Rare developing on ps2 and xbox

Here's the link...

http://cube.ign.com/articles/358/358329p1.html

It's an "insider" story and since my subscription ends today I thought I'd share it.

"There's a lot to talk about as we head directly into the big E3 2002 show, of course, which is why I've been called back by the ambiguously homosexual duo to write one of these dog-slapping Rumor Reports. But I'm going to keep it short and sweet -- and focus my time, your energy, on one of our most beloved second-parties.

What's Going on at Rare?

You want to know. I want to know. Everyone wants to know. What in the hell is up at UK based second-party Rare? There have been literally dozens of rumors about the company in recent weeks and months, all of them questioning its allegiance to Nintendo, its future business model, and its ties to big-name third-party publishers. No solid confirmations, though. Well, hardly any.

Earlier today, however, I chatted with a source very, very close to the company, who was kind enough to fill me in on some very gritty dirt. Apparently Rare is indeed exploring a third-party structure and is determined to release many of its upcoming games across multiple consoles. An insider comments, "[Rare is] definitely, absolutely, 100% doing Xbox and PS2 development down here. They've had [Xbox and PS2] kits for three months or more."

Yikes. But it gets even worse. Some previously announced titles such as Donkey Kong Racing may not materialize as planned. Sources allege that after deciding to develop the racer for multiple platforms, Rare was asked by Nintendo to remove any and all likenesses to its licensed characters from the game. What will it be then, Monkey Racing? Not quite as compelling.

Development on the hotly anticipated Perfect Dark 0, finally, is allegedly moving along very slowly. "Team members keep quitting and it's a very small group now," revealed one leak close to the developer. Rumors abound suggest that the title won't be playable at E3 -- and in fact may not even be shown on video. Apparently Rare has been toying around with a cel-shaded look for the project, though this is not confirmed.

What the hell does all of this mean? Well, if true, it means that Nintendo's premiere second-party has decided to dabble around on other systems. In the end, GameCube owners are still likely to receive first dibs on Rare's biggest projects, but without exclusivity it's going to be a whole different ball game.

Expect more detailed announcements regarding Rare's future at E3 and beyond."
 
Yep, and where are all these quitting staff members going? Nintendo Europe are going to have a development company and a lot of them are going there while a few are going to Free Radical design (Company behing Timesplitters on PS2 and Timesplitters 2 on PS2/GC)
 
Rare makes great games that sell, and have started to make their own marketable characters in a Nintendo-franchise fashion than few 3rd parties have been able to match. It doesn't strike me odd that they'd eventually branch out to the other consoles, there's more money to be had
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Re: "Yikes. But it gets even worse. Some previously announced titles such as Donkey Kong Racing may not materialize as planned. Sources allege that after deciding to develop the racer for multiple platforms, Rare was asked by Nintendo to remove any and all likenesses to its licensed characters from the game."

This doesn't surprise me at all, of course they're going to object...

Maybe history will become "From Square to Rare..... to Square"
 
Could, but cel-shading so.. passe at the moment. Certainly better than grainy-looking realism though.
 
cel-shading so.. passe at the moment

Well, that depends on how it's applied. There's more than one way to cel shade, and character designs can still be original and interesting regardless of how they're rendered. Of course, using cel shading for the sole purpose of looking "cool" without exerting any serious creative effort would be rather lame...
 
That's what I'm getting at really. It just seems to be a bit of an industry buzzword just now. I remember reading somewhere that Rare are working on an unnamed cel-shaded FPS, so I guess that could well be Perfect Dark.
 
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