I get so tired of the hate Rare gets now. THEY WEREN'T THAT SPECTACULAR BACK IN THE DAY! They just stood out as a good "2nd party" developer during the N64 days making games that were very similar to Mario 64. And a lot of Rare lovers were younger then and have rose-tinted memories of something that Rare could NEVER recapture again no matter what because they'd be fighting a nostalgic memory.
Rare has made some average games for the GC, Xbox and 360 unfortunately, but they also have made some great games for the 360 in particular. There is still talent there (don't make such a big deal about talent that has left; it happens at EVERY company as good talent looks for/gets other opportunities) and it'd be crazy to think they're not working on some big things that are taking a long time because they want to get it right (kinda like what was discussed in the interview, oddly enough ...).
Nintendo fans: Rare is never coming back and could never make you feel like you did when you were N64 kid playing Banjo. The market is different, YOU are different. Let it go and just remember the good times you had. Demonizing the new Rare just makes you sound ... less than impressive.
