+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted February 17, 2009 Subscriber² Share Posted February 17, 2009 Microsoft has confirmed to Develop that its UK studio Rare is currently undergoing a 'review' that could lead to job losses.Coming as part of the organisational refocus already announced by Microsoft Game Studios in January, the move will see the world-renowned studio focus on three new areas, a statement said. These are: "1) Expand the Xbox 360 customer base by delivering experiences that allow our customers to interact with our content in new and innovative ways", "2) Better support efforts to extend the appeal of Xbox LIVE as a social entertainment network to drive greater adoption across the Xbox 360 customer base" and "3) Continue delivering AAA gaming experiences that excite both our current and future customers". The studio had already helped out not just on developing titles such as Banjo Kazooie for the 360, but also designed the new Avatar system for Xbox Live. The Microsoft statement adds: "As we restructure to successfully execute against our shared strategy within this framework, we will be implementing a new approach to current projects in the pipeline that could serve as an industry-wide model for how to achieve a more efficient and scalable development process. In order to achieve these goals, the company is reviewing the current composition of its development teams and there is the possibility that a small number of current positions could be lost as a result of these changes." Studio manager Mark Betteridge added: ?As the entire industry struggles to address the increasing scale and cost of development, we too have felt a need to restructure our current approach so we can speed development and better manage the scale required to create high quality games. With four projects recently underway, now is the right time to make this change. "Throughout its history, Rare has demonstrated a willingness to embrace new approaches and commitment to delivering game-changing experiences to our customers. This announcement is no different and builds on that tradition as we work with MGS to make interactive entertainment as culturally relevant in people?s lives as books, movies and television are today.? Source: http://www.developmag.com/news/31306/Rare-restructures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guyro Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 its anoying me that Microsoft are shutting down completely or in part studios that were around bythemselves before microsoft bought them Ensemble the biggest RTS dev were bought by MS and are now being shutdown they were producing quality games long before MS bought them Rare - made some of the greatest games ever in goldeneye and perfect dark 64 now they are having job cuts i just wish microsoft would shut down devs that they have helped create/make big instead of these already big devs edit: such as the shadowrun devs while that is my fav game ever id rather they got shut down (which they did) than an already big dev as werent fasa studios only made big by microsoft (correct me if im wrong) hopefully my rant isnt too confusing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted February 17, 2009 Author Subscriber² Share Posted February 17, 2009 Microsoft: We?ve said our piece on Rare restructuringb>Microsoft PR has refused to confirm or deny whether or not staff are to be shed at Rare this morning, following confirmation that the studio is to be restructured. ?To be honest, we have nothing to add to the statement,? a spokesperson told VG247. ?We?ve come out and said, ?This is what?s going on,? to avoid any confusion. We feel that we?ve said our piece and don?t want to say anything more.? Insiders have intimated this morning that proposed staffing changes are ?serious?. Rare issued a statement earlier today saying that now was the time to ?restructure our current approach so we can speed development and better manage the scale required to create high quality games.? Rare published four projects last year, namely a second Viva title, a DS Viva, Banjo Nuts & Bolts and Avatars for NXE. Source: http://www.vg247.com/2009/02/17/microsoft-...-restructuring/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guyro Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 true, but it is only one step away from killing the company off. killing a company off and restructuring a company are still fiddling with a company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mystic MVC Posted February 17, 2009 MVC Share Posted February 17, 2009 Rare - made some of the greatest games ever in goldeneye and perfect dark 64 now they are having job cuts Yes because they haven't put out anything good in years. They have had a ton of average titles and their big AAA Banjo and Kazooie game absolutely tanked. Yes they were great once but unless they keep that consistent quality, I have no problem for downsizing. Others might argue that downsizing will limit them even more, but if they would have put something better out in the first place, cuts might not have been considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-KJ Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Yes because they haven't put out anything good in years. They have had a ton of average titles and their big AAA Banjo and Kazooie game absolutely tanked. Yes they were great once but unless they keep that consistent quality, I have no problem for downsizing. Others might argue that downsizing will limit them even more, but if they would have put something better out in the first place, cuts might not have been considered. They actually have put out good games, but nothing extraordinary. I feel they'd do a lot better on the Wii. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mystic MVC Posted February 17, 2009 MVC Share Posted February 17, 2009 They actually have put out good games, but nothing extraordinary. I feel they'd do a lot better on the Wii. Yes as I said they have put out many niche or average games like Viva Pinanta, Kameo, 99 Nights, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_c_b Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 If they are responsible for some of the cool stuff in the NXE and the avatar system that will keep them around as they did a great job. Game wise I'd agree with Mystic, Kameo only looked "next gen", 99 Night left everyone scratching their heads and you either love Viva or you hate it. They might do better on the Wii purely based on nostalgia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted February 17, 2009 Author Subscriber² Share Posted February 17, 2009 Yeah I applaud Rare for trying something new with Banjo but it just didn't work that great for them. A pure platformer would've been better (Y) Hope people don't lose their jobs though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mystic MVC Posted February 18, 2009 MVC Share Posted February 18, 2009 Yeah I applaud Rare for trying something new with Banjo but it just didn't work that great for them. A pure platformer would've been better (Y) Like they said they could have done a Banjo 3 HD basically but decided to go in a different direction. I'm not sure what made them think they needed to go in a different direction especially when they could have easily built off two of N64's classic titles. I guess the obvious direction was the wrong way in their minds. As the average consumer we will never know that conversation but I would sure love to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smigit Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Glad I don't work for a developer owned by MS atm such as Lionhead or Rare. They already shut down Ensemble and the teams doing their flight simulator titles not to mention they parted way with Bungie not so long ago. It seems to me they are currently far happier to just pay third parties for exclusives rather than holding on to the companies they have already and building their hits in house. Like they said they could have done a Banjo 3 HD basically but decided to go in a different direction. I'm not sure what made them think they needed to go in a different direction especially when they could have easily built off two of N64's classic titles. I guess the obvious direction was the wrong way in their minds. As the average consumer we will never know that conversation but I would sure love to hear it.I'd love to hear that conversation too. Saying they could have "done the same thing over" sounds like a total cop out to me and makes it sound like the platforming genre has no room for further innovation. Honestly if anything they were jumping onto the bandwagon when they made the series originally...if anything the platforming genre is far less crowded now days that it was in that era and with the improvements in technology they should have been able to do an awful lot with the genre had they wanted to. I seriously doubt that after 10 years all they could have done was release the same thing all over and even if they did it'd still be pretty fresh for an entire generation of gamers that weren't around for the N64.Not that I hated the idea behind nuts and bolts, but it's implementation left alot to be desired IMHO and I just don't understand some of the reasoning they gave as to why a traditional Banjo game was the wrong game for the market. Besides Mario galaxy the platforming genre is pretty quiet really, theres certainly room for a few more AAA titles anyway. Anyway as it is, besides the issue of job loss I really could not care less if they got shut down tomorrow. I don't personally think any of their post N64 games have been much more than average really. Sad since they were THE developer I swore by for the SNES and N64 era, even more so than Nintendo themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted February 18, 2009 Author Subscriber² Share Posted February 18, 2009 Glad I don't work for a developer owned by MS atm such as Lionhead or Rare. They already shut down Ensemble and the teams doing their flight simulator titles not to mention they parted way with Bungie not so long ago. It seems to me they are currently far happier to just pay third parties for exclusives rather than holding on to the companies they have already and building their hits in house. If true could be a risky move in a generation where so many developers/publishers in the 3rd party realm are choosing to go multiplatform due to development costs [they don't get as much support at 1st parties do directly from MS/Sony]. I think MS should focus some of their budgets on bringing in more 1st party studios after some have been axed/resized. Either from buying existing studios, or creating them from scratch - As opposed to blowing big bucks on 3rd party/timed exclusives. I mean getting the GTA4 DLC exclusive is a good deal, but I can't help think blowing 50m on it vs putting that into a 1st party studio/new game is a thought worth thinking about. I also wonder if Rare will tackle a new IP next, or revisit an old... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smigit Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Yeah I agree. To me it seems the wrong direction...they should be building up the in house resume rather than losing developers. Maybe that ultimately is the plan but they didn't see RTS or flight sims as being a big genres for them in the coming years. Eventually maybe they will reinvest in other developers over time which produce games they can more easily target towards both the 360 and PC simultaneously where both ensemble and the sim team were very much seen as PC development houses by most. But yeah, could be risky if they go too light on the home front given it's the exclusives that make or break a console typically. They will have no problem getting a third party to make Halo for them if they don't go with Bungee as thats an almost guaranteed few million in sales there, it's the other titles that don't have Halo's name though that could be the difference in the long run. We'll see I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absorbation Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 To be honest, Rare has lost its way since the Microsoft takeover. They were most successful on the N64, when their games were critically acclaimed. That being said, I still want a Banjo game with platforming at its heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted February 19, 2009 Author Subscriber² Share Posted February 19, 2009 Rare axes artist and engineer positionsBanjo and Viva Pi?ata studio Rare has already axed a number of positions in its art and engineering teams, GamesIndustry.biz understands. Around 12 positions have gone in both departments, and the company is also reducing the number of project leads, asking employees to reapply for positions elsewhere within the company. Microsoft Game Studios announced on Tuesday that it intends to restructure the highly-regarded team, in order to simplify development. By adopting new business and development processes, Rare hopes to be more reactive to the wider changes hitting the Microsoft Corporation, which has led to the company shedding 5000 employees. However, despite the changes, Rare is currently at work on four different projects and continues to be a flagship studio for Microsoft Game Studios. Earlier this month, Microsoft's Chris Lewis told GamesIndustry.biz that original IP would not be sacrificed by MGS in favour of working on popular franchises. "If you batten down the hatches and simply work where you know you're already strong, that doesn't give you the future growth that we're all hungry for," he said. A spokesperson for Rare declined to offer any official comment. Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/rare...ineer-positions Axing people in the art teams is:oo when you see how good Banjo/Viva look for their styles:(( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mystic MVC Posted February 19, 2009 MVC Share Posted February 19, 2009 Axing people in the art teams is :o when you see how good Banjo/Viva look for their styles :( Yes, Banjo looked amazing so it sucks to hear those guys are the ones getting crapped on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanManIt Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 This sucks, there has been a number of game companies that have had to do this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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