Rare: Difference between revisions
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(I honestly have doubts about if the first two opinion casters at Talk:Microsoft were properly aware of how short the Rare Ltd. page was before I added some of its info here now (along with new additional info on Minecraft).) Tag: Disambiguation links |
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'''{{wp|Rare (company)|Rare Ltd.}}''' (trade-named '''Rareware''' during [[Nintendo]] tenure) is a British video game developer based in Twycross, Leicestershire. It was founded in 1985 by Chris and Tim Stamper, as the successor company to {{wp|Ultimate Play the Game}}. Rare formerly worked exclusively for Nintendo before being bought out by [[Microsoft]]. As a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo, Rare created the successful [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] games ''{{wp|Wizards & Warriors}}'', ''{{wp|Battletoads (video game)|Battletoads}}'', and ''{{wp|R.C. Pro-Am}}''; revived the ''[[Donkey Kong (franchise)|Donkey Kong]]'' property with its critically acclaimed ''[[Donkey Kong Country (series)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' series; and created many other well-known titles such as ''{{wp|GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007}}'', ''{{wp|Banjo-Kazooie}}'', ''{{wp|Perfect Dark}}'', and ''{{wp|Conker's Bad Fur Day}}''. | '''{{wp|Rare (company)|Rare Ltd.}}''' (trade-named '''Rareware''' during [[Nintendo]] tenure) is a British video game developer based in Twycross, Leicestershire. It was founded in 1985 by Chris and Tim Stamper, as the successor company to {{wp|Ultimate Play the Game}}. Rare formerly worked exclusively for Nintendo before being bought out by [[Microsoft]]. As a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo, Rare created the successful [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] games ''{{wp|Wizards & Warriors}}'', ''{{wp|Battletoads (video game)|Battletoads}}'', and ''{{wp|R.C. Pro-Am}}''; revived the ''[[Donkey Kong (franchise)|Donkey Kong]]'' property with its critically acclaimed ''[[Donkey Kong Country (series)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' series; and created many other well-known titles such as ''{{wp|GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007}}'', ''{{wp|Banjo-Kazooie}}'', ''{{wp|Perfect Dark}}'', and ''{{wp|Conker's Bad Fur Day}}''. | ||
In 2002, following the release of ''[[lylatwiki:Star Fox Adventures|Star Fox Adventures]]'' on the [[Nintendo GameCube]] (Rare's only game on the system), Nintendo sold Rare's shares to Microsoft for $375 million, granting Microsoft 100% acquisition of Rare. The company then began to produce games for {{wp|Xbox Game Studios|Microsoft Studios}}' {{wp|Xbox (console)|Xbox}} video game console. This change of focus resulted in the cancelation of several games featuring the ''Donkey Kong'' brand: ''[[Donkey Kong Racing]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers]]'', and ''[[Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)|Diddy Kong Pilot]]'' (the first of which was unfinished before Rare was bought by Microsoft, while the last two had set release dates but ended up being unpublished) | In 2002, following the release of ''[[lylatwiki:Star Fox Adventures|Star Fox Adventures]]'' on the [[Nintendo GameCube]] (Rare's only game on the system), Nintendo sold Rare's shares to Microsoft on September 24, 2002 for $375 million, granting Microsoft 100% acquisition of Rare. The company then began to produce games for {{wp|Xbox Game Studios|Microsoft Studios}}' {{wp|Xbox (console)|Xbox}} video game console. This change of focus resulted in the cancelation of several games featuring the ''Donkey Kong'' brand: ''[[Donkey Kong Racing]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers]]'', and ''[[Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)|Diddy Kong Pilot]]'' (the first of which was unfinished before Rare was bought by Microsoft, while the last two had set release dates but ended up being unpublished). | ||
Rare, however, has continued to develop games for Nintendo's handheld systems, since Microsoft has not entered the handheld console market. Microsoft negotiated a deal with {{wp|THQ}} to publish ''{{wp|Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge}}'' on the [[Game Boy Advance]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100731105039/http://mundorare.com/features/chronicle-of-a-buyout-foretold MundoRare - ''Chronicle of a Buyout Foretold'' (Wayback Machine)]</ref> as well as ''{{wp|Banjo-Pilot}}'' and ''{{wp|It's Mr. Pants}}'', which were redeveloped from ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' and ''Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers'', respectively. Nintendo itself would later publish the enhanced [[Reissue|remakes]] of the three [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] ''Donkey Kong Country'' games for the Game Boy Advance, as well as ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]''. | Rare, however, has continued to develop games for Nintendo's handheld systems, since Microsoft has not entered the dedicated handheld console market. Microsoft negotiated a deal with {{wp|THQ}} to publish ''{{wp|Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge}}'' on the [[Game Boy Advance]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100731105039/http://mundorare.com/features/chronicle-of-a-buyout-foretold MundoRare - ''Chronicle of a Buyout Foretold'' (Wayback Machine)]</ref> as well as ''{{wp|Banjo-Pilot}}'' and ''{{wp|It's Mr. Pants}}'', which were redeveloped from ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' and ''Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers'', respectively. Nintendo itself would later publish the enhanced [[Reissue|remakes]] of the three [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] ''Donkey Kong Country'' games for the Game Boy Advance, as well as the Rare-developed ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]'' remake. | ||
==Appearances in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise== | ==Appearances in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise== | ||
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|[[Nintendo DS]] | |[[Nintendo DS]] | ||
|} | |} | ||
===''Donkey Kong Country'' series on Virtual Console=== | |||
[[File:DKC VC Icon.jpg|right|thumb|JPN Wii U icon for ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'']] | |||
As the [[Donkey Kong Country (series)|Donkey Kong Country]] original trilogy was developed by Rare Ltd., Nintendo did not have full license rights to the games. While the first ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' game was made available on [[Virtual Console]] within a few weeks of the Nintendo Wii console being released, and the [[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|second]] and [[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!|third]] games being rolled out there in 2007, all three games were delisted on November 25, 2012 and were gradually re-listed again in 2014-15, this time on both Wii and [[Wii U]], and all releases of the game have remained listed since then to the extent the consoles' online game stores have remained online. | |||
==Character properties== | |||
Under the terms of the merger, Nintendo retained the rights to all the ''Donkey Kong'' characters along with [[Krunch]], while Rare maintained the rights to its own intellectual properties such as ''Banjo-Kazooie'' and ''[[Conker]]''. | |||
Nintendo characters and Rare-created characters both appeared in ''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]'' in 1997, often several months before the latter characters starred in their own games. [[Banjo]] later also appeared in ''[[Mario Artist: Paint Studio]]'' as a sticker, and Rare characters appeared in comic issues occasionally before the merger. After the merger, there was a hard stop to using Nintendo and Rare characters in the same works of media, with even ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]'' in 2007 not being able to use Banjo or Conker in the character roster. The hard split of character sets would last until the September 4, 2019 release of a DLC set for ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', which was the first time since 1997 that Banjo and [[Diddy Kong]] were playable characters in the same game. | |||
==Notable employees== | ==Notable employees== | ||
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Rareware screen DKCGBC.png|Splash screen from ''Donkey Kong Country'' (Game Boy Color) | Rareware screen DKCGBC.png|Splash screen from ''Donkey Kong Country'' (Game Boy Color) | ||
Rareware screen DKP.png|Unused splash screen from ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' (2001) | Rareware screen DKP.png|Unused splash screen from ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' (2001) | ||
</gallery> | |||
===Logos of canceled games=== | |||
<gallery> | |||
Donkey Kong Art and Logo - Donkey Kong Racing.png|''[[Donkey Kong Racing]]'' | |||
DKCC-Donkey Kong Art.jpg|''[[Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers]]'' | |||
Diddypilot.jpg|''[[Diddy Kong Pilot]]'' | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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**In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', Rare is also credited with composing various ''Banjo-Kazooie'' music tracks, all of which the company currently owns as part of Microsoft. | **In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', Rare is also credited with composing various ''Banjo-Kazooie'' music tracks, all of which the company currently owns as part of Microsoft. | ||
*In the Wii U port of ''Donkey Kong 64'', the game ''Jetpac'' is left intact despite still being owned by Rare. | *In the Wii U port of ''Donkey Kong 64'', the game ''Jetpac'' is left intact despite still being owned by Rare. | ||
*In 2018, the year before Banjo and [[Kazooie]] were added to ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', skins modeled after Rare characters had been made available to ''[[Minecraft]]: Wii U Edition'' and ''Minecraft: Switch Edition'', though the skins were applied to [[Steve (Minecraft)|Steve]] and were not the proper Rare character shapes. | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 09:41, May 29, 2024
| Rare | |
|---|---|
| |
| Founded | 1985[?] |
| First Super Mario game | Donkey Kong Country |
| Latest Super Mario game | Diddy Kong Racing DS |
| Current president | Craig Duncan |
Rare Ltd. (trade-named Rareware during Nintendo tenure) is a British video game developer based in Twycross, Leicestershire. It was founded in 1985 by Chris and Tim Stamper, as the successor company to Ultimate Play the Game. Rare formerly worked exclusively for Nintendo before being bought out by Microsoft. As a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo, Rare created the successful Nintendo Entertainment System games Wizards & Warriors, Battletoads, and R.C. Pro-Am; revived the Donkey Kong property with its critically acclaimed Donkey Kong Country series; and created many other well-known titles such as GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Conker's Bad Fur Day.
In 2002, following the release of Star Fox Adventures on the Nintendo GameCube (Rare's only game on the system), Nintendo sold Rare's shares to Microsoft on September 24, 2002 for $375 million, granting Microsoft 100% acquisition of Rare. The company then began to produce games for Microsoft Studios' Xbox video game console. This change of focus resulted in the cancelation of several games featuring the Donkey Kong brand: Donkey Kong Racing, Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, and Diddy Kong Pilot (the first of which was unfinished before Rare was bought by Microsoft, while the last two had set release dates but ended up being unpublished).
Rare, however, has continued to develop games for Nintendo's handheld systems, since Microsoft has not entered the dedicated handheld console market. Microsoft negotiated a deal with THQ to publish Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge on the Game Boy Advance[1] as well as Banjo-Pilot and It's Mr. Pants, which were redeveloped from Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, respectively. Nintendo itself would later publish the enhanced remakes of the three SNES Donkey Kong Country games for the Game Boy Advance, as well as the Rare-developed Diddy Kong Racing DS remake.
Appearances in the Donkey Kong franchise
- Dixie Kong and Timber's hats once had Rareware logos on them.
- In Donkey Kong 64, Rareware, along with Nintendo, sponsored the boxing match between the Kongs and King K. Rool as mentioned by the Microphone. Also, it is possible to collect a Rareware Coin by beating Cranky's score in Jetpac, and a Golden Banana with Rare's logo on it by collecting all of the Banana Fairies.
- In Diddy Kong Racing DS, the coins have the logo of Rare on it.
- In Donkey Kong Country Returns, the options menu has a coral reef shaped like the Rare logo.
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Rare logo appears on Banjo's backpack, just as it did in promotional renders for Banjo-Tooie.
| Title | Year released | Console |
|---|---|---|
| Donkey Kong Country | 1994 | SNES |
| Donkey Kong Land | 1995 | Game Boy |
| Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | 1995 | SNES |
| Donkey Kong Land 2 | 1996 | Game Boy |
| Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! | 1996 | SNES |
| Donkey Kong Land III | 1997 | Game Boy |
| Diddy Kong Racing | 1997 | Nintendo 64 |
| Donkey Kong 64 | 1999 | Nintendo 64 |
| Donkey Kong Country | 2000 | Game Boy Color |
| Donkey Kong Country | 2003 | Game Boy Advance |
| Donkey Kong Country 2 | 2004 | Game Boy Advance |
| Donkey Kong Country 3 | 2005 | Game Boy Advance |
| Diddy Kong Racing DS | 2007 | Nintendo DS |
Donkey Kong Country series on Virtual Console
As the Donkey Kong Country original trilogy was developed by Rare Ltd., Nintendo did not have full license rights to the games. While the first Donkey Kong Country game was made available on Virtual Console within a few weeks of the Nintendo Wii console being released, and the second and third games being rolled out there in 2007, all three games were delisted on November 25, 2012 and were gradually re-listed again in 2014-15, this time on both Wii and Wii U, and all releases of the game have remained listed since then to the extent the consoles' online game stores have remained online.
Character properties
Under the terms of the merger, Nintendo retained the rights to all the Donkey Kong characters along with Krunch, while Rare maintained the rights to its own intellectual properties such as Banjo-Kazooie and Conker.
Nintendo characters and Rare-created characters both appeared in Diddy Kong Racing in 1997, often several months before the latter characters starred in their own games. Banjo later also appeared in Mario Artist: Paint Studio as a sticker, and Rare characters appeared in comic issues occasionally before the merger. After the merger, there was a hard stop to using Nintendo and Rare characters in the same works of media, with even Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007 not being able to use Banjo or Conker in the character roster. The hard split of character sets would last until the September 4, 2019 release of a DLC set for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which was the first time since 1997 that Banjo and Diddy Kong were playable characters in the same game.
Notable employees
|
|
Gallery
Logos
Rare's first logo, used from 1987–1990
Logo used from 1990–1994
Logo used from 1994–2003 for the "Rareware" trademark
Donkey Kong and Diddy with the Rareware logo
Logo used from 2003–2010
Logo used from 2010–2015
Screenshots
Splash screen from Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong
Splash screen from Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)
Unused splash screen from Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)
Logos of canceled games
Trivia
- Even though Rare has cut ties with Nintendo, its company name, written as "Rare Limited," appears in the Sound Test of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the original composers of several Donkey Kong songs, although the information clarifies that Nintendo fully owns the copyright to the compositions.
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rare is also credited with composing various Banjo-Kazooie music tracks, all of which the company currently owns as part of Microsoft.
- In the Wii U port of Donkey Kong 64, the game Jetpac is left intact despite still being owned by Rare.
- In 2018, the year before Banjo and Kazooie were added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, skins modeled after Rare characters had been made available to Minecraft: Wii U Edition and Minecraft: Switch Edition, though the skins were applied to Steve and were not the proper Rare character shapes.
External links
- Rare Ltd. on the Rare Wiki
