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Difference between revisions of "Rare"

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'''Rare, Ltd.''' (also known as '''Rareware''' and simply '''Rare''') is a British video game company who currently make games for Microsoft's [[wikipedia:Xbox 360|Xbox 360]] and [[Nintendo]]'s [[Nintendo DS]]. They are responsible for games involving {{wp|Banjo-Kazooie (series)#Characters|Banjo}} and {{wp|List of Conker characters#Conker the Squirrel|Conker}}. Before Microsoft bought rights to Rare, they had the rights to Nintendo's {{dkw|Donkey Kong}} character. They are responsible for bringing him back into his first starring role since ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]'' in his own adventure - ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''. Therefore, Rare made the Donkey Kong Universe as it is known today, with characters such as {{dk|Diddy Kong}} and the {{dk|Kremling}}s. Nintendo now owns the rights to all characters in the Donkey Kong Universe, but lost the rights to the characters in the ''[[Games by Rare(ware)#Banjo (series)|Banjo-Kazooie]]'' and ''[[Games by Rare(ware)#Conker Series|Conker]]'' series.
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{{Company infobox
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|name=Rare
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|logo=
 +
|caption=
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|parent={{wp|Microsoft}}
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|founded=1985
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|externallink=[http://www.rare.co.uk/ www.rare.co.uk]
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}}
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'''Rare, Ltd.''' (also known as '''Rareware''' and simply '''Rare''') is a British independent video game company, currently based in Twycross, Leicestershire. Originally a Nintendo partner before being bought by {{wp|Microsoft}}, Rare was responsible for developing the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series, as well as their own {{wp|Banjo-Kazooie (series)|Banjo-Kazooie}} and {{wp|Conker (series)|Conker}} franchises, in addition to many others.
  
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==Games==
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==History==
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:''For the game list, please see [[Games by Rare(ware)]]''
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Rare was initially founded in 1985 as a subsidiary of Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd, better known under their trade name {{wp|Ultimate Play the Game}}. It's main purpose was to reverse-engineer the [[Famicom]], as their parent company believed continuing development for the {{wp|ZX Spectrum}} would not lead to further success. After Rare's success, Ashby sold the Ultimate branding in 1986 to {{wp|U.S. Gold}} and proposed several game demos directly to Nintendo, who were impressed enough to grant them an unlimited budget. Afterward, Ashby moved their studio from Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Twycross and re-branded themselves under the name of their subsidiary, Rare.
  
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{{fs}}
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With the release of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], Rare only created ports of some of their successful games while using their NES profits to purchase {{wp|Silicon Graphics}} technology, making them the most advanced developer in the region. Using this technology, Rare created an SGI demo for the SNES by pre-rendering the 3D models into 2D sprites, as the system was not capable of displaying full 3D graphics at the time. Impressed with the demo, Nintendo purchased a 25% share in Rare in 1994 Over time, this increased to 49%, making Rare a full second-party developer for Nintendo. During this time, Rare would create several games exclusively for Nintendo platforms, including being given the rights to develop for the ''Donkey Kong'' series.
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{{company-stub}}
 
  
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In September 2002, Rare was purchased by Microsoft for $375 million, making Rare a first-party developer for Microsoft's {{wp|Xbox (console)|Xbox}} home console. However, for a time Rare would continue to develop for Nintendo's handheld consoles, as Microsoft was not competing in the handheld market.
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==Games for Nintendo==
 +
{| class="wikitable" width="35%"
 +
!Game
 +
!Year
 +
!Console
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Slalom]]''
 +
|1986/1987
 +
|Arcade, [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]]
 +
|-
 +
|''[[R.C. Pro-Am]]''
 +
|1986/1987
 +
|Arcade, NES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Anticipation]]''
 +
|1988
 +
|NES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Cobra Triangle]]''
 +
|1989
 +
|NES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Pin Bot]]''
 +
|1990
 +
|NES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]''
 +
|1990
 +
|[[Game Boy]]
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Snake Rattle 'n' Roll]]''
 +
|1990
 +
|NES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Super R.C. Pro-Am]]''
 +
|1991
 +
|Game Boy
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Battletoads & Double Dragon]]''
 +
|1993
 +
|NES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Battletoads in Battlemaniacs]]''
 +
|1993
 +
|[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]]
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
 +
|1994
 +
|SNES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Donkey Kong Land]]''
 +
|1995
 +
|Game Boy
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Killer Instinct]]''
 +
|1995
 +
|SNES, Game Boy
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]''
 +
|1995
 +
|SNES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run]]''
 +
|1996
 +
|SNES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]''
 +
|1996
 +
|Game Boy
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''
 +
|1996
 +
|SNES
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Killer Instinct Gold]]''
 +
|1996
 +
|[[Nintendo 64]]
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Blast Corps]]''
 +
|1997
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[GoldenEye 007]]''
 +
|1997
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Donkey Kong Land III]]''
 +
|1997
 +
|Game Boy
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]''
 +
|1997
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]''
 +
|1998
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Conker's Pocket Tales]]''
 +
|1999
 +
|[[Game Boy Color]]
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Jet Force Gemini]]''
 +
|1999
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Mickey's Racing Adventure]]''
 +
|1999
 +
|Game Boy Color
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Perfect Dark]]''
 +
|2000
 +
|Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color
 +
|-
 +
|''Donkey Kong Country''
 +
|2000
 +
|Game Boy Color
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Mickey's Speedway USA]]''
 +
|2000/2001
 +
|Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Banjo-Tooie]]''
 +
|2000
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Conker's Bad Fur Day]]''
 +
|2001
 +
|Nintendo 64
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Star Fox Adventures]]''
 +
|2002
 +
|[[Nintendo GameCube]]
 +
|-
 +
|''Donkey Kong Country''
 +
|2003
 +
|Game Boy Advance
 +
|-
 +
|''Donkey Kong Country 2''
 +
|2004
 +
|Game Boy Advance
 +
|-
 +
|''Donkey Kong Country 3''
 +
|2005
 +
|Game Boy Advance
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]''
 +
|2007
 +
|[[Nintendo DS]]
 +
|}
 +
 +
==External links==
 +
*{{wp|Rare (company)|Rare on Wikipedia}}
 +
*{{smw|Rare Ltd.|Rare on Super Mario Wiki}}
 +
*{{dkw|Rare, Ltd.|Rare on Donkey Kong Wiki}}
 +
{{-}}
 +
{{Nintendo}}
 
[[Category:Companies]]
 
[[Category:Companies]]
 
[[Category:Video game developers]]
 
[[Category:Video game developers]]
 
[[Category:Former second-party developers]]
 
[[Category:Former second-party developers]]
 
[[Category:Third-party developers]]
 
[[Category:Third-party developers]]

Revision as of 18:51, 20 March 2016

Rare

Founded: 1985
Founder: N/A
President: N/A
Parent / owner: Microsoft
Divisions / subsidiaries: N/A
Website:
www.rare.co.uk

Rare, Ltd. (also known as Rareware and simply Rare) is a British independent video game company, currently based in Twycross, Leicestershire. Originally a Nintendo partner before being bought by Microsoft, Rare was responsible for developing the Donkey Kong Country series, as well as their own Banjo-Kazooie and Conker franchises, in addition to many others.

History

Rare was initially founded in 1985 as a subsidiary of Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd, better known under their trade name Ultimate Play the Game. It's main purpose was to reverse-engineer the Famicom, as their parent company believed continuing development for the ZX Spectrum would not lead to further success. After Rare's success, Ashby sold the Ultimate branding in 1986 to U.S. Gold and proposed several game demos directly to Nintendo, who were impressed enough to grant them an unlimited budget. Afterward, Ashby moved their studio from Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Twycross and re-branded themselves under the name of their subsidiary, Rare.

With the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Rare only created ports of some of their successful games while using their NES profits to purchase Silicon Graphics technology, making them the most advanced developer in the region. Using this technology, Rare created an SGI demo for the SNES by pre-rendering the 3D models into 2D sprites, as the system was not capable of displaying full 3D graphics at the time. Impressed with the demo, Nintendo purchased a 25% share in Rare in 1994 Over time, this increased to 49%, making Rare a full second-party developer for Nintendo. During this time, Rare would create several games exclusively for Nintendo platforms, including being given the rights to develop for the Donkey Kong series.

In September 2002, Rare was purchased by Microsoft for $375 million, making Rare a first-party developer for Microsoft's Xbox home console. However, for a time Rare would continue to develop for Nintendo's handheld consoles, as Microsoft was not competing in the handheld market.

Games for Nintendo

Game Year Console
Slalom 1986/1987 Arcade, NES
R.C. Pro-Am 1986/1987 Arcade, NES
Anticipation 1988 NES
Cobra Triangle 1989 NES
Pin Bot 1990 NES
The Amazing Spider-Man 1990 Game Boy
Snake Rattle 'n' Roll 1990 NES
Super R.C. Pro-Am 1991 Game Boy
Battletoads & Double Dragon 1993 NES
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs 1993 SNES
Donkey Kong Country 1994 SNES
Donkey Kong Land 1995 Game Boy
Killer Instinct 1995 SNES, Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest 1995 SNES
Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run 1996 SNES
Donkey Kong Land 2 1996 Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! 1996 SNES
Killer Instinct Gold 1996 Nintendo 64
Blast Corps 1997 Nintendo 64
GoldenEye 007 1997 Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong Land III 1997 Game Boy
Diddy Kong Racing 1997 Nintendo 64
Banjo-Kazooie 1998 Nintendo 64
Conker's Pocket Tales 1999 Game Boy Color
Jet Force Gemini 1999 Nintendo 64
Mickey's Racing Adventure 1999 Game Boy Color
Perfect Dark 2000 Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color
Donkey Kong Country 2000 Game Boy Color
Mickey's Speedway USA 2000/2001 Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color
Banjo-Tooie 2000 Nintendo 64
Conker's Bad Fur Day 2001 Nintendo 64
Star Fox Adventures 2002 Nintendo GameCube
Donkey Kong Country 2003 Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 2 2004 Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 3 2005 Game Boy Advance
Diddy Kong Racing DS 2007 Nintendo DS

External links


Nintendo logo.png
1st & 2nd Party / Owned
Internal divisions
Subsidiaries
Owned / Affiliated Seattle Mariners* • The Pokémon Company • Warpstar Inc.
* – Former / Defunct
3rd Parties / Partners
8-4 • AlphaDream* • Ambrella* • Argonaut Games* • Arika • Artoon* • Arzest • AS Tokyo Studios • Bandai Namco • Capcom • Camelot • Cing* • Creatures Inc. • DeNA • DigiNin* • DigitalScape • Eighting • Flagship* • Fuse Games* • Game Freak • Ganbarion • Genius Sonority • Good-Feel • Grezzo • HAL Laboratory • Hatena • Hudson Soft* • indieszero • iNiS • Intelligent Systems • Jamsworks • Jupiter • Koei Tecmo • Kuju • Left Field Productions* • Level-5 • Mistwalker • Monster Games • Noise • Paon • PlatinumGames • Q-Games • Rare* • Red Entertainment • Sega (Atlus) • Sora Ltd. • skip • Softnica • Spike Chunsoft • Square Enix • St.GIGA* • Syn Sophia • TOSE • Treasure • Vanpool* • Vitei
* – Former / Defunct
Key employees
Presidents
Managers, etc. Internal
Subsidiaries
  • NNSD: Yusuke Beppu
  • Monolith Soft: Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashi
  • 1-Up Studio: Gen Kadoi
  • ND Cube: Hidetoshi Endo
  • Retro: Michael Kelbaugh
  • NERD: Alexandre Delattre
Retrieved from "https://niwanetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Rare&oldid=20847"