Rare's New Boss Reveals His Vision
"I've completed Kameo four times."
Scott Henson is from the famed original team of 20 that helped make Xbox what it is today. From Xbox Live to Xbox 360, Henson has had a hand in crafting some of the defining gaming experiences of the last 10 years. Now, he is crossing the pond and setting up shop as the new leader of famed developer Rare.
Here, in an interview with Eurogamer, Henson goes deep on his vision for the Kinect Sports creator, reveals his passion for Kameo (he's finished it four times) and discusses what all this means for Rare's loyal followers.
First of all, just look at Kinect. Forget the conversation about Rare and Scott Henson for a second. Kinect in its own right is a game changer. It changes how you interact with games. It puts you literally in the experience.
And so, I think what's going to change for gamers is they're going to have a new way to play with a whole host of games that go beyond what Rare is doing as well. Just like Xbox Live, it wasn't just about one particular game. It was about the portfolio of games and experiences.
Bringing that back to Rare and Rare's fans, I think for folks like me that grew up on Rare games, I now have a set of Rare experiences today and tomorrow that are going to be fun for me, but they're also going to be fun for every single family member that's around me.
I can invite my mum in. I can invite my wife in. I can invite my two little girls in. I can invite my brother in. It doesn't matter who they are. Whether they like games, they don't like games, everyone now gets to be part of the fun. I think that's a sea change for us. That's a pretty significant step for the industry, certainly for Xbox and for Rare.
So, Rare gamers who have grown up on Rare games are going to have a brand new way to play, and it's exciting.
Kinect in Rare, in Sports, that equation, if you just look at it it's a big, bold bright future. If you rewind to eight years ago, it's great to have had this experience with Xbox Live because I can see a perfect parallel with Kinect and your question, which is, we're just starting to scratch the surface.
We're just starting to scratch the surface with how you interact with your body, how you become a part of that experience and how you use your voice to control things. Rare is going to continue to do what first-party does, which is innovate and push the boundaries of what that means. We've got lots and lots of years of innovation ahead of us.
Yes, absolutely, Kinect will be a key part of the studio's future. I'm not suggesting it's going to be exclusive, but it will be the centrepiece of our strategy for sure, because there is a lot of opportunity there. It's bold and bright.
One of the assets here is we've got this great back catalogue, this great history. The number one asset Rare has is its creativity and its talent and its desire to innovate and push forward.
We'll look at those opportunities. Absolutely. You can look at what we're doing with Xbox Live Arcade and you can see how we've taken those classics and refreshed them and brought them to the service. We'll continue to look at those kinds of opportunities. Don't just think about packaged goods in terms of opportunities and Rare and how we bring those things to life. We'll look at all of it and evaluate it.
But the centrepiece will be continuing to do what first-party does best, which is innovate and look at new experiences and opportunities with things like Kinect and push the boundaries of that. That's our role and Rare will continue to lead the charge around that.