Rare acknowledges their struggle to find the right audience on Xbox
“This is the first time we are on a similar path with Microsoft,” says Andreas
It’s been obvious since the 2002 buyout, but both Rare and Microsoft have been resorting to the ‘broadening audience’ standard comment as an euphemism to avoid facing reality over the years: Rare doesn’t spawn the same interest among gamers as they did during their Nintendo era. That is something that has been happening ever since they abruptly cut all connections with most of their fanbase halfway through the last generation. They lost their audience, already established GameCube owners, and jumped into the Xbox pool entirely on their own.
After that, Microsoft trivialized Rare’s immediate lack of fan support by asserting that the British developer’s actual goal within Microsoft Game Studios was to bring the Xbox closer to a new type of audience. Yet that audience never took the bait. They simply kept playing their Wii games. Rare delivered some great games like Kameo and Viva Piñata, but the vast majority Xbox users and Microsoft itself seemed to be more interested in titles such as Halo and Gears of War.
So it comes as no surprise that Rare design director George Andreas saw a new chance to get back to that lost audience when Microsoft announced Project Natal. “I do feel in many ways that for me this is really the first time that Microsoft and Rare are on a very similar path,” he told VideoGamer. “We’ve obviously been tasked to create experiences that nobody else can create, which explains things like your Kameos and your Piñatas and your Banjos. But obviously the hardware is aimed at a different demographic, and so we’ve always battled against that.”
“Whereas now with Natal,” adds Andreas, “it looks like the roads are on the same path. It’s a union of the two philosophies of the different companies, I guess. Natal is supposed to reach out to a broader audience and a broader consumer, and Rare’s products are always aiming in that direction as well. So from that perspective the future looks incredibly bright for us really. It’s definitely something everyone’s enthused about and energised about.”
Now let’s hope that this means a clever, creative and quality response to all those dull games that, rather unfortunately, flood Wii’s catalogue right now.
Somehow related news
- Reggienator wants 007 on Wii ()
- Rare acknowledges a third DS title in the making? ()
- No revisiting old franchises for now, says Rare animator ()
- Rare denies Blast Corps 2 and Jet Force Gemini 2 yet again ()
- New Xbox Experience: how to look at your played games ()
13 Comments
Lex is amazing and correct about everything.
Comment by Grant McLachlan — 27.Aug.09 @ 8:48 am
It’s not really a positive thing when the philosophy of your parent company doesn’t match with yours.
I do agree that this is a great opportunity for Rare. If they can pioneer new game concepts with Natal, then they’ll be off to a great start. Not every third party developer is going to be confident attempting Natal games, so it’s Rare’s chance to lead the way. They’re in a unique position, really, because they’ve got the backing and funding for Natal projects.
Comment by Rinx — 29.Aug.09 @ 3:45 am
this is great I hope people will finally start to see how great Rare still is.
Comment by saicambanjo — 29.Aug.09 @ 7:07 am
BRING BACK UNCENSORED CONKER!
Comment by Hudson — 31.Aug.09 @ 1:30 am
while i do greatly enjoy conker, i don’t see the point in that comment hahahah
Comment by billy — 31.Aug.09 @ 2:34 am just saying this, but we know the swears how will that really add to the fun of the gameplay?
Comment by saicambanjo — 31.Aug.09 @ 10:24 am
This sounds like good news but I like Rare’s games.
Comment by Manic Raider — 01.Sep.09 @ 5:18 pm
i dont think its a good idea becuse the natal does not seem that great i like using the controller and i cant imagine a awsome gamelike conker or banjo on thisits just not right its only use is for pinatas and i hate viva pinata
Comment by hunter canuti — 06.Sep.09 @ 5:23 am
So Microsoft gave Rare one last crack at the whip and hope that the fundamental revolution of the medium will hide the fact that they are still going to prodcue mediocre games.
its interesting what he said about the market moving on because there were plenty of people at rare with the vision to see this and instead were screwed over because the people at the top could not see or accept it.
Its finally taken them 6-7 years of a bruised ego and trading on past reps to realsie they were wrong, and now Microsoft hopes that the fundamental medium of nadal will hide the fact that rare will still continue to produce painfully average games at a shadow of their past selves.
But they can now hide behind this revolutionary NEW concept.
Its also worth noting that George has been under gregg’s wing since he joined and has NEVER worked on a serious type of game, in fact i recall he’s worked on banjo, DK64, and spent 5-6 years on Kameo and basically everything along that line, how is the guy expected to be a creative director after such a limited portfolio , oh i forgot, he’s always been best buddies with mark and gregg who just happen to be at the top. And that’s basically how the entire managerial hieracry works at that palce works, which is why it failed and will continue to.
Its sad to see the see people are still in postions of influence at that company, if microsoft want to sort that place out they need to rip it apart at the top, but almost everyone at the top has no expereince other than producing second rate mario clones and convering each others back for as long as they can because they know they would not get away with what they do anywhere else.
I give Rare another 3-4 years of failure before microsoft finally realise they were well and truly tucked up and paid a fortune for a company which by the time they had took over had either lost most of its most potentially useful people, or simply battered the souls of the others who stayed for share options and an easy life or just did not care anymore. I know people who work there and they all say the same thing, there is this horrible tension where they are expected to be brilliant and they are just mediocre because anyone with ounce of passion and soul left that place a LONG time ago. That’s the bottom line.
Comment by Informed. — 08.Sep.09 @ 1:55 am Well now….. That was well… Umm, passionate? I’m going to assume the company has personally slashed you in some way or form..
Comment by Billy — 08.Sep.09 @ 6:11 am wow informed you sound like the typical nintendo fanboy who probably never played their games under Microsoft look you hate their new games we get it but must you really make a huge overly dramatic statement about this?
Comment by saicambanjo — 08.Sep.09 @ 7:39 am
It’s good their finally looking for a common goal.. Maybe microsoft will finally give rare the support they deserve and promote rares games for once over bungie…
Comment by Billy — 27.Aug.09 @ 5:20 am