Would RARE still be as relevant as it was in the N64 days if MS hadn´t bought them?

[gergroy]

BuckStud said:

gergroy said:
No, Rare was losing its talent already. Microsofts purchase didnt actually affect Rares downfall, it just gets the blame.

 

Hmmm...yet numerous interviews that you can find online with current and past Rare staff members say that Microsoft's purchase was a very big reason for the mass exodus of talent.

There really wasnt a mass exodus though.  There were several small exoduses that starting happening before microsoft took over and continued after.  My point is that rare was already on the course to loose most of its talent.  The glory days of rare happened when martin Hollis was the lead of software development, and he left long before the buyout.  

Rare was going to be sold no matter what because the owners were looking to cash out.  The potential buyers were the usual suspects of activision and EA, and honestly Rare probably would have done even worse under their care.  So, like i said, Rare was going down no matter what microsoft did.