BIG NEWS: Activision close to buyout of Rare?
by VGLN Staff

Monday, April 15, 2002

April fools joke may not be so foolish at all. All we need is the confirmation.

Activision may have pulled the greatest ace out of Nintendo's deck. Rumors are flying that the recent news of the troubled relationship between Nintendo and Rare are not without cause.

The past couple of weeks have seen a fury of rumors float around the web faster than the bad praise Metroid Cube got when it turned FPS. Rumors first began when Ken Lobb jumped ship to the Microsoft Empire, and claims of Rare to follow. However, surprisingly, it seems as if Activision, one of the industries strongest software publishers is throwing its hat into the "buyout" fray.

Many at first believed that it was all a cruel April Fool's joke, however sources within both companies have expressed hints at the "rumors" validity.

An anonymous source, "claimed to have seen actual evidence of the deal, and others also attest to having heard solid information that the transaction has been made." Not very strong evidence at all, but still reported by at least five other major websites including computerandvideogames.com.

If these rumors are true, Nintendo could indeed by in deep trouble. Five years ago, Rare was the sole reason that Nintendo's lackluster Nintendo 64 hardware managed to sell some units. With hits like Donkey Kong 64, Golden Eye, and Perfect Dark, Rare provided the backbone to a clearly outclassed system, in terms of software.

More importantly, Nintendo has also been relying heavily on Rare's forthcoming projects, which include Star Fox Adventure, Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero on GameCube, and Diddy Kong Pilot and Sabre Wulf on GBA. Now rumors are rumors and we won't announce a PS2 Star Fox Adventures but let's not forget the Christmas card Rare issued at the end of last year, which featured Xbox, PS2 and GameCube shaped presents under the true. Maybe it's all just rumors. Perhaps.

One train of thought suggest that Rare which is stumbling under the pressure of producing so many titles for the Gamecube, and under a very tight budget may need to expand to multi-platform development to keep profit margins above black. One point that needs to be addressed is the fact that Nintendo owns a moderate stake within the U.K based developer, and any buyout must be large enough to overcome this important point.

Please stay with VGLN.com as we await correspondence from Activision.

--- VGLN Staff