On IgnCube there's an insider story today "Rare-no more rumors, the full story"

[ESP Ra.De.]

not my work.

These are interesting times indeed. A second party is no small thing. Consider for a moment what makes you buy a console. In the case of the GameCube, was it the promise of a cute little purple box to match your makeup kit? No. At least, I hope that wasn't the draw. You probably, like most other gamers, anticipated Perfect Dark 0, Banjo-Threeie, Kameo, Conker, and various other titles that have been hinted at practically since the GameCube was named as Project Dolphin. Get the 'good' ending of Donkey Kong 64, in fact, and there's a picture of a dolphin, suggesting Rare will bring that series to the next level.

Apparently, it won't.

The news that Microsoft bought Rare is especially shocking. Why would Nintendo part with the company and allow its (current) bitterest opponent to take the reigns? The answer most suggest--and the one I accept--is that Nintendo no longer feels they need Rare.

Note I didn't say I necessarily agree with the truth as Nintendo sees it. According to reports, around 3% of Nintendo's revenue this last year came from Rare. The year before that, it was 10%. Well, 3% might not sound like much. And it's not. But honestly, what all did Rare bring out last year? Not a lot. And the year they did a good job, they produced 10%. Nintendo could have easily expected a next year where Rare brought them as much as 15 or even 20 percent of profits. Not to mention how many people who are considering a GameCube might not buy one after this announcement.

What the heck is Nintendo thinking?

The answer is one we can only guess at. If Nintendo is selling off dead second parties, where will they place the funds they receive? Smart money is on either more development from the parties they have, or on a new second party or two. Either one could be a good deal for Nintendo.

Let's consider first what might happen if they give more funding to their current second parties. The two that come most readily to mind are Retro and Silicon Knights. Both of those developers have proven (or in the case of Retro, are about to prove) that they know how to produce the mature titles Nintendo is said to need. Does the idea of Nintendo spending money to make sure we see more games from the developer of Metroid Prime worry you? I find it rather exciting. And what about Silicon Knights? If Nintendo supports them, we could be seeing some cool output.

There's another issue, and it's more or less related. It's possible that Nintendo still owns the Perfect Dark license. If they do, will they let it slip into Rare's control? I'm guessing...no. Even if Rare doesn't develop, I can see Nintendo handing it off to Retro. And that, friends, might not be a bad thing. Remember, Retro is made up of some of the pioneers in the FPS genre. Things could work out well.

But suppose for a minute Nintendo decides not to put their money into the current parties, but rather to buy a new one. This is a longshot, but what if they use the money to make the GameCube much, much, much more tempting to Sega? What if they use it to buy Sega as a second party?

Like I said, it's a longshot. But consider some very important things.

1) Microsoft is distracted with this whole Rare acquisition.

2) Sega has been having huge success with the GameCube, more than it has with the XBox or the PS2.

3) Nintendo is a company similar to Sega. They both have similar ideals.

Take those three things and suddenly, the idea doesn't seem so far-fetched, does it? Reportedly, Microsoft has looked into buying Sega before, but didn't do so. And now why should they? Sega's games are selling like crap on the system. So Sega isn't as huge a draw to the XBox as Microsoft expected. That may cause them to lose interest. Rare offers more appeal.

From the perspective of Nintendo and Sega, things might look different. Sega went platform-agnostic to make more money. But they haven't really been doing so, not to the extent they might like. Sales on the XBox have been disappointing. Sales on the PS2, while not bad, haven't been particularly good, either. Yet Sega, who has been handing what some might call second-rate titles to Nintendo, has been seeing the greatest success with the purple box. And Nintendo can't help but see its fans are thirsty for more.

So, it all comes down to a little math. If Nintendo makes 3 or 4 hundred million selling Rare and Left Field stocks, why shouldn't they pour that money into Sega and have themselves the most tasty of all second parties? What second party could possibly beat Sega? None. And you can almost see it working.

As a second party, Sega wouldn't release any sports titles on other systems. But Nintendo is ready for that. Sega Sports can replace the sports powerhouse that was Left Field. Then there are the platformer/odd titles Sega is known for. No problem. Nintendo likes those, too. And since Rare was mostly providing that, an acquisition of Sega would help Nintendo recoup its losses in one fell swoop. It might even come out on top!

Is it starting to make sense? It makes sense to me. And I'm thinking it could easily make sense to Sega. If Nintendo takes their money from selling Rare and Left Field stocks, adds in some money from Yamauchi...this could be Nintendo's future unfolding right in front of us. And with the Triforce development already happening in Japan, suddenly everything fits into place.

In conclusion, I'd like to remind you that this editorial contains as much speculation as it does fact. More, perhaps. Yet at the same time, I like to think I've made sense. What we're seeing right now is either a big blow to Nintendo, or it's the start of the company's rapid move forward. It's one or the other. I'm hoping it's the latter. Aren't you?

Written by Jason Venter.

[MVS]

that makes as much sense as the whole "the background textures in SMS are just place holders and it looks like that because it is using revolutionary 3D something or other".

If sega is for sale, even for more cash, ms would do wise to get them. Rare produces so little, and so little of worth these days, it's sad.

How long does it take rare to make a game for a console they are familiar with? 2-3 years? Wait until they start mucking around with XB and take 2 years to get familiar with that.

I can see it now, perfect dark x, running on xb, whoops...that console is old, let's port it and enhance for xb2 and just release it in 2006.

Uh-huh...

[sggg]

My thoughts:

A) Rare = *yaaaaaawn* .. I could totally care less...

B) I'd be happy if Sega went Nintendo exclusive.... but mainly because I am a big Sega fan and I'd like to see their games on one console, and I love Gamecube as a console, even if Nintendo's current software lineup bored me to tears....

That is all.

[AaronChance]

Nintendo can have Sega, as long as Smilebit goes to MS.

Hitmaker can also go to MS if they agree to a console port of VO:Force.

Sony can have Sonic Team for all I care.

[Javon_McCloud]

Rare leaving Nintendo is no big deal to me. They havn't put out anything I really enjoyed since Goldeneye and Conker. Banjo can go to hell and take his scavenger hunts with him.
I kind of doubt that if Nintendo gets Sega, all of their development teams will break off like Smilebit and Hitmaker.

If sega does go exclusive to the big N, I just hope they keep putting out the quality content like VF4 and JSRF for the cube and not poor DC ports (sonic adventure 2).

[Master]

Ummm, I hope nobody is copying and pasting from an insider site. I'll go ahead and assume thats not the case so everybody can soak up the news, but if you ARE posting insider content, can you please remove it when you get a chance? Cool.

[Mode7]

In either case, please don't solicit or provide insider information. Not at all kosher.

[SearchManX]

I'd rather see Sega remain an independent 3rd party and see Nintendo invest the money they made in new talent in the industry. Buying out Sega would only have one positive effect IMO, and that's to keep Sega out of Microsoft's hands. Rather, I'd like to see Nintendo grow by cultivating smaller development teams both in the US and Japan, ensuring a steady stream of games and more refreshing ideas...

[burgundy]

Originally posted by Mode7
In either case, please don't solicit or provide insider information. Not at all kosher.

Well, we can share and discuss the facts, but not exchange the article.

I'm assuming that italicized article above isn't Insider, because if it was, I'd have to delete it.

[SearchManX]

The article seems very pro-Nintendo, like something that came out from Planet Gamecube.