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[[image:Rarewarelogo.jpg|frame|Too bad they were sold to Microsoft...]]Rareware is a development team recently bought by Microsoft. While under [[Nintendo]], they worked with [[Donkey Kong]], and created Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day.
__NOTOC__
{{stub}}
{{company infobox
|logo=Rare logo 2015.svg
|bg=#1E2023
|width=200px
|founded=1985
|first_release=''[[Donkey Kong Country]]
|latest_release=''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]
|president=Craig Duncan
}}
'''{{wp|Rare (company)|Rare Ltd.}}''' (trade-named '''Rareware''' during [[Nintendo]] tenure) is a British video game developer based in Twycross, Leicestershire. It was founded in 1985 by Chris and Tim Stamper, as the successor company to {{wp|Ultimate Play the Game}}. Rare formerly worked exclusively for Nintendo before being bought out by {{wp|Microsoft}}. As a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo, Rare created the successful [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] games ''{{wp|Wizards & Warriors}}'', ''{{wp|Battletoads (video game)|Battletoads}}'', and ''{{wp|R.C. Pro-Am}}''; revived the ''[[Donkey Kong (franchise)|Donkey Kong]]'' property with its critically acclaimed ''[[Donkey Kong Country (series)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' series; and created many other well-known titles such as ''{{wp|GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007}}'', ''{{wp|Banjo-Kazooie}}'', ''{{wp|Perfect Dark}}'', and ''{{wp|Conker's Bad Fur Day}}''.
 
In 2002, following the release of ''[[lylatwiki:Star Fox Adventures|Star Fox Adventures]]'' on the [[Nintendo GameCube]] (Rare's only game on the system), Nintendo sold Rare's shares to Microsoft for $375 million, granting Microsoft 100% acquisition of Rare. The company then began to produce games for {{wp|Xbox Game Studios|Microsoft Studios}}' {{wp|Xbox (console)|Xbox}} video game console. This change of focus resulted in the cancelation of several games featuring the ''Donkey Kong'' brand: ''[[Donkey Kong Racing]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers]]'', and ''[[Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)|Diddy Kong Pilot]]'' (the first of which was unfinished before Rare was bought by Microsoft, while the last two had set release dates but ended up being unpublished). Under the terms of the merger, Nintendo retained the rights to all the ''Donkey Kong'' characters, while Rare maintained the rights to its own intellectual properties such as ''Banjo-Kazooie'' and ''Conker''.
 
Rare, however, has continued to develop games for Nintendo's handheld systems, since Microsoft has not entered the handheld console market. Microsoft negotiated a deal with {{wp|THQ}} to publish ''{{wp|Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge}}'' on the [[Game Boy Advance]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100731105039/http://mundorare.com/features/chronicle-of-a-buyout-foretold MundoRare - ''Chronicle of a Buyout Foretold'' (Wayback Machine)]</ref> as well as ''{{wp|Banjo-Pilot}}'' and ''{{wp|It's Mr. Pants}}'', which were redeveloped from ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' and ''Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers'', respectively. Nintendo itself would later publish the enhanced [[Reissue|remakes]] of the three [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] ''Donkey Kong Country'' games for the Game Boy Advance, as well as ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]''.
 
==Appearances in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise==
*[[Dixie Kong]] and [[Timber]]'s hats once had Rareware logos on them.
*In ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', Rareware, along with Nintendo, sponsored the boxing match between the [[Kong]]s and [[King K. Rool]] as mentioned by the [[Microphone]]. Also, it is possible to collect a [[Rareware Coin]] by beating [[Cranky Kong|Cranky's]] score in ''[[Jetpac]]'', and a [[Golden Banana]] with Rare's logo on it by collecting all of the [[Banana Fairy|Banana Fairies]].
*In ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]'', the [[Coin (Diddy Kong Racing DS)|coins]] have the logo of Rare on it.
*In ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'', the options menu has a coral reef shaped like the Rare logo.
*In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', the Rare logo appears on [[Banjo]]'s backpack, just as it did in promotional renders for ''Banjo-Tooie''.
 
==''Super Mario''-related games developed==
{|class="wikitable"style="width: 50%;text-align:center"
!Title
!Year released
!Console
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
|1994
|[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]]
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Land]]''
|1995
|[[Game Boy]]
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]''
|1995
|SNES
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]''
|1996
|Game Boy
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''
|1996
|SNES
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Land III]]''
|1997
|Game Boy
|-
|''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]''
|1997
|[[Nintendo 64]]
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''
|1999
|Nintendo 64
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)|Donkey Kong Country]]''
|2000
|[[Game Boy Color]]
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country]]''
|2003
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country 2]]''
|2004
|Game Boy Advance
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country 3]]''
|2005
|Game Boy Advance
|-
|''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]''
|2007
|[[Nintendo DS]]
|}
 
==Notable employees==
{|
|- valign=top
|
*[[Kevin Bayliss]] (former)
*[[Grant Kirkhope]] (former)
*[[Leigh Loveday]]
*[[Eveline Novakovic]] (former)
*[[Gregg Mayles]]
*[[Steve Mayles]] (former)
|
*Chris Stamper (former)
*Tim Stamper (former)
*[[Mark Stevenson]] (former)
*[[Chris Sutherland]] (former)
*[[David Wise]] (former)
|}
 
==Gallery==
===Logos===
<gallery widths=150px>
Rare logo 1980s.jpg|Rare's first logo, used from 1987–1990
Rare logo 1990.png|Logo used from 1990–1994
Rareware logo.jpg|Logo used from 1994–2003 for the "Rareware" trademark
DK Diddy Rareware Logo.png|Donkey Kong and Diddy with the Rareware logo
Rare logo 2003.png|Logo used from 2003–2010
Rare logo 2010.svg|Logo used from 2010–2015
</gallery>
 
===Screenshots===
<gallery>
Rareware screen DKL3C.png|Splash screen from ''Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong''
Rareware screen DKCGBC.png|Splash screen from ''Donkey Kong Country'' (Game Boy Color)
Rareware screen DKP.png|Unused splash screen from ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' (2001)
</gallery>
 
==Trivia==
*Even though Rare has cut ties with Nintendo, its company name, written as "Rare Limited," appears in the Sound Test of ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' as the original composers of several ''Donkey Kong'' songs, although the information clarifies that Nintendo fully owns the copyright to the compositions.
**In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', Rare is also credited with composing various ''Banjo-Kazooie'' music tracks, all of which the company currently owns as part of Microsoft.
*In the Wii U port of ''Donkey Kong 64'', the game ''Jetpac'' is left intact despite still being owned by Rare.
 
==External links==
*[https://rarewiki.com/wiki/Rare_Ltd. Rare Ltd.] on the Rare Wiki
 
==References==
{{NIWA|LylatWiki=Rare|NWiki=Rare|SmashWiki=1|StrategyWiki=Category:Rare}}
<references/>
 
{{Companies}}
[[Category:Developers]]
[[Category:Companies]]
[[de:Rare]]
[[it:Rare Ltd.]]

Latest revision as of 14:31, November 28, 2023

Rare Ltd.
Rare current logo
Founded 1985
First Super Mario game Donkey Kong Country
Latest Super Mario game Diddy Kong Racing DS
Current president Craig Duncan

Rare Ltd. (trade-named Rareware during Nintendo tenure) is a British video game developer based in Twycross, Leicestershire. It was founded in 1985 by Chris and Tim Stamper, as the successor company to Ultimate Play the Game. Rare formerly worked exclusively for Nintendo before being bought out by Microsoft. As a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo, Rare created the successful Nintendo Entertainment System games Wizards & Warriors, Battletoads, and R.C. Pro-Am; revived the Donkey Kong property with its critically acclaimed Donkey Kong Country series; and created many other well-known titles such as GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Conker's Bad Fur Day.

In 2002, following the release of Star Fox Adventures on the Nintendo GameCube (Rare's only game on the system), Nintendo sold Rare's shares to Microsoft for $375 million, granting Microsoft 100% acquisition of Rare. The company then began to produce games for Microsoft Studios' Xbox video game console. This change of focus resulted in the cancelation of several games featuring the Donkey Kong brand: Donkey Kong Racing, Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, and Diddy Kong Pilot (the first of which was unfinished before Rare was bought by Microsoft, while the last two had set release dates but ended up being unpublished). Under the terms of the merger, Nintendo retained the rights to all the Donkey Kong characters, while Rare maintained the rights to its own intellectual properties such as Banjo-Kazooie and Conker.

Rare, however, has continued to develop games for Nintendo's handheld systems, since Microsoft has not entered the handheld console market. Microsoft negotiated a deal with THQ to publish Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge on the Game Boy Advance[1] as well as Banjo-Pilot and It's Mr. Pants, which were redeveloped from Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, respectively. Nintendo itself would later publish the enhanced remakes of the three SNES Donkey Kong Country games for the Game Boy Advance, as well as Diddy Kong Racing DS.

Appearances in the Donkey Kong franchise[edit]

Super Mario-related games developed[edit]

Title Year released Console
Donkey Kong Country 1994 SNES
Donkey Kong Land 1995 Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest 1995 SNES
Donkey Kong Land 2 1996 Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! 1996 SNES
Donkey Kong Land III 1997 Game Boy
Diddy Kong Racing 1997 Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong 64 1999 Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong Country 2000 Game Boy Color
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

Notable employees[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Logos[edit]

  • Rare's first logo, used from 1987–1990

    Rare's first logo, used from 1987–1990

  • Logo used from 1990–1994

    Logo used from 1990–1994

  • Logo used from 1994–2003 for the "Rareware" trademark

    Logo used from 1994–2003 for the "Rareware" trademark

  • Donkey Kong and Diddy with the Rareware logo

    Donkey Kong and Diddy with the Rareware logo

  • Logo used from 2003–2010

    Logo used from 2003–2010

  • Logo used from 2010–2015

    Logo used from 2010–2015

Screenshots[edit]

  • Splash screen from Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong

    Splash screen from Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong

  • Splash screen from Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)

    Splash screen from Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)

  • Unused splash screen from Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)

    Unused splash screen from Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)

Trivia[edit]

  • Even though Rare has cut ties with Nintendo, its company name, written as "Rare Limited," appears in the Sound Test of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the original composers of several Donkey Kong songs, although the information clarifies that Nintendo fully owns the copyright to the compositions.
    • In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rare is also credited with composing various Banjo-Kazooie music tracks, all of which the company currently owns as part of Microsoft.
  • In the Wii U port of Donkey Kong 64, the game Jetpac is left intact despite still being owned by Rare.

External links[edit]

References[edit]

Rare Ltd. coverage on other NIWA wikis:
  1. ^ MundoRare - Chronicle of a Buyout Foretold (Wayback Machine)
[Edit]
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