially renamed the whole company to Rare. A string of successful NES releases followed, including ''R.C. Pro-Am'', ''Snake Rattle 'n' Roll'', and ''Battletoads'', as well as several licensed games based on brands such as ''{{iw|wikipedia|Beetlejuice}}'' and ''{{iw|wikipedia|Sesame Street}}'', and outsourced NES ports of PC and arcade games. | '''Rare''' is a British video game development studio based in Twycross, Leicestershire, England. The origins can be traced back to 1982 when Tim and Chris Stamper founded ''{{iw|wikipedia|Ultimate Play the Game}}''. The studio saw early success on personal computers like the {{iw|wikipedia|ZX Spectrum}}, {{iw|wikipedia|BBC Micro}}, and {{iw|wikipedia|Commodore 64}} with titles like ''Jetpac'', ''Atic Atac'', ''Sabre Wulf'', and ''Knight Lore''. However, after learning that microcomputers were only popular platforms for gaming in the U.K. they decided to branch out into other markets. The team decided to focus on the new Famicom and created a subsidiary called ''Rare'' in 1985 to reverse engineer the hardware to learn its inner workings, something [[Nintendo]] claimed to be impossible. After impressing Nintendo with its tech demos, Rare was granted unlimited budget for developing Famicom games, now called the Nintendo Entertainment System in the PAL region. At this time, the team decided to sell the Ultimate Play the Game brand to {{iw|wikipedia|U.S. Gold}} and officially renamed the whole company to Rare. A string of successful NES releases followed, including ''R.C. Pro-Am'', ''Snake Rattle 'n' Roll'', and ''Battletoads'', as well as several licensed games based on brands such as ''{{iw|wikipedia|Beetlejuice}}'' and ''{{iw|wikipedia|Sesame Street}}'', and outsourced NES ports of PC and arcade games. | ||
In 1994, Rare acquired several SGI computers and used them to create a boxing game tech demo, which eventually became ''Killer Instinct''. Nintendo was so impressed with this demo that they would purchase a 49% stake in the company, making Rare a second-party developer. Nintendo would entrust Rare with the {{uv|Donkey Kong}} license, which resulted in the ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' series, as well as the ''Donkey Kong Land'' series on Game Boy and ''Donkey Kong 64'' on the Nintendo 64. Rare would go into what many consider their "golden age" during the lifespan of the Nintendo 64, with titles like ''Blast Corps'', {{uv|GoldenEye}} ''007'', ''Diddy Kong Racing'', {{uv|Banjo-Kazooie}}, {{uv|Perfect Dark}}, and ''Conker's Bad Fur Day''. Another game in development for Nintendo 64 was ''Dinosaur Planet'', but this was changed to a {{uv|Star Fox}} game at Nintendo's request. | In 1994, Rare acquired several SGI computers and used them to create a boxing game tech demo, which eventually became ''Killer Instinct''. Nintendo was so impressed with this demo that they would purchase a 49% stake in the company, making Rare a second-party developer. Nintendo would entrust Rare with the {{uv|Donkey Kong}} license, which resulted in the ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' series, as well as the ''Donkey Kong Land'' series on Game Boy and ''Donkey Kong 64'' on the Nintendo 64. Rare would go into what many consider their "golden age" during the lifespan of the Nintendo 64, with titles like ''Blast Corps'', {{uv|GoldenEye}} ''007'', ''Diddy Kong Racing'', {{uv|Banjo-Kazooie}}, {{uv|Perfect Dark}}, and ''Conker's Bad Fur Day''. Another game in development for Nintendo 64 was ''Dinosaur Planet'', but this was changed to a {{uv|Star Fox}} game at Nintendo's request. During the development of this title, Rare was in talks with [[Microsoft]] and {{iw|wikipedia|Activision}} to be bought out in full, with Nintendo showing little interest. On September 23rd, 2002, ''{{s|lylatwiki|Star Fox Adventures}}'', Rare's last Nintendo game, was released on the GameCube. One day later, Rare was fully acquired by [[Microsoft]], with all their in-development projects either being moved to the Xbox; reworked to feature Rare's original stable of characters in place of the ''Donkey Kong'' characters, which Nintendo retained the rights to; outright cancelled; or - in the case of ''Donkey Kong Racing'' - all of the above. | ||
Now a part of Microsoft, Rare would make games exclusively for {{iw|wikipedia|Xbox}} and PC. These titles include ''Grabbed by the Ghoulies'', ''Kameo: Elements of Power'', and the ''Viva Piñata'' and ''Kinect Sports'' series. While few of the original titles under Microsoft were financial or critical failures, many fans of Rare's output before the buyout were critical of the company's new direction, in part due to their controversial attempts to revive their existing characters in the vehicle-building sandbox title ''Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts'' and the heavily censored remake ''Conker: Live & Reloaded''. Rare would also collaborate with Nintendo and {{iw|wikipedia|THQ}} to publish several games for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS based on their existing franchises and characters, as well as remakes of earlier ''Donkey Kong'' games. Rare would eventually find the biggest success they had experienced since their collaboration with Nintendo in the pirate adventure game ''Sea of Thieves'' for Xbox One and PC. They additionally assisted with outsourced installments of the ''Battletoads'', ''Conker'', and ''Killer Instinct'' IPs for Xbox hardware; and are currently working on additions to ''Sea of Thieves'' in addition to the upcoming ''Everwild''. | Now a part of Microsoft, Rare would make games exclusively for {{iw|wikipedia|Xbox}} and PC. These titles include ''Grabbed by the Ghoulies'', ''Kameo: Elements of Power'', and the ''Viva Piñata'' and ''Kinect Sports'' series. While few of the original titles under Microsoft were financial or critical failures, many fans of Rare's output before the buyout were critical of the company's new direction, in part due to their controversial attempts to revive their existing characters in the vehicle-building sandbox title ''Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts'' and the heavily censored remake ''Conker: Live & Reloaded''. Rare would also collaborate with Nintendo and {{iw|wikipedia|THQ}} to publish several games for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS based on their existing franchises and characters, as well as remakes of earlier ''Donkey Kong'' games. Rare would eventually find the biggest success they had experienced since their collaboration with Nintendo in the pirate adventure game ''Sea of Thieves'' for Xbox One and PC. They additionally assisted with outsourced installments of the ''Battletoads'', ''Conker'', and ''Killer Instinct'' IPs for Xbox hardware; and are currently working on additions to ''Sea of Thieves'' in addition to the upcoming ''Everwild''. | ||