Rare as a studio hasn't been quite the same ever since it was purchased by Microsoft. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a gamer out there that doesn't believe the studio did its best work many years ago on Nintendo platforms.
As such, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer hopes to revitalize the studio and enable Rare to make games that get back to the company's roots, namely its diverse and unique approach to game development.
"I'm a Rare fan from the N64 days – that's kind of where my relationship with them was built," Spencer told CVG. "The range of genres that Rare exceeded at on N64 was crazy; you go from GoldenEye, to Conker and Banjo, Diddy Kong Racing… they were all over the place and they nailed a wide variety of genres. So I don't see them as a 'certain genre' studio: their strength has always been in their diversity."
The Xbox exec then went on to stress the fact that Rare won't just be a Kinect Sports-centric studio going forward, as he sees so much more potential for the team.
Right now with Rare we're at a point where I don't want the Rare brand to mean Kinect Sports. The Rare brand can be more valuable to them, to us and to gamers than that.
I think it's about them thinking about the next game that's going to be the next 'Rare game' and really stand for what they are. I know they've got some great ideas. I've not been up to Twycross for maybe six months, but I'm planning on getting up there this fall and seeing bits for the new game. But I know they're hard at work and Phil Harrison has been up talking to them.
So they've got some new ideas, they're excited about them and I think Rare should, can and will be an important part of our game future.
What would you like to see from Rare next? A new IP? A return to one of its classic franchises? I'd love to see a new Banjo or Conker.
