The Truth behind MS and Rare

[Mr Puggsly]

SammyGiireal said:

Mr Puggsly said:

PDZ wasn't a terrible game, but it felt like a 6th gen game with better graphics.

Viva Pinata was considered notable game. I'm actually a big fan of Banjo N&B, I argue one of the best 3D platformers ever made.

Where Rare arguably paid off is Kinect Sports and its sequel, those sold very well. I believe they also designed or helped create the Xbox avatars. Later the Killer Instinct IP was used which is a great game. Now they have Sea of Thieves which is apparently a successful game.

The purchase of Rare has been worthwhile, they've also added some unique content to MS's 1st party. There is also more they can do with the IPs whether its with Rare or a 3rd party.

I am glad you found Joy in Banjo N&B. I thought it was gorgeous but didn't enjoy it to the degree I later enjoyed the Galaxy games or even the original Jack and Daxter. I never played Kameo or Piñata after the PDZ and Banjo NB. But times change it would be unfair to expect the old N64 days again. Yeah Kinect Sports was successful perhaps Microsoft did get back their money on the strength of those sales.

As I was just saying to curl-6, I enjoyed Banjo N&B because its so unique compared to other platformers. You weren't just running through a level and collecting things per se, it was the building aspect and trying to figure out the best way to complete a mission that made it addictive to me. As far as I'm aware its a very original game, not much else like it.

I think the estimates of what MS paid for Rare was like $500 million. If they ever made that money back, I assume the biggest profits were from Kinect Sports, Killer Instinct, Rare Replay, and Sea of Thieves. I wouldn't be surprised if they're still in the red, but buying Rare was a risk MS could easily take and they can still get more out of Rare's IPs.