Grant's Secret Project ... [link]

[Banjo-Kaizo]

I'm not so sure of that. Robin's surely tied up with Sea of Thieves at the moment, and even if it is Banjo, judging by what we've seen from the company since E3 it likely wouldn't be their own project. When the series' director is currently spearheading "The most ambitious title Rare has ever created", there's likely little time for him to simultaneously work on another project like Banjo in much depth other than give it his blessing.

Rare is also a company that hasn't made or wanted to make a 3D platformer for the better part of a decade. If Gregg Mayles & co. had their way, they would probably much rather make something the likes of which series hasn't seen before, a la Nuts and Bolts. So Microsoft would definitely be going the Killer Instinct route in putting together a new team better suited for the respective property.

But I'd say the trickiest person to replace is the composer. The score is one of the most memorable and iconic aspects of Banjo-Kazooie. In that regard, I'd say it's more of risk to not just bite the bullet and bring in Grant. I'm sure Robin could do a fine job imitating Grant's style, and heck, maybe that was the original plan. Grant mentions in the interview I posted that his involvement in the project was initially a lot smaller than it is now. With that in mind, maybe his role was at first just a song or two, for old time's sake, but then those in charge weighed out the pros and cons of the situation and opted to have him just do the entire score.

Plus if you're trying to sell this to fans, with the reputation Microsoft has it's easy for many to think it's just an attempt to capitalize on the resounding success of Yooka Laylee. If the two games have a composer in common (and mind you not just any composer), that may not be the case. Additionally Grant has built quite an internet repuation for himself, more so than any of the other Rare members I'd say, so as someone who has been known to care immensely for this series, composing it and giving it his approval would be doing a great service to the success of the project.

[Chrysalis_Blossom]

What if Grant were talking about a new Perfect Dark game? Rare expressed interest in Perfect Dark, shooters seem to be a best-selling genre (Kinect games and Rare Replay aside, Perfect Dark Zero was Rare's best-seller game on a Microsoft console) and Grant did the music for the first game. Being Beanland busy working on Sea of Thieves, it would make sense if they called Kirkhope to do the score for a new PD game.

Does David Clynick still work for Rare, by the way?

[Scrubber]

Who scored the second one? PDZ was a terrible game. I don't crave a sequel.

[dotEXE]

[Chrysalis_Blossom]

[Scrubber]

[Banjo-Kaizo]

Believe me, we've all been burned form last year's E3. I don't know how much that is our fault, so much as it was the barrage of rumors all popping up at the same time, and journalists reporting that "Classic Rare fans should be VERY excited for their latest project!". Hell, they wouldn't even say if it was a new IP or not. The most we got was Simon Woodroffe's "Rare are about doing new things" tweet less than a month before the conference, but that wasn't publicized at all and you wouldn't have heard about it if you weren't digging for information like I certainly was.

You are definitely in the right state of mind. If I went into Microsoft's briefing completely cold, with no idea that Rare was even planning to reboot themselves, so to speak, I'd probably be pleasantly surprised. But there is a chance for the bear and bird yet. Microsoft spent a fortune on these IP's back in the day and they'll be getting their money's worth soon enough. I personally don't think this is the year for Banjo, whether it be what Grant is working on or not, but I'm fairly certain we'll be seeing an old Rare series in some form or another.

But if you need your hopes dashed and your expectations drained,

[Scrubber]

I swear my two favorite things in life (rare and blink-182) have the WORST fans.

You all claim to be burned by last year's e3?
*They have completely f***ed off kinect
*They have redesigned their logo to celebrate a return to form
*They announced Rare Replay which is awesome in every way shape and form.
*They announced a brand new IP that looks fun, colorful, is pirate based and has absolutely NOTHING to do with gimmicks or sports.
*They have spent the entire year giving love and attention to their beloved IPs.
*They give goodies, freebies, and Rare memorabilia to "fans" each and every week without fail.

I would like a Banjo game more than most of you but I'm not going to act like a spoilt child cause I don't get exactly what I want. Want a Banjo game? Support the damn company then!!!!

[Banjo-Kaizo]

You didn't quite read what I said. The reason I was burnt was not because of Rare at all, but because of the way everyone who knew what it was (including Playtonic) were hyping it up like it WAS an old IP. And if they weren't, the news outlets reporting on it sure as hell were. Also if you think you want a new Banjo game more than I do, you definitely don't know me very well . I just assumed we were on the same page about this sort of thing, my mistake.

When people outside of what you'd call 'real' fans think of Rare, they think of franchises that once existed, but are no more. So if you never clarify whether or not it is a new IP, apart from tweeting it at one random guy the month before, how do you expect people to not assume it's a returning series if the premise is celebrating the return of Rare?

Obviously from a business perspective you're not going to make the big comeback game something like Banjo, something that non-fans won't nearly be as interested in, especially when its fanbase is so small compared to others out there. Everything Rare has done since E3 has been perfectly appropriate. Re-release all the old games to tie your legacy up in a neat bow, then move on with something that aspires to be bigger than all of that. That's exactly what a company fallen on hard times should be doing. And I think people would be a lot more supportive of them, if Playtonic didn't get on the scene a month before they could. Remember, Rare was still 'the Kinect Company' for nearly everyone at the time of Yooka Laylee's announcement.

Of course there is no 'true Rareware' between the two companies like many would like to believe, and I think the misconception here is that if you just want a new Banjo/Conker/Viva etc, you're not really a Rare fan to begin with. You're just a fan of that series. And there are a lot more Banjo fans out there than Rare fans.

I suppose I'm not that much of a Rare fan, considering I haven't been very interested in many of their titles apart from Banjo. I like what they do, though, and if I bought an Xbox One I'd definitely pick up RR/SoT. But Those games alone won't make me buy a Xbox; a Banjo game for the first time in eight years definitely would.

You may disagree, but I don't believe that to be entitlement, I think it's just a personal preference. I also didn't bitch about Nuts when it finally arrived, because I don't know where everyone gets the "They promised Banjo Threeie!" idea. Yes, they teased it at the end of Tooie, but really was it a game that's absence would take something away from the franchise?

It's easier to be a fan of companies like Marvel or Pixar, because the products they release are related enough where you know what you're getting into every time they come out with something. In the video game realm, 'Nintendo fans' are likely to be just fans anticipating the latest Mario/Pokemon, while not inherently opposed to trying something new from the company. Rare has never made the same game twice, which has both worked out and failed hard for them. Make no mistake, it's an incredibly admirable ethic, but its one that only appeals to you if you're a fan of the genre in question. I'm not big on MMO's, nor am I going to spend $300 dollars on a console to play one. People who already own an Xbox One probably will, but the people who own an Xbox and are also fans of Rare aren't nearly as many as, say, people who are fans of Rare and own a Nintendo console. It accounts for why so many people believe the simple solution is "well, just give Rare back to Nintendo!". Yeah they'd have a lot more of a market for a proper Banjo, but it wouldn't do much good for the company themselves.

Sorry to say, but whether or not more people support the company won't do a thing for the Banjo series. If there is a market, the game will be made. That's nearly all you can hope for. What market there is for a new Banjo is now completely satisfied with Yooka Laylee. So you can either make a game that's just as good as Yooka Laylee with a new Banjo, or you can move on and make something entirely different. While the latter is certainly more practical, my hope is that Microsoft haven't given up on the series just yet. Grant's project gives me hope that that could possibly be the case. But I won't count on anything until I see it.

[dotEXE]

[Rueckkoppler]

[Piet]

[Piet]

Okay, I saw Rare's "presentation" @ E3 and I have to admit SoT looks pretty cool.
But my opinion still stands.

[dotEXE]

I could not disagree more about SoT.

[Xellos]

[Yavga]

[Banjo-Kaizo]

I'm fairly certain now that the project is not related to Banjo Kazooie, despite the hints Grant has dropped. Yes, he did technically say that it would not be at E3, but I find it very hard to believe that you would hold off on such an announcement. Gamescom maybe? Probably not...

Can't say I'm dissapointed, however. I expected nothing more than an update on Theives and that's what we got. Cool to see that DKVine made the trailer.

[Piet]

[Yavga]

[Piet]