Rare's been tooting their own horn lately, promising a “huge” year ahead, launching the gamersphere into a speculative frenzy. Microsoft, owner of Rare, wants to put the kibosh on that, so stop calling your local Gamestop, because the big game Rare is working on this year most likely isn't Battletoads. Nor is it a new entry for Banjo-Kazooie or a follow-up to Conker's Bad Fur Day or Conker: Live and Reloaded.
Speaking on the Inner Circle Podcast as reported at sister site CraveOnline, Microsoft's Ken Lobb discussed Rare's portfolio of hits from the 8- and 16-bit eras to today. “Will there ever be another Banjo, Viva [Pinata], Blast Corps, Battletoads? Yeah, some day,” Lobb said. “And I think the reason you see things like Battletoads revived is because we know there’s value, so we renewed the trademark.”
Lobb went on to say, however, that it wouldn't be coming in 2015. “Does that mean it’ll never come? Absolutely not. We have a lot of passion internally for each of these games that you mentioned and we have surprises in store in the near and long future, but understand that what it’s really about is, we want to build this suite of IP that we can add to that list of 'Let’s build some new things,' 'let’s build some recent sequels,' and 'let’s do some crazy stuff' like dig back into a portfolio of IP and build some games that people love.”
While what sounds like a new IP doesn't give fans the classic characters they love, the news is not all bad; considering that three of Rare's four new IPs since their Microsoft acquisition were Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kameo: Elements of Power, and the Kinect Sports franchise, perhaps taking a crack at something of a little more quality is in order.
