Did Microsoft cancel Goldeneye for XBLA at the last minute?
Mark Edmonds told us that "there might be a chance in the future"
Shocking new rumours regarding GoldenEye comes from this month’s EGM issue, but it could not be a mere gossip. The American magazine states that “Microsoft canceled an XBLA release of Goldeneye 007 at the last minute.”
EGM does not provide any further details on this issue, but only a few days ago Mark Edmonds gave us some hints about this very same issue here at MundoRare in our exclusive GoldenEye 10th Anniversary interview. When asked about the chance to see a downloadable version of GoldenEye 007 for any system of the current generation, he stated that “there might be a chance of this sometime in the future”, which now could clearly be read between lines. On the other hand, his pal from the former GoldenEye team, Duncan Botwood, also added that “so many people have a possible interest in where it would turn up, and in my experience, the more interested parties you have, the more barriers to progress appear.” Could it be they had plans but they were already facing franchise difficultes?
It’s not a secret that a port or a remake of this Rare classic for Xbox Live Arcade or Wii’s Virtual Console has been desired for a long time both by Microsoft and Nintendo, but the complex right issues regarding the Bond franchise have been a capital obstacle up to this time. After Rare declined to develop the adaptation of Tomorrow Never Dies, Electronic Arts and later Activision have used the 007 license for their own videogames. In a rather mean strategy, EA even dared to use the GoldenEye title for a false sequel called GoldenEye: Rogue Agent.
Since GoldenEye’s original release in 1997, the Bond franchise has has passed through so many hands that making a remake or a port would be quite a hard problem. A year ago, NOA president Reginald Fils-Aimé, assured that he “would love to see” GoldenEye on Wii, and Nintendo was “exploring all the right issues” to bring the game to the Virtual Console. Maybe Microsoft took the lead, but it couldn’t achieve the mission.
MundoRare will try to seek some answers in the next days. In the meantime, be sure to check out all our new GoldenEye features!
Somehow related news
- GoldenEye 007 drama takes the Net ()
- Never Say Never Again? ()
- James Bond will return in November ()
- Goldeneye 2010 is coming to the Wii ()
- Microsoft willing to launch GoldenEye XBLA ()
3 Comments
dont buy xbox and stick it to them they betray you so much
Comment by joe — 21.Sep.09 @ 10:20 pm remember monster truck madness they give two shts
Comment by joe — 21.Sep.09 @ 10:20 pm
[...] This wouldn’t have been the first time an insider published something as important on Penny Arcade, but there isn’t any way to prove its authenticity except for two reasons. The first is that all their information matches perfectly with the logic behind Nintendo’s announcement back in 2006 and recent comments on the cancellation of GoldenEye 007’s remake as published in the latest EGM magazine. [...]
Pingback by MundoRare | Never Say Never Again? — 02.Feb.08 @ 2:32 pm