Was Microsoft's Acquisition of Rare wasted?

[Solid SOAP]

Simple question, do you think Microsoft's acquisition of Rare was wasted? Your answer could fall under myriad categories:

Yes

* They haven't made many notable games since (Notable meaning as impactful as their previous games or similar titles, e.g. Banjo-Kazooie, Mario 64, etc)

* Their IPs haven't been utilized effectively

* Etc.

No

* Their game developers have strengthened Microsoft's brand

* Their IPs have strengthened Microsoft's brand

*Etc.

 

[Aurora]

Maybe.

 

[Caiusto]

I think it was alright, seeing that they're still around when so many big studios closed since then. Sure, they didn't keep the same level of what they made with Nintendo but they did have some good games and are currently in a very good shape.

 

[Wollan]

Do we have any revenue number or MAU for Sea of Thieves besides many people just trying it out once or more on Game Pass?
My bet though is that's worth it now thanks to Sea of Thieves.

Their next game Everwild sounds like it's far off however (and it was revealed that their showing was just based on some loose ideas).

Why aren't they making a Viva Pinata 2?? It was their best game after the Microsoft acquisition.

 

[SpottieO]

They have made what they wanted to make and it's become their most successful game ever. So no.

 

[MisterAnderson]

If it wasn't for Sea of Thieves I would have voted Yes.

 

[carlsojo]

They put out sea of thieves which is something

 

[Zeal543]

Before sea of thieves I would say yes

 

[Rayasab]

I mean they thought they were buying DK with the deal

 

[Fiddle]

Until Sea of Thieves gets correctly calculated FOV I vote Yes.

 

[Goldenroad]

They made some mistakes with them in the Mattrick and Kinect years, but they made some good games prior to that and are hopefully on a better trajectory now.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

It'll be redeemed once Goldeneye XBLA releases.

 

[CountAntonio]

Sea of Thieves, Viva Pinata, Killer Instinct and whatever is next with perfect dark as well as the xbox hd version I'm gonna say no.

 

[Roronoa_Zoro]

They weakened their competition so no.

 

[Waggles]

The most notable things associated with Rare since its acquisition was butchering banjo three, and banjo being in smash.

rare replay was pretty cool though.

 

[RoKKeR]

They make one of the most successful multiplayer games that MS owns so I'm gonna say no. Definitely a rough stretch there, though.

 

[Alooful]

It's been disappointing. They were putting out 9/10's every game on SNES/N64. They absolutely have not lived up to that no matter how good you think Sea of Thieves was

 

[Ryuelli]

Yes.
No.
Maybe.
I don't know.

 

[BabyDontHurtMe]

They've been a slump for nearly two decades until Sea of Thieves came out, but I do think they were harmed by a lot of talent leaving since the acquisition and they seem to be struggling with Everwild. Hard to say but I think the studio just had a lot of bad luck (being in the Kinect factory after making disappointing games and then making a GaaS game with a rough launch but strong post-launch).

 

[LossAversion]

Up until recently. Though I wonder how many people working at Rare now were there when they were acquired. Sea Of Thieves could probably have happened without that acquisition. Their IP's are still valuable though. I never even played the original Perfect Dark and I'm still interested in the reboot.

 

[Lost Lemurian]

Until I see a new Jet Force Gemini game, I'm gonna say "yes".

 

[davepoobond]

oh. they own Rare?

I love they got lost in the shuffle between Bethesda and Activision. Rare is a shell of its former self, i dont even know what they do anymore

 

[chocolate]

Yes. Huge waste.

No notable Banjo Kazooie game came out. Definitely not counting Nuts and Bolts.

The series could have grown into something great within its genre but no, they let it collect dust.

 

[RF Switch]

Sea of thieves is the best game Rare has ever made

 

[BlackheartVinyl]

The answer is objectively no, but I expect Era to be Era here.

 

[SaberVS7]

I'm going to say No in direct spite of Sea of Thieves.

The Rare that made Sea of Thieves is not the Rare that Microsoft bought 20 years ago. It's a studio bearing its name that put out a quality and enduring product, yes, but the staff that's there now is from contemporary hiring not entirely too different from had Microsoft built a new studio from scratch.

 

[DrDarkStryfe]

Sea of Thieves is a massive game for Microsoft.

 

[Seahawk64]

Before Sea of Thieves, Yes.
After Sea of Thieves, Nope.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

They were at one point the most reputable developer only behind Nintendo, Square and Kojima. And went to pure dog shit for nearly 15 years after that. One successful live ops game and a shitty Wii Sports knock off doesn't negate that. Completely tanked the company and left a lot of era defining IPs dormant and dead for no good reason.

 

[HibbySloth]

I think we lost out on some great games we could have gotten, so I would say sort of. Sea of Thieves is their biggest game ever, so I wouldn't say it's a waste.

A Banjo game on Gamecube/Wii would have been inevitable, and I'll always mourn the loss of this.

 

[FarSight XR-20]

No because they played a critical role in the launch of Xbox 360 (Kameo & Perfect Dark), the launch of Game Pass (Sea of Thieves) and the launch of Kinect (Kinect Sports). Rare basically carried all of these almost alone. Plus they made the Avatars.

And Sea of Thieves is Rare's biggest success ever and on track to be the most successful game of MS on the PC. And they made the best retrocollection ever (or 2nd best depending).

Although the first years and the early 2010s were very rough for the studio (for different reasons).

Great:
Sea of Thieves
Rare Replay
Killer Instinct
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Kinect Sports
Conker: Live & Reloaded
Kameo: Elements of Power
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Showdown Town part because it feels like Banjo-Threeie)

Good:
Battletoads

Mixed:
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Perfect Dark Zero

Bad:
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (everything outside of Showdown Town because it's not Banjo-Threeie)
Kinect Sport Rivals

 

[Tagyhag]

It's a shame more people don't like Nuts and Bolts.

If you wanted another normal 3rd platformer there is a million others to play.

 

[Rosebud]

It's time to let it go

 

[vixolus]

no. they've used their IP sufficiently, they just didn't make decent games at the start of the 360 really. Their Kinect games may not have been hardcore but they were wildly successful. SOT is bangin', KI was well acclaimed, and we have a Perfect Dark on the way.

 

[Gavalanche]

They are good now, but they went from making some of the greatest games ever to being mediocre. Kameo and Viva Piñata are decent but compared to what they did at Nintendo... ooof. Does being good now make up fifteen years of that? Eh, not sure.

 

[BaconHat]

I'm going to say No in direct spite of Sea of Thieves.

The Rare that made Sea of Thieves is not the Rare that Microsoft bought 20 years ago. It's a studio bearing its name that put out a quality and enduring product, yes, but the staff that's there now is from contemporary hiring not entirely too different from had Microsoft built a new studio from scratch.

Click to shrink...

That's where i am too.
There's no question that sea of thieves is objectively a great gain for Microsoft. But it's probably more to do with how Microsoft let the current staff reinvent themselves after so long by giving them the resources to do so, than something like the old Rare being back.

 

[Shard Shinjuku]

I would say it depends on the era, the immediate post-buy out Rare is a resounding yes for a host of reasons and things really didn't gel until Rare got shifted to the Kinect. I know people generally hate that period but Kinect Sports sold millions upon millions of copies (until Rivals) and could be argued to have saved the studio from closure.

 

[RPGam3r]

Nuts & Bolts is the best Banjo game so of course it was worth it. Also Sea of Thieves, which is what they wanted to make, is killing it nowadays.

 

[BlackheartVinyl]

Bad:
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Click to shrink...

 

[Luigi87]

As many have said, pre-SoT yes, but that game really paid off.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Just Sea of Thieves and Killer Instinct would make it worth the purchase.

 

[TheDiscoManDances]

Microsoft bought a ton of good IPs with Rare + received some decent games over the years. Did they meet the sky-high expectations people expected? No. But it wasn't a bad deal at all.

 

[BlackheartVinyl]

Kameo and Viva Piñata are decent but compared to what they did at Nintendo... ooof.

Click to shrink...

Viva Pinata is the best game in Rare's entire history. Sorry, dude.

 

[BlackheartVinyl]

Nuts & Bolts is the best Banjo game so of course it was worth it.

Click to shrink...

This guy knows what's up.

 

[Rhaknar]

Sea of Thieves is much bigger than any game they have ever made before, no matter how much Era wants to dismiss it.

 

[knightmawk]

I think until Sea of Thieves I woulda said yes, but after Sea of Thieves I think it's at least promising. Sea of Thieves is great and unique, Everwild looks cool and might actually come out some day, Battletoads and Rare Replay got made. I'm on the fence and a Banjo or Conker revival would probably push me all the way into the yard, but I'm also close to just jumping in myself.

 

[Grunty]

Absolutely not. They've released a lot of great games but their core audience was with Nintendo so they weren't selling as much as they probably would have. Even then though, PDZ, Kameo, and Viva Piñata were all million+ sellers. Then Kinect Sports came along and sold over 10million units between its three entries which also helped to drive the sales of Kinect.

So while it has been a bit rough around the edges here and there, they've more than earned that money back a long time ago and continue to do so today.

And are you suggesting that Sea of Thieves isn't as notable as Banjo, Perfect Dark, etc.? It's only the most successful game in the company's history and one that has grown to over 25million players and continues to grow.

And Viva Piñata was a damn good new IP and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

 

[StreamedHams]

It eventually got us Killer Instinct, which sat dormant for years. I absolutely love that game.

And yes, I know Rare didn't develop it. I also got KI and KI2 on the Xbox, and I still play those.

I'll just be over here patiently waiting for the next KI.

 

[Shard Shinjuku]

Viva Pinata is the best game in Rare's entire history. Sorry, dude.

Click to shrink...

I think though Viva Pinata is the best example of how Rare and Microsoft just didn't work philosophically at that stage as Microsoft attempted to try and make this a franchise and failed hard. Ironically enough I think if Nintendo had been helming the promotion of Viva Pinata it might have been one of the bigger games of the Wii-DS era.

 

[Nazo]

Fucking absolutely. And straight up, I fully expect at least a few of their recent acquisitions to go similarly.