Perfect Dark for the Virtual Console?

[Tonguetied]

We’ve already had the excellent renditions of the Donkey Kong Country Trilogy released. However since Rare is now owned by Microsoft it’s not been as clear cut for the originally published Perfect Dark on the N64 to be given a Virtual Console release. I think this is utterly treachery that a game which was indeed created for a Nintendo system is finding trouble seeing the light of day for the VC. It’s one of the most if not the most wanted game for VC players. Nintendo still owns the original Perfect Dark, regardless of it’s developer company’s bad move to Microsoft. This is what Rare said regarding any future release of Virtual Console games:

Rare recently answered a question on their website concerning the appearance of games such as Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark on the Wii’s Virtual Console. They replied, “Banjo team: ‘Maybe, but not up to us.'” They also talked about other Rare games hitting the Virtual Console:

“As for VC, it’s ultimately Nintendo’s decision what gets released,” Rare wrote. “Beyond the DKC games we don’t have anything in the pipeline at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in future.”

So what on earth is Nintendo waiting for? If it is indeed resting on Nintendo’s laurels.

Topic

[Ridley]

In what way was the move bad for Rare?

[Tonguetied]

Well considering Nintendo in my opinion was the best place to be, always has been. They tick all the boxes, that other platforms don’t. You can like graphics, and go with MicroSoft or you can like quality games that deliver great story, great characters, and a long lasting appeal. Plus Rare was in it’s heyday when it was with Nintendo, look at Goldeneye, look at Perfect Dark, look at Banjo Kazooie. And of course Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Perfect Dark Zero was a lame sheep dog waiting for those double barrels. So you can say ”but yeah it wasn’t that bad at all for the company, but for the fans of Rare games it was quite a wrong turn indeed” But that’s just my view of course make of it what you will.

[Ridley]

I’ve not really seen Rare as being all that different from the move. They’re still making Nintendoish games but without being held under Nintendo’s more games, more often policy.

[pfm]

> I?ve not really seen Rare as being all that different from the move.

You’re joking, right? As soon as they sold out to Microsoft (and lost half of their decent employees in the process) they became a shell of their former selves. Just think of all the classic titles we could have had for both Gamecube and Wii.

[Pete Part Three]

Quite. Rare have been pretty worthless to Microsoft. I was extremely worried when it was announced that Nintendo were selling their stake, then came Starfox Adventures (DULL) and numerous Xbox flops.

The company as it is today is not the company that brought you Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing or Banjo Kazooie.

[Kevin G]

Rare’s downfall was marked the same way LucasArts was: all the talented people were quitting and forming their own companies.

[Ben Paddon]

Indeed. That company is now Free Radical Design, who are putting out excellent games like TimeSplitters 2, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, and… er…

…hm.

[Kevin G]

Unlike the talents from LucasArts who abandoned ship, the talents from Rare did not remain talents afterwards.

They John Romeroed a bit.

[Ben Paddon]

Except that TimeSplitters 2 (and/or TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, depending on who you talk to) remains the finest example of a console-based multiplayer FPS ever.

So, y’know.

[Phil]

>Rare?s downfall was marked the same way LucasArts was: all the talented people were quitting and forming their own companies.

Yeah, the heyday of LucasArts is much missed. But at least those talents took an honorable way out. Sierra’s talents just went about their daily work until they were all fired without warning on the same day.

I think my childhood died the day Space Quest VII was axed.

But hey, at least we still have Leisure Suit Larry. Right?

…

[Ridley]

Just think of all the classic titles we could have had for both Gamecube and Wii.

Most of their original output up to now have been planned Nintendo games carried over and reworked from the move: Kameo intended for N64 then GameCube, Perfect Dark Zero intended for the Gamecube, Diddy Kong Pilot became Banjo Pilot, Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers became It’s Mr. Pants.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies was supposedly intended for GameCube (the only flop) aswell.

Viva Pinata did well, got a TV series at the same time, a sequel and DS version. I don’t think Sabre Wulf is actually a remake but it’s on a Nintendo console.

2007
Jetpac Refuelled (XBLA) – MGS
Diddy Kong Racing DS (DS) – Nintendo
2006
Viva Pi?ata (Xbox 360) – MGS
2005
Banjo Pilot (GBA) – THQ
Conker: Live & Reloaded (Xbox) – MGS
Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) – Nintendo
Kameo: Elements of Power (Xbox 360) – MGS
Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360) – MGS
2004
Sabre Wulf (GBA) – THQ
Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA) – Nintendo
It’s Mr. Pants (GBA) – THQ
2003
Donkey Kong Country (GBA) – Nintendo
Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge (GBA) – THQ
Grabbed by the Ghoulies (Xbox) – MGS
2002
Star Fox Adventures (GameCube) – Nintendo

What’s the major difference? To me it’s only Microsoft that ultimately lost out from the move.

[Almighty_crj]

Personally I think Rare mucked up by not continuing their second party development relationship with Nintendo. I didn’t see the point in an exclusive contract with Microsoft.

What they should have done was continue as before but porting any non Nintendo liscensed game to the Xbox.

Oh and publicly tell Sony they can get stuffed. I’d really like someone to have done that back then.

[Ben Paddon]

Rare didn’t make the choice to split from Nintendo. Nintendo chose to let them go, presumably because they saw what Rare were working on (Grabbed By The Ghoulies, Kameo, etc.) and decided Rare’s sell-by date had worn off.

Microsoft bought Rare. They wasted their money, I think.

[mick]

Rare were indeed brought out and became a M$ dev studio, the 2nd time I visited the offices for another QA job I remarked on some of the decorative Nintendo consoles being missing and was told rather bluntly that “we don’t have them anymore”

Do also bear in mind that one of the N64’s major problems was that it could not handle texture resolutions as large as the PSX or Saturn, and therefore, as you can see through emulation, playing these titles on newer consoles in higher resolutions makes them look frankly terrible (Perfect Dark particularly looks awful!).
I mean ok all the gameplay is preserved but what’s the point when the pissy 64×64 stretched and blurred textures give you headaches?
All you can really go with is Mario 64 as it used as little texturing as possible because of these limitations.

Original N64 hardware through an HDTV also looks fecking awful, but this is laregely due to the comical descision to drop RGB output from the european N64s leaving you with composite phono, composite scart or s-video, all of which look cack!

I would like to see some PSX and Saturn titles appear on VC or XBLA,
Sadly Saturn emulation on most consoles would be very difficult due to it’s 9 processor architecture, even PC based emulators are far from complete, have masses of compatability issues and require a quad core with at least 2gb ram to run anywhere near smoothly.

I’m a big advocate of owning original hardware, if I can’t play a Megadrive game with a Megadrive pad then I would rather not bother.

It would be like bringing out a Red Dwarf Wii game without a montion sensitive bazookoid, what would be the point?!

EDIT: would also like to agree with the TimeSplitters 2 comments and note that the Gamecube version is vastly superior.

[Ben Paddon]

Well done for asking for Sony titles to be released on the Wii or Xbox 360.

[John Hoare]

Original N64 hardware through an HDTV also looks fecking awful, but this is laregely due to the comical descision to drop RGB output from the european N64s leaving you with composite phono, composite scart or s-video, all of which look cack!

God, tell me about it. I nearly had a heart attack when I tried this recently.

I think Ocarina on the VC looks pretty good, though.

[mick]

> Well done for asking for Sony titles to be released on the Wii or Xbox 360.

Why not? Several older Sony Enertainment games are available, Sony make money from content delivery on it’s rivals consoles, awesome.

[Author]

Replies