MicroRare
The worst kept secret in the gaming industry seems to be confirmed now, with the news (from Nintendo) that Microsoft have bought ex-Nintendo only developer Rare for a huge sum. The interesting thing about this purchase is that a lot of the best Rare games were based on Nintendo IP (Donkey Kong, Star Fox). Rare’s own IP is quite limited, though they do bring Perfect Dark to the table, amongst others.
posted by devo · at 3:27 am · filed under News
More in depth article about the sale is at the Forbes website
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2002/09/23/rtr728050.html
Probably the most interesting quote is in the last paragraph. Shows that although Microsoft make a good product, the console market is different from anything else they’ve dealt with
—- snip —-
Reports have put a Rare sale price at over $400 million, several times what similar sized developers fetched in previous years, creating large potential costs for Microsoft.
“If the only way Microsoft can get a big exclusive title is by buying the developer, that’s not a viable business model,” said Scott.
—- snip