It still amazes me that on the N64 Rare and Nintendo were considered near equals when it came down to quality of games.

Compare that to nowdays where Nintendo stands like a giant monolith with profits towering down over everyone else. Nintendo has what, a lineup twice as massive as EA and it's profits are more than three times that of Activision-Blizzard? Even companies like Valve and Square stand below the giant that is the Nintendo software machine. Its an odd situation to see Rare sitting in a dark corner with next to nothing, then realize that a few years ago Rare and Nintendo were practically equals

Hmm, it's not like Microsoft forced Nintendo to sell Rare to them in the first place. Nintendo agreed and let them go. They don't want Rare. Nor do they need them. Besides, Rare isn't what they once were. The talented people left and have been replaced by so-so developers. They're just a name now, not the company they used to be.

If you think that's odd, consider the once fierce battle between Nintendo and Sega.  They were practically equal at one point and look at them today.

I think Microsoft actually need Rare more than Rare needs them. So the $375 million was a steel. Microsoft desperately needs casual games and they are still one of the last premier casual game studios in the world next to Insomniac and Nintendo. Although in a distant third. They can still make a killing come back if Banjo is as good as its predecessors. The IP's they own are fantastic also like Conker, Banjo, Perfect Dark, and Viva Pinata.

As noted by many already, most of the talent that made Rare the powerhouse of the 80s and 90s has since left the developer. It's nice to see the two play nice on the DS, but Wii don't need them.

since people are talking about banjo,i remember there being somthing said about a DS banjo can anyone clarify this for me

Battletoads

I will be honest I am jealous of the 360 lineup. I think BK3 has a pretty good chance of being excellent and may sell ok, but not great.

The argument I was trying to get at is more about how Microsoft should set themselves up for success in the future. Most people say that their big initiative in the console market was to get into your living room an keep Sony out. After two generation they have had mixed success in that area. They have done well English speaking affluent markets, and everything else was fairly lackluster. This success was driven by bleeding edge graphics, American style games, and a strong focus in FPS, Sports and Racing.

Going forward they have to ask themselves if this is enough. If they want to be like the PS2, or the Wii it is going to take much more than Rare. I however think that they need to celebrate their focus. They need to redouble their efforts serving this profitable market sector.

Let's take an analogy from the car world. Most game companies like Nintendo and Sony have tried to act like GM. They try to make games for everyone everywhere. I think Microsoft has failed at this. They should be more like a BMW or a Ferrari. They should focus exclusively on a certain class of clients, and design their business to be profitable as such. They should worry more about selling the lifestyle of those who enjoy the Xbox, more than changing the Xbox to fit everyone's lifestyles.

This "hardcore" group as they are often called seems to like what he 360 does best. They are willing to pay more than traditional costs for a system. They are willing to buy games more often. They are more willing to but premium versions of games and downlloadable extras.

I think the announced Blue Ocean strategy of Nintendo and the following success of the Wii should cause Microsoft to reevaluate their business plan. They are not equipped to compete in that way with Nintendo.

How does this relate back to Rare? Microsoft has a limited amount of money they want to spend on the gaming division, and they do want to turn a profit. Focus on Rare is focus taken away from their core business. I am not saying don't release any casual games. I am just saying let the 3rd parties like EA, Ubisoft, and Activision do it. They are having better success than you anyway.

For me the fact that Call of Duty 4 and Assassin's Creed are doing so well on the PS3 tells me they aren't completely getting to their best audience. Doing what it takes to convince those gamers to go 360 is more important than grabbing a gamer because of BK3. Just my opinion.

Embrace the Wii60, otherwise customers will embrace the Wii or PS3.

I actually think that Sony went the BMW route with the PS3, Not Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 is catering more to the casuals than Sony at this point. A casual still has to be educated at this point on why they need a Blue Ray player. Xbox will probably have a price cut of $50 this year for the premium making it only $300 and the Arcade for $250. That is getting more into the mass market price. Casual games like Lego Starwars 2, Viva Pinata, and Guitar Hero sold very well on the Xbox 360 platform so far. With nearly 16 million sold by the end of the year, most of which is from only 2 territories, they are probably more mass market than sales would probably indicate.

Sony went the BMW route but their business no way intended to do so. I merely believe that Microsoft could actually make a profit this way.