| T.Rexington said: Considering the bad sales performance of xbox Rare games, I'm not at all surprised. MS gave the studio plenty of chances, but Rare couldn't attract crowd the way Bungie, Epic, and Turn 10 did. Then bam, kinect hits and Kinect Sports becomes the sixth best selling Rare game of all time. As a business, you gotta take everything into account and realize what is working and what isn't working. I would like to see MS give Rare one last low budget attempt via XBLA or something. Let the modern Rare make a whole new Ip. Viva Pinata started out as a great game that ultimately died a sad death, but it was a great example of modern Rare's ingenuity and ability to create something both memorable and new. |
And how many of their games were advertised with even a tenth of what they threw at epic bungie or turn 10?
I have never witnessed a single ad for Rare games on 360. Not to say they don't exist, but that I've seen about 100 gears commercials lifetime.
It's a problem with branding. There are lots of great games for xbox that don't fit the "gritty tough guy marine" genre that don't sell, but similar games sell well on other platforms. It's a problem with WHO buys your system. If all you advertise to the public is tough guy shooters, then the people will think that's what your system library is. Nobody is going to buy a system just to play Viva Pinata. MS bought Rare in order to assist with more diversification, to have FPS and platforming/creative games. That was the point. THen they fault them when people don't buy the system? It's short-sighted, and poorly handled, imo.
So there you have two factors. One, no advertising, and two, branding.
Now they're turned Rare towards making Kinect games. They take the studio they hired to diversify, and are using them to diversify. It shows that they understand what the studio is there for, but it shows a clear lack of understanding on what type of diversification they're supposed to be there for. You want Kinect games, then hire a new studio. As it stands, they've abandoned the genre they've hired Rare for, and put them on a fad genre.
