Tag Archives: rare

Rare composer Grant Kirkhope has released all of his soundtracks – for games spanning Banjo Kazooie and Perfect Dark – on a ‘pay what you like’ basis.

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Fox and Microsoft have signed a coexistence agreement regarding their rival claims to the Killer Instinct trademark. Under the terms of the agreement, as uploaded by NeoGAF users, Fox promises not to raise objections to Microsoft’s trademarking of or use of the phrase. Presumably this means the TV show that started the drama won’t be renewed any time soon – but oh, harro, what’s this jaw-dropping Kinect title in the works at Rare?

Thanks, woe.

Project Gotham 5 has been scrutinised heavily over on the NeoGAF boards, and collected evidence suggests that Rare has been hiring a lot of talent from top racing studios lately. Assess for yourselves here.

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Rare has posted a batch of job adverts calling for Kinect experience and for applicants proficient in cloud technology, pouring more fuel on the Xbox 720 rumour fire.

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George Andreas, formerly of Rare, has taken a new role as creative director of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, according to Eurogamer. Andreas was at Rare for 16 years and worked on Killer Instinct Gold, Donkey Kong 64, GoldenEye, Viva Pinata, the Banjo Kazooie series, Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero. He played an integral part in developing Kinect and was on the Kinect Sports and Kinect Sports: Season 2 teams.

Rare’s studio manager Scott Henson has joined Lionhead as its head of operations. A Microsoft veteran of 18 years, Henson has worked in various sectors of the firm and in various roles. Phil Harrison, Microsoft’s VP of its European Interactive Entertainment Business unit, made the announcement during a press briefing this morning. Microsoft has also hired Roger Walkden as head of staff. Walkden was previously VP of marketing at Activision and head of European business development for EA’s Origin service. Thanks, GI International.

Five former members of Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye and Kinect Sports developer Rare have formed a new studio named Flippin Pixels.

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Rare is currently hiring for a new project that uses both Kinect and cloud-based technology. That doesn’t sound like Killer Instinct 3 to us. Regardless, get the details below.

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Timesplitters 2 HD was once planned for release on XBL Arcade, and Killer Instinct HD was also in consideration, according to Free Radical.

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Ex-Rare employees have banded together to work on the spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie. It seems the series’ composer Grant Kirkhope and artist Steven Hurst are on board for the project as well, and the Unity engine is being considered for development. In order to get the title made, though, you’ll need to show the team some support by following the team’s Twitter account. We’ll let you know if we hear anything else. Thanks, Nintendo Life.

Conker’s Bad Fur Day began life as a sequel to the soft and fluffy Conker’s Pocket Tales. Half an hour of footage of the original prototype, Twelve Tales: Conker 64, give us a glimpse of a much less edgy effort – all chirrups and whistling and sunny days.

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Killer Instinct’s trademark is safely back in Microsoft’s hands – but why now?

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Ex-Rare employees have dished upon prototypes and development plans in the works at the firm, which were all shelved by Microsoft as it transformed the studio into the Kinect Sports developer it’s known as today.

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Killer Instinct 3 was on Rare’s radar, but was blocked by Microsoft after it acquired the company, an ex-staffer has revealed.

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In a GDC Europe post-mortem of N64 classic Goldeneye 007, as reported by IGN, director Martin Hollis revealed a troubled development history for the system-seller. Highlights include the team building an on-rails shooter because it didn’t know what kind of controller the then-new console would have, and chucking the famous multiplayer in at the last moment. The game took 32 months to make, well over deadline. Interesting stuff. Goldeneye 007 has never been released via console networks thanks to the transfer of the Bond license, but a modern re-imagining was released by Activision in 2010.

Superannuation’s regular Kotaku column delves into Rare this week. Check out the source links for yourself, but in short, it sure looks like Rare is recruiting for a project on the next Xbox console, possibly a new IP, and maybe even an MMO or other online-focused title. Or it could be Kinect Sports 3, obviously, but only one of these theories meets the Awesome Razor requirements.

This year’s Games Developers Conference Europe has added post-mortems of CD Projekt’s, The Witcher 2, and Eskil Steenberg’s indie title, Love. Cryptic Studios will also be on hand to discuss user-generated content in MMOs. Other confirmed sessions include a post-mortem of thatgamecompany’s Journey, and Rare’s N64 classic, GoldenEye.

GDC Europe takes place in Cologne from August 13 – 15, on the eve of gamescom.

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Rare’s David Quinn, one of the most respected engineers working with Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral, has said better speech recognition is the next evolution for the device.

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Ex-Free Radical and Rare designers have formed a new iOS studio called Crash Lab. Consisting of Free Radical Design’s Steve Ellis and Rare’s Martin Wakeley and Lee Musgrave, the studio was formed in November and three iOS games are currently in the works. Twist Pilot and Flying Rocket Defence are two of the titles. The UK firm also announced it has formed “partnerships with a diverse range of companies.” Thanks, Gamasutra.

Microsoft’s released the second challenge pack DLC for Kinect Sports Season 2, featuring new gameplay modes for sports like football, darts, skiing and more.

Get it queued to your 360 here. It’s available for free.