Kotaku: killer instinct

Rare Tips New Games in Banjo?

Owen Good — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:00:00 MST

Is it guerrilla marketing when you're doing it in your own game? Cranky Gamers UK noticed that Easter egg in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which declares we've got "new Killer Instinct, Battletoads and Jet Force Gemini games," on the way. "Even Ghoulies 2!" Whoa. But then they say, "Oh, you'll never believe that." Screw it, I will. This qualifies as an announcement and I am committing Rare to this, even though there's nothing on the Rare Web site yet, and a Killer Instinct sequel has long been involved in cat-and-mouse rumor games.

Rare Drop a Massive Bombshell Hidden in Banjo Kazooie! [Cranky Gamers UK, thanks Jordan, Maze, and many others]

Rare Want Killer Instinct On XBLA

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:20:00 MST

Speaking with 1UP, Rare's Mark Betteridge was asked about the chances of us seeing more Rare games on Xbox Live Arcade now that the original Banjo Kazooie is up for download. Surprisingly/fortunately, Betteridge did not beat around the bush:

Sure! It's something that we've been looking at. It's all about building a platform where we can do that stuff without impacting the newer things here. It would be great if we could get Killer Instinct coin-op on there.

You know what, Mark? That would be pretty great.

A Rare Look at Rare [1UP]

Viva Instiñct? Killer Piñata? KI Vision Cards For Viva Piñata

Stuart Houghton — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:20:00 MDT

Those poor, poor Piñata. Some paper ass is going to be kicked...

As far as incompatible franchise mashups go, Viva Piñata Vs Killer Instinct must be eligible for some kind of award. Only Manhunt Vs Animal Crossing could compete, really.

Nevertheless, that is what Rare are offering via the medium of Piñata Vision cards. By downloading and printing out this set of Killer Instinct themed Vision cards and then laboriously scanning them in to the game via a Vision camera, you can get some, er, KI Piñata.

PIÑATA VISION CARDS [Rare]

Rare Speaks Up On Not Being "Applicable" Today

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:00:43 MDT

EA Sports bossman Peter Moore, formerly of Microsoft and Sega, thinks Rare is bunch of "great people." He also thinks "the industry had past Rare by," that "their skillsets were from a different time and a different place and were not applicable in today's market." They might be beyond their googly-eyed "glory years." That's according to a Guardian interview, one that Mr. Moore wasn't quite expecting to be so... published in its entirety.

How does Rare feel about all this? MTV Multiplayer asked the developer's own Gregg Mayles, one of the creators of Banjo Kazooie, who says "I don’t take much notice about what people say about our games I work on, whether positive or negative." Mayles never mentions Moore by name.

It's a healthy attitude, we suppose, and Mayles adds that Rare doesn't have a formal plan in place to recapture its Nintendo 64-era status as superstar developer. It's just doing its own thing.

MTV also asked if that "thing" involved a new Killer Instinct game, something Rare has been rumored to be involved in — rumors that may have simply sprung up from internal misdirection.

Mayles' answer comes loaded with non-answers and maybe even a little bit of misdirection too. He said "If someone came up with some revolutionary idea for a new fighting game, yeah, we might think of resurrecting Killer Instinct." Who's to say that they haven't had that revolutionary idea?

Rare Responds To Peter Moore Out-Of-Touch Critique, Doubts ‘Killer Instinct’ Revival [MTV Multiplayer]

Killer Soul Kalibur Fighter Brawl-gasm

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:40:20 MDT

One of the first Soulcalibur IV user created creations we were sent, Solid Snake and Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2 felt like the first drop in the bucket of recreated classic characters. Here's a torrent of them: Mario and Link; Sub Zero, Shao Kahn, Scorpion, and Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat; B. Orchid and TJ Combo from Killer Instinct; Blanka and Chun-Li from Street Fighter. They're all in here. There's even a few guest appearances from folks like Dr. Doom and Thor from the pages of Marvel Comics.

Don't ask us to explain the Skee-Lo soundtrack, though. We just work here. Thanks to Jeremy for the clip tip via Arcade Junkies.

Killer Instinct 3 Rumors Fresh From The Mill

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:00:00 MDT

This again? Yes, this again. The latest batch of rumors to come from EGM's Quartermann dredges up one we've been hearing for as long as we can remember, one that pegs Rare hard at work on a new Killer Instinct. This one, dubbed Killer Instinct 3D: Death, Destruction and Doom, is said to bring the delightfully goofy fighting game that pits boxers against skeletal pirates, lizardmen against werewolves into the world of 3D.

You know, we've heard something similar to this recently, reminding us of a photo snapped at the Rare offices that touts "finishing moves", 3-player matches and uses ancient Killer Instinct art. It's a photo that makes us think Rare was just having a bit of cruel fun at our expense, as they're wont to do. Time will tell if Killer Instinct 3 is real, but for the meantime you can catch up on all the nasty rumors at 1UP.

Quartermann: Rare Readying New Killer Instinct? [1UP]

Rare Teases Killer Instinct 3 With Christmas Card

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:20:39 MST

The lads at Rare seem to be taking the piss (am I doing it right?) in their new Christmas card, which not only features Viva Piñata stars Hudson Horstachio and Fergy Fudgehog alongside Banjo and Kazooie, but a teaser stocking that reads "KI3." Clearly, it's in reference to the Rare fighting game series Killer Instinct which hasn't seen a release since Killer Instinct Gold hit the Nintendo 64 over ten years ago.

Are Rare hard at work on a third combo-filled fighting game? Not according to them, at least, as of this summer, when Rare responded via its Scribes letters page "Purely out of contractual obligation, no, we're not working on KI3." Despite that dismissal, I'm pretty sure I can make out Cinder in the fire there. Of course, I'm just teasing (as I'm fairly sure Rare is, too).

New Banjo-Kazooie pic for Christmas [CVG]

Rare Not Working On Killer Instinct 3

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:40:07 MDT

In the most recent edition of Rare's fan mailbag feature "Scribes", the fans demand to know: Are Rare working on Killer Instinct 3?! Secondary and tertiary to this are questions about Jet Force Gemini and It's Mr. Pants sequels. Whatever! Anyway, Rare, Killer Instinct 3?

Rare denies it.

Purely out of contractual obligation, no, we're not working on KI3, no, we don't have a secret team in the basement finishing off JFG2, no, we're not brainstorming an exciting sequel to It's Mr. Pants and traditionally we're not big players in the RPG market either. Until we're ready to unveil some of the games beyond the new Banjo that we are working on, why not go back and sample some prime Rare goodness from the archives such as NES classics Time Lord or Super Glove Ball?

That certainly doesn't rule out an Xbox Live Arcade release of the first two Killer Instinct games, but it certainly doesn't fill the lil' TJ Combo in my soul with much in the way of combo-breakin' happiness. Guess we'll have to wait a little bit longer to engage in more ridiculous pirate skeleton versus giant lizard battles. Michael McWhertor

Scribes - June 25, 2007 [Rare]

Rare Founders Leave Company

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:20:18 MST

1UP is reporting that Rare founders Chris and Tim Stamper have left the Microsoft owned development studio. The two have reportedly left to "pursue other opportunities", with the departure supposedly having nothing to do with the poor sales reception of Viva Pinata.

The two will be succeeded by current Rare employees who will hopefully do a better job justifying the dev house's $375 million price tag. My suggestion to the company responsible for Grabbed By The Ghoulies and Kameo? More blood splattering, muscle bound Killer Instincts, fewer soft and fluffy, Skittles-colored, E-rated adventures. Your fanbase will greatly appreciate it! Michael McWhertor

Rare Founders Leave to 'Pursue Other Opportunities' [1UP]