Stamper brothers leave Rare

By Tom Bramwell Published 3 January, 2007

Off to do new things.

Rare founders Tim and Chris Stamper have left the British developer as the company enters its 25th year, Microsoft has confirmed.

Microsoft, which bought Rare for $375 million in 2002, told 1UP that the Stampers "are simply leaving to pursue other opportunities" and wished them luck.

"Chris and Tim have helped shape Rare into the world-renowned development studio that is it today and their impact on the videogame industry as a whole is well known," the platform holder said in a statement.

Mark Betteridge, a 19-year veteran of the Twycross studio, and Gregg Mayles have been promoted to studio and creative director respectively.

Rare has been under increased scrutiny since the company's record-breaking buyout in 2002, but the critical response to its most recent title, Viva Piņata, has been uniformly positive.

The game placed 8th in our Top 50 Games of 2006, voted for by around 20 contributing writers. And I've got a lion and you haven't.

The company is currently known to be at work on a Banjo Kazooie title for Xbox 360, reviving the once-celebrated N64 series, with at least two other projects thought to be in development elsewhere on the Twycross campus.

To read some of new creative director Gregg Mayles' views on nurturing intellectual property and the role of multimedia, be sure to have a look through an interview with him conducted by our sister site GamesIndustry.biz.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 5 years ago

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

  • Gl3n #1 5 years ago

    On one hand it doesn't come as a big suprise after the rumoured windfalls they received from the buyout. On the other, it might raise worrying questions about internal affairs at Rare these past few turbulent years.

    Edited by 1 at 03/01/07 @ 07:12

  • trousers #2 5 years ago

    Send Lion in crate please. Thanks.

  • pollster #3 5 years ago

    So the chaps responsible for Jetpac, Atic Atac, Nightlore and all the other speccy hits have left? Sad day :(

  • Blerk #4 5 years ago

    Viva Pinata might've been well received by the press, but not by the public. According to some sites (like 1Up), it sold pretty poorly. Which perhaps isn't suprising, but I'd be surprised if it didn't contribute to their leaving.

    Anyway, good luck to 'em now that they're finally unleashed from the various evil mega-corps. Let's hope they set up something small and innovative and get back to their roots, eh?

  • Genji #5 5 years ago

    Vivan Pinata seems to "belong" more on a Nintendo console. I'm not entirely surprised it sold poorly on the X360.

  • Dizzy #6 5 years ago

    If by "doing other things" you mean "spend shitloads of money on women, cars and holidays" then yes. :)

  • Blerk #7 5 years ago

    I can't believe I forgot to add:

    "So long, suckers!"

  • ishigo #8 5 years ago

    I have a pair of Roarios and one of them is wearing a gas mask.

    They live in a garden with a Dragonache and a pack of Chewnicorns, some of which are wearing sombreros and buck teeth.

  • Xerx3s #9 5 years ago

    Viva Piņata seems to "belong" more on a Nintendo console. I'm not entirely surprised it sold poorly on the X360.

    The point of VP was to not only have games of a certain kind (everybody screamed that ms only had lame mainstream gunho games). But apparently everybody wants those bland games of a certain kind and not innovative quirky games.

  • jellyhead #10 5 years ago

    End of an Era. They've done some great games and RARE was a great dev but they have fallen on fallow times lately. It's a shame Viva isn't doing so well but maybe now both RARE and the Stampers can do their own things and hopefully the great games will start again from both teams.

  • AcidSnake #11 5 years ago

    I have this feeling that they'll start developing for nintendo again...

    But what about IP? Do they own some?
    I mean, other than the very very old ones...Just why aren't we seeing a new blast corps?!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #12 5 years ago

    The buck teeth are great. I also very much like my raisants with hats. That's classy.

    Viva Pinata would have sold lots more on a Nintendo console. Say what you want, Nintendo consoles might not be the kids only console like they used to be but it still would be the ideal platform for such a game. Actually the 360 might be too but the range of genres available clearly speaks against such a game. There are: Racers, FPS, and a couple of other genres but except some sports titles all of them involve some sort of violence. To be honest I enjoy my 360 much more than I thought I would but the games available most certainly built up a special target audience that indeed may not be to well receiving of Viva Pinata. Personally I love that game. Although the playfield may seem limited I have a lot of freedom to do what I want because it is hard to screw up. Literally hours pass once I started. Not a lot of games manage to stay interesting for such a long time although it seems like nothing is happening.

    Back to the topic. It's sad to see the two go. I was quite angry when I heard MS bought Rare but I guess Nintendo had a lot of insight in Rare's internal affairs and what they had planned. Looking at it now it was the best thing Nintendo could have done. As far as I remember about 40% was Nintendo's? I mean, what has Rare done since it was sold? Conker's Live and Reloaded would have died on the cube with no online support, Perfect Dark Zero was quite underwhelming, so was Kameo. And as good as the GBA titles may be (I have no idea, I never played any of them) portable gaming is the section Nintendo has in it's pocket anyway. I doubt those titles do make any difference.

    It has been a few years now and except Viva Pinata there is nothing that Rare has produced that was near their usual gaming excellence. I am really glad that Viva Pinata turned out such a good game because I have very high hopes for Banjo on the 360. The N64 version was the only 3d platformer that game near Super Mario 64 and even surpassed it in some ways. But seeing the underwhelming sales of Viva Pinata I fear that also Banjo might sell not as much as it should sell - and probably would sell on another (read Nintendo) console.

  • jellyhead #13 5 years ago

    Do they still own the Jet Force Gemini IP?

  • wizbob #14 5 years ago

    I'm glad they went out on a high note; Viva Pinata is a respectable milestone on a continuum from Jetpac through Filmation to now. I would also like to think they could hire a small team, get the XNA dev studio kit and start an indie. Don't leave the industry!
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/07 @ 09:55

  • Der_tolle_Emil #15 5 years ago

    I'm with AcidSnake here. I really wouldn't be surprised if they found their way back to Nintendo somehow.

    @jellyhead: Do you mean Rare or the Stamper brothers? I guess Rare still owns their IP. I don't think MS bought the IP too. When Rare was a 2nd party developer for Nintendo and they were sold Rare took the IP with them. That means Nintendo never really owned the IP so I doubt MS does. As far as the Stamper brothers are concerned, I doubt that they "took anything with them".
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/07 @ 10:01

  • jellyhead #16 5 years ago

    Thanks Emil.

  • Genji #17 5 years ago

    "The point of VP was to not only have games of a certain kind (everybody screamed that ms only had lame mainstream gunho games). But apparently everybody wants those bland games of a certain kind and not innovative quirky games."

    A paradox, isn't it?

  • tiddles #18 5 years ago

    It's not really significant that they're leaving now... most buy-outs of this type have a lock-in to keep the original senior management onboard for a specified length of time, otherwise they'd all jump ship as soon as the money came in... the lock-in period has probably expired recently.

    The Xbox 360 really needs to broaden its demographic appeal, so VP is a step in the right direction, but one game can't do this on its own - just as Resident Evil 4 on its own didn't suddenly make the GC into the must-have console for blood 'n' guts gamers...

  • Crea #19 5 years ago

    I actually find it somewhat gutting that VP has not sold well. I can't view the 1up story from work, what's the figures?

    Are we talking a disaster or a mild disappointment? I might have to go buy another couple of copies on general principle.

  • chupachups #20 5 years ago

    "Vivan Pinata seems to "belong" more on a Nintendo console. I'm not entirely surprised it sold poorly on the X360."

    I know what you mean. It ought to have sold well on the 360 if it was an entirely mature platform with a wide userbase, but it seems the 360 audience is more interested in things like Gears Of War and Halo 3.

    Has Viva Pinata been released in Japan yet?

  • Mr_Brown #21 5 years ago

    Been a tough few years for Rare...obviously still going through their transitional phase. Viva Pinata was the best game they've done for a long while. But I still think things will start to look up this year. Let them get used to the 360 hardware and they'll start creating the good stuff again. With or without the old devs.

  • AcidSnake #22 5 years ago

    Hmmm...Just thinking here...
    What if they were to go to Free Radical now?

  • Dizzy #23 5 years ago

    >What if they were to go to Free Radical now?

    I am 95% sure, you won't see them in gaming anymore.

  • deepmenace #24 5 years ago

    dare i say it?

    would have sold more on Sony too me reckons. the average xbox owner i know buys halo, football and anything with cars in it.....ooo, or and a hard hitting pop-rap/rnb soundtrack helps...

    main reason i wont be getting a 360 any time soon.
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/07 @ 12:40

  • #25 5 years ago

    It ought to have sold well on the 360 if it was an entirely mature platform with a wide userbase, but it seems the 360 audience is more interested in things like Gears Of War and Halo 3.

    This just confirms my suspicions that 360 is not, as it currently stands, in any way shape or form poised to take over dominance from the Playstation brand - which has true breadth of support from almost all 3rd party developers across a full range of genres.

    Like Nintendo consoles, 360 is concentrated in a specific type of game and genre.

    I don't want to start a flame war but the 360 is, by and large, just a Halo and FPS console just as Nintendo's console is a Mario, Link and Metroid console.

  • bonker #26 5 years ago

    Re sales of VP - as others have alluded to, the immediate sales of the game aren't the full story. The dev of VP was as much a strategic move as a tactial one as the 360 is in DESPERATE need of a wider range of games, so far it's all FPS and death, death, death and while that may appeal to the majority of American 14 year olds, that type of gaming only appeals to a small fraction of the potential audience.

    This is why MS are dead in Japan and not doing great in Europe, we and the Japs like a little context to our killing and things like art design and storytelling make a big difference not to mention, shock, horror, actually having to work our brains a little.

    MS are kings in the USA and Sony are kings in Japan but for this generation war, the frontline is Europe and thoughtful and imaginative games like VP are crucial to gain ground here ...

  • Carrybagma #27 5 years ago

    @Dizzy: Yeah, you're probably right. They'll never be 'hands-on' again - if they've ever been since UPtG. It would be nice if they were to spend some of their gold-pile on a startup UK developer though.

  • bonker #28 5 years ago

    "dare i say it?

    would have sold more on Sony too me reckons. the average xbox owner i know buys halo, football and anything with cars in it.....ooo, or and a hard hitting pop-rap/rnb soundtrack helps...

    main reason i wont be getting a 360 any time soon. "

    Second all that - main reason why my 360 could be history next Xmas for a PS3 with some decent variety of games on it. As a 360 owner, it really doesn't make me feel good to have to admit that it's a console for 'thugs' ...

  • Carrybagma #29 5 years ago

    I thought PS2 was the console for thugs and chavs?
    XBOX for geeks.
    Nintendo for kids.

  • gogobaka #30 5 years ago

    "for this generation war, the frontline is Europe"

    Yeah, that's why Sony aren't bothering to release the PS3 until March, possibly even later.

    Numpty.

  • chupachups #31 5 years ago

    "The dev of VP was as much a strategic move as a tactial one as the 360 is in DESPERATE need of a wider range of games, so far it's all FPS and death, death, death and while that may appeal to the majority of American 14 year olds, that type of gaming only appeals to a small fraction of the potential audience. "

    Yes, I agree.

    They need more stuff like VP to encourage a wider audience, so if there were more VP-like games that followed up with similar themes then maybe the 360's audience could be made broader.

    But the downside of that strategy is that the first few "new style" games will sell really badly because they're trying to grow a new kind of 360 audience from scratch.

    Microsoft just needs to keep plugging away at doing VP-type games, especially in Japan where this kind of game is more appreciated, and they certainly have the money to keep going.
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/07 @ 14:30

  • Carrybagma #32 5 years ago

    Games like VP will never survive on the 360 while all the hype and marketing goes on Gears/Halo/whatever next. Microsoft have a lot to do if they really want to change perceptions of their console. Perhaps they should give up and stick with the audience that loves them best. At least in the USA.

  • malloc #33 5 years ago

    Didn't the Stamper brothers own 51% of Rare which they sold to MS, and then Nintendo followed suit afterwards (seeling their 49%), in which case it seems unlikely that they would want to go back there. Unless they have been wooed somehow by Iwata. Would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #34 5 years ago

    What difference would it make? With MS having 51% of Rare, Nintendo would have had nothing to say at all. That would be a conflict of interest. Nintendo competes with Microsoft and in a way also Rare. So if Rare and Microsoft make less profit due to Nintendo's competition Nintendo would harm themselves.

    Besides, as far as I know Nintendo had quite a lot to say at Rare. From a purely financial point of view it is completely understandable why Nintendo let go of Rare. They knew what was to come. And it wasn't all that much, obviously.

    Edit: What will be interesting though is how this departure affects Wii's Virtual Console. Because it is Rare's IP they had to decide if they want to see their games on VC. DKC is just up there because Nintendo owns the Donkey Kong IP. Theoretically Rare may reconsider to offer some titles on VC. Although I have absolutely no idea who eventually has to decide. Maybe the Stamper brothers did not have anything to say in the first place.
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/07 @ 19:33

  • SpeedyThing #35 5 years ago

    Quote -

    "for this generation war, the frontline is Europe"

    Yeah, that's why Sony aren't bothering to release the PS3 until March, possibly even later. "

    Actually BOTH of them have agreed that Europe is the key swing territory this generation. MS have (kind of) won the US whilst Sony have a firm grasp on Japan. Europe still has everything to play for.

    The fact that Sony didn't release in Europe last year shows just how badly someone F'd things up!

    Numpty :)

  • gogobaka #36 5 years ago

    They always say that Europe is important, but you know they're really thinking we've got too many languages, too many different certification boards, and we've got the wrong TV standard.

    Actions speak louder than words :)

    Sony doesn't have a firm grip on Japan, I reckon the Wii will give it serious competition.

  • smelly #37 5 years ago

    You can almost gaurantee in the buy-out there was a clause forcing them to stay for x amount of time.. and that time has past.

  • capcom23 #38 5 years ago

    Well Viva Pinata is a good game on the Xbox 360. First of all Microsoft Xbox isn't known for kiddy games. A lot of people will overlook it easily. They need more promotion. The game suits pretty well on the xbox 360. Xbox 360 need games like this. Why the hell do you think Playstation does better in Japan? A lot of more people like fantasy/adventure/fun games and not criminal shootergames to kill people! It is fun to play, but that's it. If you want to sell more consoles you need to have more genres on it! Xbox is just like the PC and nothing more. The playstation offers a lot of adventure and RPG games and people love games like that, including me! That's why i'll allways buy a Playstation. It offers the games that xbox simply doesn't have. Only a few games are fun to play, but that's it. How many same shootergames have we seen on the xbox???? We needed something new. Like it or not.

  • LiquidViolence #39 5 years ago

    Wont sales of VP pick up once the TV show gets aired over here? I wouldve thought thats a key part of the marketing (to kids atleast) and maybe shouldve been shown pre christmas.

  • pollster #40 5 years ago

    @wonka

    True. But it was still nice to see the Stampers sticking close to their roots by putting speccy references in games such as grabbed by the ghoulies and PDZ.

    Would be nice to see a sabrewulf in VP!
    Edited by 1 at 04/01/07 @ 10:40

  • Calgon #41 5 years ago

    What utter drivell Sony fanboys speak... do they really beleive it?


    Viva Piniata is so not suited for the PS3, the majority of the Plastation fans just wouldnt "get" it.

    Sony's Playstation brand will forever be synonymous with chav culture for me("lets grab sum Maccy Ds and head back to mine ont playstation innit?";)... its just true, with all the sales they got(and they WILL NOT have anywhere near that sort of lead in market share this time around which is an important point), the games that sell well arent your fun quirky games(the only reason those devs went there was for the huge userbase... if we talk percentages that little Sony fanboy fantasy dies a horrible death), they are your rapper hip hop games, tricked out car games, guns, violence, gangs, football ect They do have JRPGs but thats not a selling point for me(plus 360 has already fixed that) so not worth mentioning and all of this adds up to PS3 not being the right choice for me(a quick look at the release list confirmed that theres not alot there for me... Im not into games like "ratchet and clank", "the getaway"*ugh I remember playing the first one for a while... how boring?* and find games like motor storm and heavenly sword way way overhyped... there just not worth getting excited about... theyd be dead without MGS4).

    No MS will want RARE and perhaps Lionhead to bring out more of this kind of game untill theres enough to convince this crowd of gamers that they are well catered for(which inturn will convince other devs that these types of games will sell on the platform).