Wed, Sep 17, 2008 | 12:27 BST
Peter Moore: Rare’s “skillsets… were not applicable in today’s market”
Speaking in the third part of the Guardian’s interview, Peter Moore said that Rare’s skills aren’t applicable in the current market.
“Great people,” he said. “But their skillsets were from a different time and a different place and were not applicable in today’s market.”
Moore added that, in his opinion, consumers don’t care about Rare’s output any more.
“We’d had a tough time getting Rare back – Perfect Dark Zero was a launch title and didn’t do as well as Perfect Dark… but we were trying all kinds of classic Rare stuff and unfortunately I think the industry had passed Rare by.
“It’s a strong statement but what they were good at, new consumers didn’t care about anymore, and it was tough because they were trying very hard – Chris and Tim Stamper were still there – to try and recreate the glory years of Rare, which is the reason Microsoft paid a lot of money for them and I spent a lot of time getting on a train to Twycross to meet them.”
More through the link. Thanks, StrategyInformer.
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Posted in: Development, Hot, Microsoft, Xbox 360
Tags: peter moore, rare
13 comments
#1
Tiger Walts
17/09/08, 10:57 am
When will the Moore-athon end?
#2
Blerk
17/09/08, 10:57 am
I totally agree. RARE really need to break out of their attempts to remake all their old stuff and do something properly new. They’re trying to sell old Nintendo IPs to a market which doesn’t care about old Nintendo IPs.
And I guess that’s me off their Christmas list. Again.
#3
pjmaybe
17/09/08, 10:58 am
VP on the DS says otherwise. It’s a game absolutely PERFECTLY suited to today’s market. Casual gamers will lap it up.
#4
Retroid
17/09/08, 10:59 am
What he says sounds about right.
#5
Blerk
17/09/08, 11:02 am
VP is more in the direction they should be going, although I’d hesitate to say it’s going to be a success on the DS because DS buyers are so damned unpredictable and it’s not Nintendo-published.
More original IP, less Conker/Banjo/shitcakes.
#6
DrDamn
17/09/08, 11:05 am
@pjmaybe
Isn’t VP a perfect example of Rare doing something different though – and therefore actually saying the same thing?
#7
pjmaybe
17/09/08, 11:08 am
I dunno, I think VP is a typical example of a Rare game finally arriving in the right place.
Problem with Moore is he’s getting carried away with his own importance in the industry. Rare are more than capable of producing quirky original titles, they’ve just relied a little too heavily on the “cute” stuff. That stuff doesn’t sit properly with most 360 owners.
VP on the DS however is a stroke of genius. It’s the perfect type of game to target the core DS audience. Saying that Rare don’t belong in the modern market is tantamount to saying that all the modern market wants is run and gun / driving games and though there’s sadly an element of truth in that, I still reckon there’s room for Rare’s stuff.
#8
Retroid
17/09/08, 11:40 am
I think in many ways Rare would do better on XBLA stuff.
#9
AlbenoEpiX
17/09/08, 1:14 pm
I’m confused.
“were not applicable in today’s market”
How does the term ‘were’ apply to the present? And what’s wrong with their skillset? Are they not developing an innovative new game in the Banjo franchise at this very moment?
This guy needs to shutup tbh, he talks too much.
#10
No_PUDding
17/09/08, 1:19 pm
I agree. I don’t see why people think he’s great.
What I appreciate abotu this is the insight that he’s giving into the industry and the behind the scenes of some peoples jobs right now.
But he seems pretty bitter, and a bit jaded.
#11
Tonka
17/09/08, 1:37 pm
What’s with him? He must hate going to christmas dinners or something. This brutal honesty. Jeeezz
#12
deftangel
17/09/08, 2:24 pm
He’s a damn sight more interesting than the current Xbox execs that’s for sure. I’m not sure people are picking apart his comments and over-analysing them too much. VP was heralded at the time as Rare’s return to form. He could just as easily have been referring to pre-VP Rare and/or the Stampers themselves who may not have had much to do with it.
VP’s original problem was Microsoft’s marketing strategy almost completely ignored it and threw all the money at Gears of War. Something they managed to repeat with PGR4 and seemingly Banjo and VP2 sadly
#13
Psychotext
17/09/08, 2:35 pm
Pretty much. It’s hard for customers to get behind something they barely know exists.