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Eurogamer Details The Troubled Marriage Of Microsoft And Rare
In a new article, writer Simon Parkin examines the history of Microsoft's acquisition of Rare, and ponders the decline of the studio.
It's a well-researched article, entitled "Who Killed Rare?" It's peppered with quotes from insiders like former Rare programmer Martin Hollis, who helped create GoldenEye and Killer Instinct and former Microsoft executive Ed Fries, who helped launch the original Xbox and oversaw the acquisition of Rare.
Hollis appears to think it was a bad fit from the start, saying, ""Rare was always looking East at Japanese and Nintendo's games in particular, with their open-hearted childlike vibrancy and playfulness. Meanwhile, Microsoft had a US-centric style to its games, a flair of machismo and testosterone. For the first decade after the Microsoft sale the major problem for the creativity of the studio has been direction. Looking in from the outside it felt as if neither Microsoft or Rare could work out where it was headed."
Fries himself takes a more positive view, stating "there is still some magic left at Rare."
It's an article that's well worth your time. Head over to Eurogamer and read it.
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