Rare: Is a Once Respectable Company Doomed to Never Reclaim Its Potential?

It was 1994, and just before Thanksgiving, I received a surprise gift in the form of Donkey Kong Country for the Super NES. I loved it immediately, and it holds a special place in my heart because it would be the beginning of my love for Rare, the game's developers. This company made the game truly special, and since then, I have collected and loved a lot of their titles, from Banjo-Kazooie, to Donkey Kong 64, and even Conker's Bad Fur Day. Many of these titles were full of impressive graphics and music, addictive game play, and lots of clever humor and surprises. I was sad when I heard that Rare had suddenly moved to Microsoft, as it would mean a few less awesome games that would be released for the Gamecube and its successor, the Wii. In recent years, however, certain actions have made me feel worried that the move to Microsoft has not done Rare a lot of good. That is why I am here to explain why I feel that Rare has been going downhill, and if worse comes to worse, why they may one day find themselves in a sort of slump that they may never be able to overcome.

A lot of hype surrounded the possibilities of Rare's new relationship with Microsoft following the move. Fans were hopeful that many wonderful titles would see the light of day on the Xbox console. However, by the time the Microsoft was preparing to launch the Xbox 360, a mere two games had been released: Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Conker: Live and Reloaded. Meanwhile, seven Rare games were released for the Game Boy Advance, as they could still create games for that system since Microsoft lacks a hand held system of its own. When more Rare games are released on a competitor's system than on the system of the company that now owned them, it is a telltale sign that something is amiss.

The tables would turn when the Xbox 360 came along. More titles would be released for that system than would be released for the Nintendo DS. To date, only Diddy Kong Racing DS and Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise have come out on Nintendo's popular dual screen system. However, the amount of software games from Rare for the Xbox 360 remains small. Only five titles for the system have been released since 2005, and after Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts in 2008, not a single new game has come out. By comparison, eleven Rare games were released for the Nintendo 64 during its five-year history. This is yet another sign that perhaps a promising relationship with Microsoft was a mistake.

During Rare's heyday, which I consider to be prior to their move to Microsoft, many of their games would receive many favorable reviews. Nowadays, the ratings for their games are steadily decreasing, and none of their Xbox or Xbox 360 games have an average rating of 90% or higher. On the GameRankings web site, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, the company's inaugural game for Microsoft, has a rating of 70.05%. Conker: Live and Reloaded has a 78.86% rating, but the original Nintendo 64 version possesses a rating of 88.71%. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts has received a rating of 80.48% which, while respectable, pales in comparison to the ratings of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, which carry a rating of 92.55% and 90.68%, respectively. Perfect Dark Zero carries an 81.37% rating, but the first Perfect Dark game had a 94.55% ranking. All in all, the ratings are still good, but they are not as good as they used to be.

As mentioned earlier, Rare has not released a new game on any system since 2008. Being the secretive company that they are, they have not even mentioned a single detail of whatever new game that they could be working on. About the only thing that is coming from Rare at the moment is an Xbox Live Arcade port of the original Perfect Dark, slated to be released in March. It has been hinted that other classic Rare games may also come to the Live Arcade service someday, but as of yet, it is not known which games, if any, will be released onto there. People would surely like to play such games as Battletoads, Killer Instinct, and Jet Force Gemini again or for the first time on the Xbox 360, but we will have to wait and see if Rare makes it a reality.

While no new games have officially been revealed, it is rumored on the Mundo Rare web site that the company is working on a new game for Microsoft's upcoming Natal. The game in question is said to be a fitness game, much like Nintendo's popular Wii Fit games. This would hardly be the first time the Rare created a game in the style of a famous Nintendo game: Banjo-Kazooie had its similarities to Super Mario 64, and Diddy Kong Racing shared some of its aspects with Mario Kart 64. At least both games had a lot going for them that made them quite superior to the titles that likely inspired them. A fitness game from Rare, however, has caused some outrage among fans who pray that this is merely a rumor, and that the Rare games that they actually want to be released end up seeing the light of day. When and if Rare will make an official announcement regarding this supposed Natal project remains to be seen.

As for the games that fans want to play, alas, none of them are currently being worked on. Mundo Rare has reported that sequels to such games as Conker, Perfect Dark, and Killer Instinct, were planned, but all of them were canceled. Apparently, Microsoft does not wish to release new games from any of these series at the moment. That is not to say the Rare does not wish for these games to be created. Some of its staff members have expressed interest in making sequels to Conker and Killer Instinct, but for whatever reason, Microsoft will not allow it at this time. Interestingly, the Xbox 360 is seen as a system designed for hardcore games, and the series mentioned here all fit the criteria perfectly. However, most of the Rare games released for the Xbox and Xbox 360 have catered more to the family audience. Series like Perfect Dark and Killer Instinct would serve the system well and emphasize its position as being intended for more mature players, and thus, Microsoft's decision to keep them from being developed at this time hardly makes any sense.

The state of the company has apparently strayed so far, many of its staff members have departed in recent years. Grant Kirkhope, who created wonderful musical scores for such games as Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, left Rare in 2008. David Wise, who was the company's sole musician from 1985 until 1994 and who continued to make excellent music for various games afterward, departed in 2009. Even Chris and Tim Stamper, the founders of Rare, left their company behind in 2007. Other members, including some responsible for some of Rare's most beloved titles, have also left, leaving fewer and fewer people from the company's heyday to remain with Rare. Some people feel that if other members, particularly composer Robin Beanland of Conker's Bad Fur Day and Jet Force Gemini fame, decided to depart from Rare, the company would be as good as finished.

I have known for years that Rare is not the company that they used to be. Ever since I played Star Fox Adventures, which I hoped would be a grand send off from Nintendo, and found it to be a rushed adventure game in many ways, I felt that the once great company would begin a downhill spiral. It has lasted for quite a long time, with their recent games receiving lower (yet mostly still respectable) ratings, key staff members departing, and the games that current staff members wish to make not even in development at this time. Therefore, even though warning signs were evident as early as the release of Star Fox Adventures, the move to Microsoft seems to have expedited their fall from grace. In short, it was a mistake on Rare's part, and their legacy of creating marvelous games is threatened as a result.

Rare is probably not going to go out of business anytime soon despite all of these troubles. Microsoft, being the rich company that it is, likely will hold onto Rare for a while, for all the good it is doing them now due to the company's lack of new releases. If Rare wants to return to being as great of a company as it once was, they should be allowed to make the games that the fans want. They have been longing for more Conker, Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark, etc. for years, and sequels that are as good as, if not better than, their predecessors will surely become video game classics that people will continue to play and talk about for years. Rare can continue to cater to the family audience, but they should also focus on hardcore players, lest they become typecast as a "kiddy" company. If Microsoft's way of doing things has or will prove to simply be too limiting, Rare should move to Sony or return to Nintendo in the hopes that either company will be more flexible and allow Rare to do the things they want to do, the way they want to do them. If none of these steps are taken, then Rare will likely become a mere shell of its former self, and thus it will never return to its glory days ever again.

I still love Rare, but I am worried that the company has nothing in the works that will entice fans and prove that their magic is still alive and well. Maybe announcements at E3 or some other event will make people excited about whatever they are developing. Seeing as how there were no new Rare games announced at all last year, I feel that, unless something is brought up this year, Rare could very well be condemned to never achieve greatness ever again. If they do announce anything new, let us hope that it will be something that many people will want to try out, as a fitness game hardly seems like the next highly anticipated Rare game. Will the company return to the glory it experienced prior to moving to Microsoft? It remains to be seen, but if it does not, then the company as we know it is as good as dead, and many players will be saddened by the fact that Rare would never, ever be the same again.