Braid Dev: New Xbox 'Not Strictly About Games'

[Dodece]

Rare was a developer prior to its acquisition by Microsoft. That was quite literally on its last legs. The studio became a victim of its own success in a lot of ways. They had over extended themselves on games development for the old Nintendo 64, and were having a really hard time making the transition to a disc based format. Which was going to be the new medium for the GameCube.

Rare had become highly specialized in the area of Cart based development. They weren't generalists in any sense of the word, and unlike Nintendo they didn't have the resources to make a smooth transition. Most developers had some real trouble making the transition from carts to discs, but most developers had made that transition many years earlier when they started making games for Sony, and Sega's new disc based systems.

Rare was very much handicapped. Bloated to meet the demands of the 64, and years late to a technical revolution that took place in the industry. When Microsoft acquired the studio they acquired a pretty big job. They needed to retrain the staff, replace some of the staff, and retool the operation. You can argue that Microsoft could have done a better job of rebuilding the studio, and that would be a fair criticism.

What isn't a fair criticism is saying that Microsoft brought Rare down in the first place. Rare was a great developer as far as cart development was concerned. They were however a really lousy disc based developer. If Microsoft hadn't went out of its way to buy the developer. The story of Rare might be the story of a developer that couldn't make it over the generational hump.

Like it or not Microsoft did get them over that hump, and while it was a ugly fucking ordeal. They did manage to get it done, and Rare is starting to really earn its own keep. Their Kinect games have sold really well. Their Avatar system is a great revenue system for Microsoft. Plus there games are consistently getting better now, and the sales of their most recent games are starting to bare that out.

Rare is actually healthier now then when Microsoft actually picked them up, and that means moving forward that they are going to have more leverage with their parent company. With as poorly as Kameo did sales wise it is a real testament to how far the developer has come that it got Microsoft to green light a game like Nuts and Bolts. Any way I would rather have Rare. Then having them being defunct. At least we have the possibility of a return to those glory days.