Are Banjo and Kazooie going to be in a future racing game?
It’s not Banjo-Pilot 2, but it (might) do
Back when Donkey Kong was in Rare’s hands, it wasn’t uncommon to see him racing it up with the likes of Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom crew. Even now, as a solitary Nintendo property, he’s still doing as much. If these rumors are right, Banjo and Kazooie may be following in Donkey Kong’s footsteps.
Let’s rewind to earlier this year: according to an internal document, Sega plans (or planned; who knows at this point?) to be open to DLC for their upcoming racing game, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. The characters Sega had in mind for the 360 version? “Rare or Fable characters.”
Fast forward a few months later to a work-in-progress art made by a Sega of Europe employee on his website, which has since then been blocked from public access. On the back, you can clearly see Banjo and Kazooie’s Nuts & Bolts model, as well as a 4×4 vehicle, which was promoted way back when the game came out.
When asked about it, Sumo Digital was very quick to deny it: “Banjo in a SEGA character racing game? Really?” said Steve Lycett. “Given we’ve not seen any box art, I’d not hold too much stock in that,” he continued. “Where, for example, is the Sumo logo?”
With PR statements hardly bearing any actual truth these days, it’s very possible that Banjo and Kazooie might be in the game. Other possibilities may include that they were thought of at one point, but for some reason, are not in the final game. If Sega is to be believed about DLC releasing if the game sells, it could be that the games sales may prevent console-exclusive DLC from coming out. At this point, we don’t know. It wouldn’t be surprising, though: Rare has stated that they want Banjo to be the Xbox 360’s mascot.
Somehow related news
- Banjo and Kazooie confirmed for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing ()
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie released ()
- Diddy Kong Racing DS, still in the race ()
- Demo and achievements for Sega Racing with BK now available ()
- Official media of Banjo and Avatars in Sonic & Sega Racing ()
4 Comments
It’s real ^__^ let’s just say I know someone from Sega hehe :3
Comment by JoannaDark — 10.Dec.09 @ 1:38 am
I hope this is true! It’d be pretty cool
Comment by Billy — 10.Dec.09 @ 3:14 am
That was like a week ago…And I’m sure it’s not a rumor cause that boxart was leaked and minutes after taken offline except those who saved it and access to the site it was from has been blocked. http://sonicstadium.org/news/format-exclusive-characters-for-asr-confirmed
http://sonicstadium.org/news/chris-lewis-site-blocked-after-asr-leak
Comment by Hudson — 10.Dec.09 @ 12:45 am