Mark Mazzei

Rare willing to go back to Conker and Kameo

Will we ever see the elf and squirrel again?

Videogamer.com’s interview with Nick Burton has been chock-full of Rare references of the past, present, and future. Regarding the future, besides his mention of half of Rare working on unannounced titles, he mentions two games that definitely merit sequels: Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and Kameo: Elements of Power.

Regarding Conker, he states that it “would be stupid” if they didn’t go back to the franchise, “but to continually do sequel after sequel after sequel for something is hard on the team because they get locked into a sequel mentality, so they don’t do new things necessarily. And that can be bad for your staff in general, that can be bad just for morale… it’s better to let things have a hiatus for a while.”

This definitely makes a lot of sense considering Chris Seavor’s well-publicized dislike for the series at this point, and with working on it for nearly 7 years with all of BFD’s incarnations, Live & Reloaded, and the sequel that deserved to live called “Conker 2: Getting Medieval”, it explains why we haven’t seen another Conker game at the moment. Hopefully one day we’ll live to still enjoy what exactly happened when Conker got drunk after being king for a night.

Kameo fans almost had the possibility of a sequel being started immediately after release of the first one, according to Burton: “I was very big for the second we got Kameo out, for hitting the deck running and going right we’re doing Kameo 2, we’re going to take 12 to 18 months to do it, bang, it’s done. But for one reason or another we didn’t do that in the time frame where you could hit that sweet spot. So she’s got to take a hiatus.”

How long will fans have to wait until we find out what the Mystic has in store for Kameo? “That is the unknown. It could be short, it could be long. It depends on the team, it depends on the market, it depends on the portfolio from other studios. There’s so many factors that get involved in making that decision that it’s impossible to say at any one time,” says Rare’s senior software engineer.

“I could say to you now, no, 18 months at least. In reality, everything might come into alignment at the end of next week and suddenly it’s like, yeah go and start doing that. And it might be out of our control. It might be because suddenly there’s a massive gap in the portfolio where there’s no games like that at all coming down the pipe in two years’ time,” Burton states. “And then if the resources were there, let’s say Banjo’s finished but they decide they want to do something different, and then there’s this opening for Kameo; what I’m saying now could be completely wrong in three months, four months time. But it’s not something that one studio can just go, yes we are going to do this now, because if you do that that’s when you might time it wrong.”

Burton’s already denied a Kameo sequel as the next project he’s working on, so that leaves it out for the moment. Nonetheless, a sequel to the long-awaited Kameo would be most welcome.

There you have it. Proof that the Conker franchise isn’t abandoned, and the past intent of having a sequel coming out, but not at this moment in time.

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12 Comments

Go make us a new Perfect Dark FIRST!!

Comment by Perfect Dark 0 — 12.Aug.08 @ 4:31 pm

Rare if you make another conker i will find wherever you live and huge each and everyone of you at your houses… i dont care if i go bankrupt! by doing it

Comment by Morventhus — 12.Aug.08 @ 6:03 pm

Kameo could be fused with the darker style of Urchin, don’t you think?

Conker, I think, should do away with the vulgar language, and come back more mature. It was funny back in 2000, but I think most of us are past that sort of stuff by now. Perhaps parody Snake by having him grow a grey beard and mustache. And make him a wizard!

Stripping out the naughty words will open it up to a wider audience, whilst filling it with witty chatter will please the adult players.

I’m guessing when Conker does come back, the game he’s starring in will bear little to no similarity to the N64 game. Something as odd as an online game with Conker appearing as a non-playable character wouldn’t surprise me.

Comment by SummerSky — 14.Aug.08 @ 3:28 am

If that were to be the case, then Conker can stay where he is now for all I care; in limbo.

You don’t need strong language to write funny dialoge or scenes. Neither do you need blood. Let’s have some actual maturity next time (if there is a next time).

I never have liked the character. So I don’t really mind if Rare leave him behind.

Comment by SummerSky — 15.Aug.08 @ 3:51 pm

Just to let you know summersky there is going be a next time as the interview above confirms it a sequal is going to happen just a matter of when….

Comment by moop — 15.Aug.08 @ 5:01 pm

It just depends on the way things go; this doesn’t really confirm there will be a sequel. It may never come about that they actually need or want to create one - time might be taken up with new future franchises, or old ones like good ol’ Banjo.

Daniel… words fail me. Stop embarassing yourself. Is there any way you can ban guys like this on the article comments sections?

Comment by SummerSky — 16.Aug.08 @ 2:50 am

VIVA LA CONKER REVELOTION!!! I am happy to hear that its coming back

Comment by Tsuki Kage — 20.Aug.08 @ 3:15 am

yes I would very much like a conker sequel rare

Comment by conkerfan360 — 29.Aug.08 @ 4:53 am

I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want the cursing. It is what set it apart in the first place, the vulgarity of the entire game. Thats what it was meant to be, and they should never stray from that. Without the mature comedy the game would’ve been a bore. Come on Rare lets see that Conker sequel. Loved the parodies.

Comment by Conker'sbada$$ — 29.Aug.08 @ 5:47 am

That is by far the coolest thing ive ever heard the world needs a new conker.
to the people who said otherwise go jack off in your basement throw a rope up and hang yourselfs conker is needed in this world unlike zit infested little dipper waring pukes like you die today die tomorrow just do the world a favor and do it.
long live king conker

Comment by jason — 03.Sep.08 @ 5:34 pm

NEW CONKER SWEET. PLEASE RARE MAKE IT SO

Comment by Robbie — 03.Sep.08 @ 6:14 pm

A conker sequal would be awesome except i would probably quit my job and play it all day. :)

Comment by Jenn — 07.Sep.08 @ 3:54 am

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