E3: Rare working on Natal projects

By Robert Purchese Published 5 June, 2009

"Intimately involved," says Shane Kim.

Microsoft big cheese Shane Kim has said Rare is working with Xbox 360 motion-sensing technology Project Natal.

"Rare is intimately involved with Project Natal in a number of different dimensions. They're doing an awful lot of work, even outside the traditional game space, I would say," Kim told Kotaku.

"Unfortunately I can't go into a lot of detail about that. Rare is alive and well and really having a broader impact on the entire Xbox world than just doing the games they traditionally have in the past."

Microsoft has used internal studio Rare to work on top secret projects before; the Viva Piñata creator was behind the New Xbox Experience Avatars, which launched last November.

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About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Widge #1 3 years ago

    Jet Force Gemini Natal would be a good start.

    EDIT:

    In fact that would be pretty ace!
    Edited by 1 at 05/06/09 @ 13:59

  • Razorus #2 3 years ago

    I don't see how Natal could work with JFG my friend.

    But a new JFG game would be sweet.

  • Quickstick4 #3 3 years ago

    It had been a very long running rumor they had been working on some camera technology. I think one rumor was that it was going to be a XBLA title. Meh

  • Domovoi #4 3 years ago

    Too bad Rare kind of sucks nowadays.

    I say have LucasArts put full-body controls in The Force Unleashed 2. Die, MSE-6 droids, die! Taste my blue lightning.

  • TopKatt #5 3 years ago

    @Domovoi

    Not sure about that mate, have you ever heard of the star wars kid?
    Edited by 5 at 05/06/09 @ 14:30

  • Widge #6 3 years ago

    I suppose you could use movement to do the jetting, leaning to do turning and pointing for shooting....

  • GiarcYekrub #7 3 years ago

    Blast Corps

  • bluem4gic #8 3 years ago

    To be honest who cares

    Rare has gone down the pan of late

    The company does not retain the talent that was once available sadly

  • Xerx3s #9 3 years ago

    "Blast Corps "

    With big fucking androids that smash the stuff where you control your android with your body. That romping and stomping is just going to cause some serious neighbour disputes. :D

  • stevetuck #10 3 years ago

    Rare? meh who cares :D

  • TheStatics #11 3 years ago

    Banjo Nuts & Bolts - excellent. Shame no-one bought it.

    Rare seem a bit stuck in a rut, 1 big game though and I'm sure they'd be back in the spotlight.

  • Garulon #12 3 years ago

    So what would "sit in the couch head in hands sobbing quietly" do? As a Rare fanboi I've had a lot of practice, and it'd be respectful of Rare to allow me to use my skill in one of their new "games"

  • kangarootoo #13 3 years ago

    Hmmm. If Rare had done anything of note over the last few years it might be something to be excited about.

  • myiagros #14 3 years ago

    I guess the first thing they will be doing is fixing their avatars so the don't spaz out when using the Natal camera.

  • Progguitarist #15 3 years ago

    So we can look forward to being able to spaz avatars out and play decidedly average games?

    Awesome!

    :p

  • penhalion #16 3 years ago

    They are updating the guide to do the old Minority Report thing......you didn't hear it from me roit!

  • makeamazing #17 3 years ago

    I suspect alot of the early stuff will probably be XBLA titles, easiest way of getting them to the customer that way

  • RedSparrows #18 3 years ago

    Rare have made Viva Pinata 1 and 2, and Nuts and Bolts.

    Gawd, what awful, awful games

    >.>

  • Les #19 3 years ago

    "easiest way of getting them to the customer that way"

    Well the customer will require a Natan so some crappy mini games to bundel with it sounds more likely... ;)

  • Xerx3s #20 3 years ago

    The problem with rare is that they still make the same high standard innovative games but that they market has changed into a market that only suits mini games and die hard hardcore games.

  • SeesThroughAll #21 3 years ago

    So that's why they haven't made a new Killer Instinct... yet.

    Ready to pull those 49 hit combos, with "life experience"? ;)

  • MORZTAN #22 3 years ago

    Agree!

    BT3 should have been all about the platforming.

    Is there actually a gourgeous looking platformer that plays well on the 360? Tell me, and I´ll buy it instantly!

  • Xerx3s #23 3 years ago

    "WE WANT INNOVATIVE NEW GAMES!"

    "DAMN YOU RARE FOR DOING SOMETHING NEW AND NOT MAKING THE SAME GAME AS A DECADE AGO, HOW DARE YOU!"

  • mizcicz #24 3 years ago

    rare made the avatars. rare will make something with natal and avatars - meh

  • wellzy4eva #25 3 years ago

    didn't most the staff who made Rare so famous and innovative leave?

    That's how companies like Free Radical Design started (See http://en.wikipedi a.org/wiki/Rare_(compa... ) who did Timesplitters games and Haze.

    It's like asking why Bullfrog don't make the good games they used to.

    Edit: okay okay, Bullfrog are now closed, but you get the idea.

  • LazyDan #26 3 years ago

    whatevery they're working on:

    7/10

  • Xerx3s #27 3 years ago

    wellzy4eva: People come and leave. The team behind BK3 i.e. was mostly made up from the original team. But that doesn't stop the notion being a bit absurd. It uses the basis that new young talent and/or senior talent are no longer capable of making good games.

    Like I said before: Rare hasn't changed in the type of games they make nor the quality. But rare has faced two massive problems over recent years.
    A) The transition from nintendo to ms and from the xbox to the 360. They are coming about on that front.
    B) quite simply, the market has changed. If they would have released VP in the n64 age it would have sold a megaton but nowadays people just don't care for that kind of game any more. Back in the N64 days, games where more actual games with a layer of story on top. Theses days, games are more about film like experiences. Just look at the last E3, the vast majority are games that rely heavily on adult storylines (God of War 3, Splinter Cell 5, etc. etc.).
    I'm not quite sure how rare could deal with that without killing off the idea of rare. They could make a sequel to PD I suppose but beyond that...

  • Negotiator #28 3 years ago

    From the team who brought us Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, teamed with Microsoft and using the groundbreaking Natal, Rare will create a genre busting experience like no other.

  • spammage #29 3 years ago

    Rare stopped being relevent when they parted with Nintendo.

  • makeamazing #30 3 years ago

    Ive heard on the grapevine that Rares first game will be a jump around and wave your arms and legs around game... its going to be mega fantastic.

  • onyxbox #31 3 years ago

    how much money did MS spend in aquiring Rare? They're a clever bunch of people and do some technically excellent games but I'm not sure the games are good enough. Viva Piniata 1 was good (the 2nd was a cheap re-hash) other than that what have they done of note.

    It's a case of waiting for the golden egg me thinks.

  • PattiJordan #32 3 years ago

    To be clear, GestureTek is the inventor, pioneer and world leader in video gesture control technology for both 2D and 3D cameras. Our software works with 3DV, Mesa, Prime Sense, Canesta and other 3D depth cameras. For more than 20 years, we have been creating 2D and 3D tracking technology and evangelizing video gesture control as the next step in computer human interaction.

    With more than 4000 public installations worldwide, we have a robust library of video gesture control technologies, applications and patents. GestureTek has licensed these patents and technologies in various ways to many consumer electronics providers, including for PlayStation, Xbox 360, Hasbro and others. GestureTek is proud of the trail we’ve blazed in the area of 3D depth tracking and control and our current leading position in the market today.

    Here’s more on GestureTek’s 3D tracking and control software: http://ww w.gesturetek.com/3ddepth/introd... .

    Here are some of GestureTek's work using 3D tracking technology prior to Natal:

    Beijing Olympics Flight Simulator http://ww w.gesturetek.com/3ddepth/busine...

    Two-Handed Control Driving Demo http://ww w.gesturetek.com/newscenter/med...

    Sprint 3D Depth Sensing Interactive Digital Signage
    [link url=http://www.gesturetek.com/3ddepth/busines scases/businesscase-sprint.php
    ]http://ww w.gesturetek.com/3ddepth/busine...[/link]