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Microsoft is giving away 'Sea of Thieves' with Xbox purchases
Microsoft is gearing up to make playing Sea of Thieves as easy as possible. If you've heard all the hype surrounding the cartoony pirate simulator but don't already own an Xbox (or PC) to play it on, for a limited time, when you buy an Xbox One X you'll get developer Rare's latest for free. The promo lasts from March 18th through the 24th, with the March 20th launch day falling square in the middle.
‘Sea of Thieves’ will live or die by how its world grows
Sea of Thieves is unquestionably an absolute blast to play. It unashamedly embraces every seafarer cliché and trope so you can live out all your pirate fantasies, just without the sunburn, scurvy and missing appendages. You can down grog until you puke, take to the open ocean in search of treasure or conflict and, when you lose a cannon fight, play a mournful tune with your fellow scallywags as you go down with your galleon. But Sea of Thieves isn't supposed to be a game you spend a few fun evenings playing before forgetting it just as quickly. Developer Rare envisions its core audience spending hundreds if not thousands of hours plundering this new world. If that's going to be the case, though, it has to grow to be twice the title it is today.
Microsoft taps 'Minecraft' leader to run its game studios
Now that Phil Spencer is managing Microsoft's broader game platform strategy, who's going to fill his shoes? Now we know: Microsoft has appointed Matt Booty, the overseer of the company's Minecraft teams, as the corporate VP of Microsoft Studios. He'll watch over all of Microsoft's own game publishing efforts, including Halo's 343 Industries, Gears of War's The Coalition and Forza's Turn 10. This isn't just about handing over the keys, though -- as Spencer explained to VentureBeat, it's also about improving the company's first-party game business.
Pirate simulator 'Sea of Thieves' hits Xbox on March 20th
Rare's cartoony pirate simulator Sea of Thieves sets sail for your Xbox One and Windows 10 March 20th. Microsoft's stab at breaking out of its Forza, Gears of War and Halo release cadence can't get here fast enough, and if you're feeling impatient you can preorder right now to unlock some bonus bits. What're those, pray tell? Access to the shared-world's closed beta in addition to some cosmetic items, according to Xbox Wire.
'Yooka-Laylee' arrives on Nintendo Switch December 14th
The wait is almost over: The whimsical, N64-styled retro platformer Yooka-Laylee will arrive on Nintendo Switch this December 14th. While versions for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were released in April, the game seems custom-tailored for Nintendo's hybrid home/portable console. After all, the game was made by former Rare Ware employees (which existed more or less as a second-party studio since the NES' hey-day) and its pick-up-and-play platforming is perfect for quick sessions on the go.
'Sea of Thieves' won't take you on an epic pirate adventure until 2018
When Rare teased us with Sea of Thieves last year, it left the release date up in the air. Sure, we knew the game would set us on an adventure across the high seas, but we had no idea when we would embark on our quest for loot. Now we know. Sort of. Today at E3, the company penned the adventure in for a 2018 release date, exclusive for Xbox One and Windows 10.
'Yooka-Laylee' is at the heart of a 3D platformer revival
A few years ago, the 3D platformer was in a bad place. Mario was still around, but the genre had little support elsewhere. Colorful games like Crash Bandicoot, Pyschonauts and Jak and Daxter had vanished in favor of grittier, more realistic adventures. There was the occasional surprise, like the papercraft-inspired Tearaway, but nothing close to the breadth of games found on the N64, PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The market had moved on, publishers thought, and it no longer made sense to fund ambitious, big-budget projects like Beyond Good and Evil.
'Yooka-Laylee' won't come to the Wii U
Playtonic has announced today that its debut game Yooka-Laylee will no longer be coming to Wii U. Citing "technical difficulties" the studio says it will now release the anticipated platformer on the Nintendo Switch. Playtonic also announced a release date for the other platforms, with the game launching on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on April 11th 2017.
Look at the Xbox 360's cancelled 'Goldeneye 007' HD remaster
It's one of those bits of gaming trivia that punches a specific generation of players square in the gut: There was once an Xbox Live port of Goldeneye 007 in the works, but it was cancelled. It's true -- Activation was porting the Nintendo 64 classic to the Xbox 360 back in 2008, but the project was canned when Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't reach a licensing agreement. The good news? Today we finally get a look at what the game would have been -- known leaker Rare Thief has posted 30 minutes of gameplay footage.
Nintendo wanted to tone down the violence in 'GoldenEye'
The classic N64 first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 is one of the most beloved games of the '90s and played a big part in ushering such games from the PC to the living room. It's the kind of game that a certain audience will never tire of learning more about, which is why this report from The Guardian is such an enjoyable read. GoldenEye's director Martin Hollis discussed the game at the GameCity festival in Nottingham England and dropped some details on just how developer Rare was able to bring such a violent game to the family-friendly Nintendo console.
Rare shows the 'Conker' game that never was
If you know your Rare history, you probably know that Conker's Bad Fur Day began life as a tame, kid-friendly game and evolved into the foul-mouthed 'mature' title that reached your Nintendo 64. Have you wondered what that original squirrel adventure looked like in action, however? Rare is happy to help. It just posted unreleased footage of the game when it was still known as Twelve Tales: Conker 64. To say that this early version was playing it safe would be an understatement. As you'll see below, Conker's companion Berry (aka Berri) wasn't nearly so sexualized. Meanwhile, the gameplay mechanics involved innocuous things like unicycles and differently-themed hats -- no feces monsters here.
Lost 'Sonic' arcade game will soon be playable
Even the most diehard Sonic The Hedgehog fan could be forgiven for missing out on playing Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car. The 1991 arcade game was released exclusively in Japan for small kids, placed within a car-shaped cabinet that was big enough for junior and their adult minder. Thankfully, the title, which had been thought lost for the better part of two decades, has now been found. If you're prepared to wait a little longer, then the game will be available on the MAME arcade emulator along a forthcoming software update.
'Rare Replay': gaming classics at their best-worst
It wasn't until after I'd repeatedly pummeled an oversized rat's testicles that I realized why preserving video game history is so important. Were it not for Rare Replay, an anthology of 30 games spanning 32 years, I'd never have played Battletoads Arcade and would've missed one of the finest moments from one of gaming's most storied developers. Replay is an invaluable record of developer Rare's legacy, but it's neither complete nor perfect. Before Microsoft purchased the studio for $375 million in 2002, Rare made games almost exclusively for Nintendo. GoldenEye and the Donkey Kong Country series (arguably its biggest hits) are absent here thanks to publishing and licensing deals, while other games have been scrubbed free of Nintendo references entirely. While Replay's remastered contents are the best they'll likely ever look, games aren't movies, and visuals are only one part of the equation here. So can a slick, modern package make up for any shortcomings that result from playing decades-old games? The answer isn't so simple and it fluctuates wildly from one classic Rare title to the next.
JXE Streams: digging through the 'Rare Replay' vault
More than any other artistic medium, video games have a dire need to preserve their history. Unlike movies, books or music, it's incredibly hard to enjoy a classic game years or even decades after its release because of how quickly the technology powering gaming advances. Lately though, the influx of HD remasters and digital distribution have made it really easy to enjoy works from years gone by. So when Microsoft announced Rare Replay at this year's E3, the idea of 30 (!!!) games from developer Rare's past being playable on a modern console struck a chord with many people. But how do games from the UK studio's storied history hold up to? Join us at 3PM PT / 6PM ET on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, right in this post or on the Engadget Gaming homepage to find out as we broadcast two solid hours of classic Rare weirdness.
'Battletoads' is getting a Comic-Con exclusive vinyl soundtrack
The rumors circling a Battletoads return came to a head at E3 this year with the announcement of the Rare Replay collection, and Microsoft didn't waste its next tradeshow appearance for a chance to capitalize on the hype. Folks roaming San Diego Comic Con can pick up a limited edition soundtrack for the amphibious beat 'em up on a very fitting yellow and green 180 gram LP. If the cover art up above looks a little familiar, that's because it was done by the same artist responsible for Run the Jewels' records, Nick Gazin. The SDCC run is $25, limited to 300 copies and features different art than what'll be sold outside of the show later this year, according to Entertainment Weekly.
N64 controller modded to (sort of) work with the Xbox One
Microsoft has an exorbitant $150 controller coming this year that it hopes will make up for the Xbox One's middling gamepad, but that won't make the upcoming Rare Replay feel any more authentic when you play. The folks at Hyperkin -- makers of the Retron 5 console -- know this and set forth a challenge: mod a Nintendo 64 controller to work with Microsoft's latest game console. And they succeeded. Mostly. As you'll see in the video below, the three-pronged paddle can navigate the console's dashboard and select apps, but, since there's only one analog stick, that rules out it playing nicely with a vast majority of modern games. The wiring is a bit wonky and certain inputs trigger at random, but, from the sounds of it, the project is far from over.
Rare's next game is 'Sea of Thieves' for Xbox One and Windows 10
Rare isn't just banking on 30 years of nostalgia; it has a brand-new franchise on the way called Sea of Thieves. Announced today for Xbox One and Windows 10, it's looking like the pirate sim we didn't get from Assassin's Creed. Rare described the game as its most ambitious effort ever, as the player dives in first-person to a shared adventure. As one would expect from Rare, it's all very stylized and cartoony, which you can get a good look at via the trailer (embedded after the break.) There's no word yet on a release date, but we'll be looking for it on the show floor and you can sign up for more updates on the official website.
'Rare Replay' puts 30 classic games on your Xbox One this August
It's Rare's 30th anniversary, and the game studio is marking the occasion in style: It's releasing Rare Replay, a 30-title compilation for the Xbox One. The pack includes everything from the mind-numbingly difficult Battletoads through to Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark. There isn't mention of whether or not the games are getting visual upgrades or new modes, but there are 10,000 Gamerscore points up for grabs if you're playing for bragging rights. Replay arrives August 4th, so you won't have to wait long to relive the Rare games of your childhood. Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
New game from 'Banjo-Kazooie' team fully funded in 40 minutes
All that the team at Playtonic Games had to say was, "It's a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie," and their project probably would have reached its £175,000 funding goal on Kickstarter. But Playtonic -- a studio composed of former Rare developers -- instead revealed gameplay videos, pretty 3D screenshots, a colorful world and a few songs from their new game, and then they promised it was a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. That said, Yooka-Laylee blasted past its Kickstarter goal in less than 40 minutes and the numbers just keep on climbing. Andy Robinson, Playtonic's writer and only non-Rare veteran, calls the quick success "incredible."
JxE Streams: Revisiting Rare with Xbox 'Conker: Live & Reloaded'
Rare Ltd., the storied game developer Microsoft bought off Nintendo for a hefty sum at the beginning of the century, has started to stir again. After years of developing poorly received motion-control games like Kinect Sports, all while members of the original staff left for other studios, rumors were swirling that the team will return to its classic series from the '90s. Conker, the foul-mouthed star of Conker's Bad Fur Day on Nintendo 64, actually popped up as a guest star in Xbox One game creator Project Spark. Just today a Reddit poster, verified as a former Microsoft employee, said that the company has been trying to get a new Conker game off the ground for some time. No time like the present to dig into Conker: Live & Reloaded for the original Xbox on JxE Streams.
