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Rare veteran George Andreas leaves Microsoft, joins Sony
Former Rare game director George Andreas left Microsoft earlier this month to join Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Andreas, who'd been with British developer Rare since 1996, is working as Creative Director at SCEE's London headquarters.Andreas was creatively involved with much of Rare's work over the last 16 years, including the likes of GoldenEye, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark Zero, and Viva Piñata. After the company was acquired by Microsoft in 2002, Andreas took on lead roles for Xbox 360 games, such as project leader and game director of launch game Kameo: Elements of Power, and creative director on Kinect Sports.
Rare: Kameo & PDZ sold tons, stop crying
This might be an unpopular opinion among some but, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power were boring games. Although each showcased a small portion of the Xbox 360's new power at launch, the games were (mostly) critically chokeslammed. Blame it on the short development cycle of launch games or the decline of Rare's developmental quality (until Viva Piñata that is) but both games could have been much better. So, what does Rare think of the majority opinion on those launch releases? Well, they're a business, they care about sales, and according to Rare's Nick Burton, they sold a metric ton of copies of each (you jerk): "One of the things that I always find funny is when people always quote Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero as being flops at the launch of the 360. In the industry if you break even you're lucky, you're in the minority," Burton told VideoGamer. "If you make a decent amount of money you're really in the minority. You're in the top percentile. Those two games made a lot of money. For the install base they sold phenomenally well." Honestly, we didn't need Burton to tell us PDZ and Kameo made money because we can already tell Rare has been infused with cash. Look at Viva Piñata and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts -- clearly the people of Rare purchased some creativity and talent with that stack of monies. We joke because we love.
Sunday Deals: H3, BioShock, Lost Planet and more
Hey, it's Sunday and that means its time to surf the internets, open those newspapers and look for the best gaming deals this week. But we've already done the work for you, so please, allow us to share ... This week, Best Buy has two decent offers, one being that you can get a free $10 gift card with the purchase of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty and the other being $10 off Call of Duty 4. Heading North to our Canadian Best Buy friends, not only can you grab Kameo for $15, but they're also offering BioShock for free with the purchase of an Xbox 360. And remember, Xbox 360 prices in Canada recently dropped (Pro: $349, Elite: $449 and Arcade: $279), so that's a very juicy offer. Next up, Circuit City. They've heavily discounted Lost Planet to $20, cut the price of Conflict: DO to $40 and have taken 20% off the price of BlackSite, Kane & Lynch, Turok, Halo 3 and BioShock dropping their price to $48 each. Finally, this week at Target stores, they're selling PGR4 for $30, Scene It? for $50 and The Orange Box or NFS: ProStreet for a cool $40. That's all the deals we could spot this week, but feel free to share with your fellow fanboys any other offers you spot while out and about this week. Happy shopping and stay safe.
Edge: Rare working on original XBLA game
According to a news article on CVG, the latest issue of the UK's Edge Magazine contains mention of Microsoft-owned developer, Rare, working on a new and original Xbox Live Arcade title. Holding the reins of the mostly mysterious steed is one Nick Burton, who was previously involved with Starfox Adventures and the more recent Kameo: Elements of Power. Burton is collaborating with a team of ten others on the unnamed game which may or may not feature disturbingly proportioned, anthropomorphic characters.
2007 sees Kameo on the big screen?
Kameo was a mixed bag, even for a launch title. The game was beautiful, it played reasonably well, but there was just something missing. The characters lacked spark and the world was perhaps a little too saccharine. Still, it was a decent first effort and it was sure as hell a sight better than Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Rare's first Microsoft effort. It looks like the lukewarm reception was enough for Microsoft, as a Kameo movie appears to be in the works, according to IMDB. The director listed is Sunmin Park, who most recently had a hand in the anime feature, Sky Blue. We haven't watched the film, but Siliconera reports that it was a beautiful, though somewhat empty experience. Wait a minute, beautiful but empty? It's almost a perfect match! The only other bit of knowledge we have is that the film is slated for 2007. Anyone think Kameo is worth the ever increasing price of a movie ticket? [Via Siliconera]
Rare reluctant to pursue Microsoft's vision
Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Rare's lead designer Gregg Mayles sounded reluctant about developing downloadable content for Viva Piñata. "We've got plenty of ideas for what we can do ... But the jury is still out," said Mayles. For now, Rare seems content to sit back and watch other studios' successes and failures. It's clear that if Rare is to continue to provide downloadable content, it doesn't want to go the EA route; that's not to say the developer is in the business of hand-outs. Ill-reception of Kameo's premium content has forced Rare to rethink its strategy, leading the studio to consider that resources are perhaps better spent on the 'next' project. Despite forming a branch of the Microsoft camp, Rare is having a difficult time adopting its parent company's content-for-now, content-for-later model.
New 360 Platinum Hits for $29.99
Microsoft has officially announced the first batch of Platinum Hits for the Xbox 360. The games are: Perfect Dark Zero Project Gotham Racing 3 Kameo: Elements of Power Need for Speed Most Wanted Conspicuously missing from the list is Call of Duty 2, the 360's first million seller. The first four Platinum Hits will be available for the bargain price of $29.99 starting October 15th -- the second set should be announced in the spring of 2007. It's a far cry from what we considered a bargain last gen, but it's definitely better than nothing. So, for those of you that haven't picked these up yet, will a $29.99 price tag make you reconsider? See the full press release after the break.
Viva Pinata gameplay revealed
If you've been hungering to know (and see) more specifics regarding Rare's upcoming game, Viva Piñata, take a gander at this massive video demonstration from Leipzig. Clocking in at over twenty minutes long, the video goes over just about everything you've wanted to know, including: Attracting piñatas to your garden Tending said garden Piñata romance (rowr!) Xbox Live features Piñatas, piñatas, piñatas. The game looks great. Rare's first game developed entirely on the 360 is colorful, vibrant, and overall very nice. Check out the video if you've got the time to kill. Anyone else think it's strange not to have a third person avatar in a children's game?
Rumor: Free Game with 360 starts today
Video Game Jocks is reporting that Microsoft will begin giving away a free game with the purchase of a new Xbox 360. The promotion applies to either a Core or Premium console. The available games are: Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo: Elements of Power, Perfect Dark Zero or Dead or Alive 4. Supposedly the deal begins today and runs through September 22nd. For now, take this with a grain of salt, as the article fails to link any source information whatsoever. If anyone can find the actual announcement, hit us up with a tip and see your name inside pretty brackets. [Like This]
Kameo pack adds versus play, achievements
New Kameo content on Marketplace, dubbed "The Kameo Power Pack," is set to add several features to Rare's platformer. The content adds three new modes of play including Expert mode, Time Attack mode, and Rune Battle mode. All modes support two players, the first two being co-op while the third is a versus mode. One interesting tidbit: the new content will actually add 15 new achievements and worldwide leaderboards to the game (anybody know if this gives Kameo more than 1000 achievement points?). Whatever your opinions of Kameo, it's nice to see Rare supporting the game with fresh content this far into its lifespan. Expect to see it hit Marketplace "soon." [Thanks, MumbleyJoe]
Kameo Power Pack announced
Rare has announced that a Power Pack will soon be available for their Xbox 360 adventure Kameo: Elements of Power. This represents the game's fifth downloadable offering via the Xbox Live marketplace. In previous packs, Kameo herself received a closet full of new duds, but this time her monster pals get to play dress up with some modified armor. Regarding gameplay enhancements, the Power Pack ramps up the difficulty for six of the original game's levels with Expert mode, while the Time Attack and Rune Battle modes offer new multiplayer support. Pricing and availability have not been made available, but earlier costume packs sold for 200 Microsoft points ($2.50), and the first co-op pack was free.
Rare to unleash Pinatas on 360s this holiday season
Rare's next project is apparently an original IP concerning living piñata animals that will be featured in a Saturday morning TV/3-D/CG show and then in an Xbox 360 game debuting this holiday season worldwide.
Rumors squashed! MS debunks top 10 360 rumors
Microsoft's Cesar Menendez has decided to take out the trash, tossing the top 10 Xbox 360 rumors out. Here's his list: 10. Kameo is a kid's game: Not true. It's got a T rating. You can impale baddies with the spikes on your own back. Impale! 9. Xbox 360 is being recalled: There is no recall. Period. Return rates are actually lower than consumer electronics (CE) industry averages. 8. Microsoft is intentionally withholding product so as to build artificially high demand: Seriously. Think of the revenue hit we'd take if we actually did that. 7. Halo 3 is finished, and just sitting in a warehouse somewhere (in Poughkeepsie): See #8. Actually, come to think of it: we haven't announced anything about anything of which you claim we've announced or finished, as it were. 6. ____(insert name)___ is an alien/getting fired/fighting with _______ (Robbie Bach, Brian Lee, Peter Moore, J Allard, etc.): Nope. Peter's my boss' boss' boss, and I just want to say, in case you're reading this: "you're great!" 5. Everyone at Xbox is evil (or a robot, or is money grubbing, etc.): Dude - we're gamers. We're just trying to make a better games and entertainment than the other guy. 4. We stopped working on backwards compatibility: Still going. 3. We chose Barbie's Horse Adventure first, because we didn't want PGR2 to be BackCompat: Nope, some titles are just bonus because other titles work. 2. Sony will launch a broadband service better than Xbox Live: A big, bold claim. Two words: Emotion Engine. 1. Bungie has no plans to take over the world: Not true. Just look at their seven step plan. I have to agree with just about every one of these, except the Kameo one (which I didn't care for). Though it may not explicitly be a children's game, the reality is that it's not sure what it is. It looks like a children's game, but you impale enemies. It's not a rumor per se, but a misinterpretation due to a lack of focus or direction. Can't blame him for trying though.
