Look, I'll be honest in saying that I think RARE should NOT be in charge of the Banjo franchise anymore and I don't think they WANT to be in charge of it themselves. It's clear based on the games they made and now the one they are working on that very clearly sounds like a new ip altogether that they are done with Banjo because they want to reinvent themselves. Think about it, if you were apart of a group of developers that were hired in the last 5-10 years would you want the pressure of making a sequel to two games (Banjo 1 and 2 in this case) that were some of the best games of all time in many people's eyes? I WOULD NOT want that pressure. I'd want to carve my own path. This is why I not only understand why they are choosing to ignore Banjo 3, but I applaud them for it. It's good for this new RARE to blaze their own path and it will be good for Microsoft I think.

All this leads to my question. Which company would you WANT to buy the exclusive gaming rights to the Banjo games, at what cost do you think the series is worth, and (if you picked a 3rd party company) would you want the game to be multiplatform (handhelds included) or be exclusive to a brand?

It wouldnt be on handhelds, that isnt even a question. MSFT certainly isnt going to sell banjo and I do believe Rare could do it themselves however if I were to choose a third party i'd choose Insomniac.

For the record i do believe Banjo is going to be made this generation if not already being worked on

Has to be Nintendo.

Banjo has only appeared on Nintendo platforms (shut up, there are only 3 Indiana Jones films), and they have always been the masters of platform games.

Furthermore, Banjo could let them keep making naff 3D Marios, whilst using Banjo to do the 3D action-adventure platformers that were the bread and butter of the N64 days.

IMO instead of making Banjo 3 they need to make something new. They need to create a fantasy world with new characters who are on par with banjo / jak and daxter / ratchet and use interesting ideas to keep us engaged. Rare is a former shelf of itself but I think they can still make interesting game if they are given creative control.

I would love to see it and I think Rare is capable of making it. Kameo and Banjo were 2 games that I actually bought and enjoyed on Xbox 360. Pefect Dark is the one that I would like to see changed into an open world action adventure game.

I think MS is holding on to it in hopes that Nintendo someday goes third-party. MS extends a license to Ninty to develop the title and is jointly published by MSFT and the Big N for whatever Xbox console happens to be out at the time.

Should Ninty go down in flames, this is MS's ace in the pocket to get the remaining fanbase to pick Xbox.

Nintendo is not going to pay to get it back and MSFT knows better than to just give the franchise away.

banjo is dead... because rare is dead.

The ideal scenario is Rare, under the direction of Gregg Mayles, develops and designs the game for Xbox One. Kirkhope could be brought on in a freelance capacity to do the music. 

Plan B, in the event that Rare is incapable of developing the game on its own, is Banjo-Threeie on 3DS, developed with assistance from Nintendo. 

Plan C is the game is handed off to a non-Nintendo studio more experienced with platformers, possibly Ubisoft Montpellier or Insomniac.

I honestly think the franchise would be better suited on a handheld. As harsh as it may sound, I don't think the franchise has enough support (aside from die hard nostalgics) to make a comeback, especially on a console being eclipsed by its main competition.