Dictionary
not widely known especially valued for its uncommonness "a rare word" "rare books" recurring only at long intervals "a rare appearance" "total eclipses are rare events" not widely distributed "rare herbs" "rare patches of green in the desert" having low density "rare gasses" "lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air" marked by an uncommon quality especially superlative or extreme of its kind "what is so rare as a day in June"-J.R.Lowell "a rare skill" "an uncommon sense of humor" "she was kind to an uncommon degree" (of meat) cooked a short time still red inside "rare roast beef"
|
Wikipedia
Rare Ltd., formerly known as Rareware, is a United Kingdom UK-based video game developervideo game development company. It was founded in 1983 by brothers Tim StamperTim and Chris Stamper. Rare was a second-party developer for the Nintendo gaming platforms for several years, but in 2002 was acquired by Microsoft.The company is notable for having created an unusually large number of original hit games, and for the company's price tag: Microsoft paid US$377 million for the company, a record for a video game developer.Rare was originally called Ashby Computer Graphics (ACG), though they sometimes released their games under the name Ultimate Play The Game.
Company overview - Rare is located in Twycross, England and is the company behind many of the most famous games for Nintendo's various gaming systems: ''Battletoads'', ''Donkey Kong Country'' (and its sequels), ''Killer Instinct'', ''Banjo-Kazooie'', ''Banjo-Tooie'', ''GoldenEye 007'', ''Perfect Dark'', ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'', ''Diddy Kong Racing'', ''Donkey Kong 64'', ''Jet Force Gemini'', and ''Star Fox Adventures''.Its games have always employed some of the latest graphics technology. One of its most critically acclaimed and popular series was the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, due to its use of pre-rendered 3D computer graphics3D graphics on a 2D computer graphics2D console. ''GoldenEye 007'' for the Nintendo 64 is considered by many to be their biggest success, known even today as one of the gold standards for console first-person shooters, eventually selling over eight million copies. Rareware's ''Killer Instinct'' added several features to the fighting game genre such as autodoubles, linker (video game)linkers and ultra (video game)ultras.Key members of the ''GoldenEye'' development team left Rare soon after beginning work on ''Perfect Dark''. Head of Software Martin Hollis was the first to leave in 1998, working at Nintendo of America on the GameCube, and in 2000 he started his own company, Zoonami. Other members such as David Doak left soon after he did and formed Free Radical Design.Up from the end of 2000 people from Activision and Microsoft visited Rare. In November 2001 Microsoft trademarked the name ''It's Mr. Pants'', the name of a game which was released three years later. In September 2002, the Stamper brothers sold their 51% interest in Rare to Microsoft; following this, Nintendo sold their 49% stake in the company as well. Microsoft paid a total of $377 million for the company. Because of this, Rare is now a first-party developer for Microsoft's Xbox and its sucessors. The trademarks of the fictional charactercharacters from the games that Rare made for Nintendo consoles (such as Conker of ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'') were retained by Rare (apart from IP originally developed by Nintendo, i.e. Donkey Kong and Star Fox). Despite the acquisition, Rare still develops games for Game Boy Advance. Rare has never developed for Sony platforms.Between 2000 and the final aquisition of Rare Ltd. more than 50 people left the company. After the acquisition was complete, at least 30 more left. Commentators have noted that Rare's first Xbox title, ''Grabbed by the Ghoulies'', is the company's biggest flop to date.August 2003 brought news that Rare and Microsoft had made a deal with THQ to publish Rare's Game Boy Advance games, which as of 2004as of December 2004 have included ''Sabre Wulf (GBA)Sabre Wulf'', a game based on its Ultimate Play The GameUltimate character, and ''It's Mr. Pants!'', a puzzle game featuring the company's unofficial Mr. Pantsmascot. January 2005 saw the completion of this deal, with the release of Banjo Pilot. Rare also ported and extended the Donkey Kong Country series, which was published by Nintendo.In February of 2004, gaming news sites reported that negotiations were ongoing between Nintendo and Microsoft for Microsoft to acquire Rare's characters and trademarks from Nintendo. According to various articles, Microsoft has reportedly offered Nintendo approximately $20.2 million for the trademarks and characters. As of 2005, it is unknown if Nintendo accepted Microsoft's $20.2 million offer. In July 2005, Rare confirmed it was developing at least one game for the new handheld Nintendo DS.
Success of games - Rare has in general found large success in its games. The "golden era" of Rare games began with the 1994 release of ''Donkey Kong Country'', which re-started the Donkey Kong franchise, not to mention employing pioneering graphics and sound that allowed the SNES to beat off the competition from the Sega Genesis. From that point on, Rare were seen as Nintendo's primary support, as they continued to produce excellent games for Nintendo even when Nintendo's market share was at an all-time low. Almost all of the games Rare released for the Nintendo 64 were met with huge critical acclaim, including the highly acclaimed shooter ''GoldenEye 007'' and ''Donkey Kong 64'', which was the Donkey Kong equivalent of ''Super Mario 64''. However, some of Rare's less mainstream games, including ''Jet Force Gemini'' and ''Blast Corps'' were not very successful commercially, despite recognition from critics and a cult fanbase as equally well-designed games. Most Nintendo fans during the N64 period would argue that the console largely survived its many problems because of Rare's continued output of games, as they were very popular, and many people bought N64 consoles just to play Rare games. Without these games, it's likely that Nintendo could not have kept the Nintendo 64 going, as their in-house titles, like ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', took a long time to develop. Despite this success, Rare were frustrated with the limited success Nintendo could provide; the N64 remained a much poorer seller than Sony's PlayStation, and was constantly criticised by the mainstream market. Rare's much anticipated game, ''Perfect Dark'', did not sell as well as expected, due to its release towards the end of the N64's life. Rare was also frustrated with Nintendo forcing them to insert Starfox Adventures' Fox McCloud into what would have been an original IP game called Dinosaur Planet, because "games sell better with familiar mascots". Nintendo sold their stock in Rare to Microsoft shortly into the life of the Nintendo GameCube. Some Nintendo fans were crushed by this news, as they feared that the GameCube could not survive without Rare, and that the advantage that Microsoft would gain could result in Nintendo's departure from console marketing.However, to date, Rare have only released two games for the Xbox, ''Conker: Live & Reloaded'' and ''Grabbed by the Ghoulies'', both of which sold poorly, and none of the games it has continued to develop for the Game Boy Advance have matched the success of Rare's N64 output. The most popular GBA games from Rare are ports of their classic-era Donkey Kong titles, which Rare can no longer produce, as Nintendo holds the rights to the characters.
Future - The next generation of consoles is key for Rare. Xbox 360 is reliant on Rare games for its launch, including ''Perfect Dark Zero'', a prequel to Nintendo 64's ''Perfect Dark'', which had originally been planned for the Gamecube and Xbox. If the Xbox 360 sells poorly, Rare will find themselves in a worse position than they were with Nintendo, since the company's only Xbox games, ''Grabbed by the Ghoulies'' and ''Conker: Live and Reloaded'', have sold poorly. If, however, the Xbox 360 becomes successful, Rare could recapture its former glory of the days of the Nintendo 64.After supporting the Game Boy Advance, Rare currently have at least 2 secret Nintendo DS games in the works.
List of games -
1980s - The company traded first as Ashby Computer Graphics (A.C.G.) and later, more famously, as Ultimate Play The Game. It was responsible for some of the most innovative and graphically impressive games of the period, notably pioneering isometric projection in titles such as Knight Lore and Alien 8.Some of the Ultimate games are linked together in the Sabre Man series, consisting of Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde, Knight Lore, Pentagram (video game)Pentagram and Mire Mare (never released). Sabre Man later also made an appearance in Killer Instinct and Banjo-Tooie by Rare.
1983 - ''Jetpac'' (ZX Spectrum, BBC, Vic 20) - Ultimate Play The Game''Atic Atac'' (ZX Spectrum) - Ultimate Play The Game''PSSST'' (ZX Spectrum) - Ultimate Play The Game''Tranz Am'' (ZX Spectrum) - Ultimate Play The Game''Cookie (game)Cookie'' (ZX Spectrum) - Ultimate Play The Game''Lunar Jetman'' (ZX Spectrum, BBC) - Ultimate Play The Game
1984 - ''Sabre Wulf'' (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, BBC) - Ultimate Play The Game''Knight Lore'' (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, BBC, MSX) - Ultimate Play The Game''The Staff of Karnath'' (C64) - Ultimate Play The Game''Underwurlde'' (ZX Spectrum, C64) - Ultimate Play The Game
1985 - ''Alien 8'' (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, BBC, MSX) - Ultimate Play The Game''Entombed (video game)Entombed'' (C64) - Ultimate Play The Game''Blackwyche'' (C64) - Ultimate Play The Game''Nightshade (video game)Nightshade'' (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, BBC, MSX) - Ultimate Play The Game''Pentagram (video game)Pentagram'' (ZX Spectrum, MSX) - Ultimate Play The Game
1986 - ''Outlaws (C64 game)Outlaws'' (C64) - Ultimate Play The Game''Cosmic Battlezones'' (BBC) - Ultimate Play The Game''Cyberun'' (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX) - Ultimate Play The Game''Dragonskulle'' (C64) - Ultimate Play The Game''Gunfright'' (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX) - Ultimate Play The Game''Imhotep'' (C64) - Ultimate Play The Game
1987 - ''Martianoids'' (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad) - Ultimate Play The Game''Bubbler (video game)Bubbler'' (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad) - Ultimate Play The Game''Slalom (video game)Slalom'' (NES) - Nintendo
1988 - ''The Collected Works'' (ZX Spectrum) - Ultimate Play The Game''R.C. Pro-Am'' (Nintendo Entertainment SystemNES) - Nintendo''Wheel of Fortune'' (NES) - GameTek''Jeopardy!'' (NES) - GameTek''Anticipation (video game)Anticipation'' (NES) - Nintendo
1989 - ''Marble Madness'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''World Games'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''WWF Wrestlemania'' (NES) - Acclaim''Sesame Street 123'' (NES) - Hi Tech''John Elway’s Quarterback'' (NES) - Tradewest''California Games'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''Taboo'' (NES) - Tradewest''Wizards & Warriors'' (NES) - Acclaim''Sesame Street ABC'' (NES) - Hi Tech''Hollywood Squares (video game)Hollywood Squares'' (NES) - Gametek''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (NES) - LJN''Jordan vs. Bird: One on One'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''Cobra Triangle'' (NES) - Nintendo''Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II'' (NES) - Acclaim''Wheel of Fortune Junior Edition'' (NES) - Gametek''Jeopardy! Junior Edition'' (NES) - Gametek''Silent Service'' (NES) - Ultra Games
1990s -
1990 - ''Double Dare'' (NES) - GameTek''Wheel of Fortune Family Edition'' (NES) - GameTek''Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary Edition'' (NES) - GameTek''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (Game Boy) - LJN''Captain Skyhawk'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''Pin Bot'' (NES) - Nintendo''Snake Rattle 'n' Roll'' (NES) - Nintendo''Super Off Road'' (NES) - Tradewest''Wizards & Warriors X: Fortress of Fear'' (Game Boy) - Acclaim''Narc'' (NES) - Acclaim''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (NES) - LJN''Super Glove Ball'' (NES) - Mattel''Cabal'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''Time Lord (video game)Time Lord'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''Arch Rivals'' (NES) - Acclaim''WWF Wrestlemania Challenge'' (NES) - LJN''Solar Jetman'' (NES) - Tradewest
1991 - ''Digger T. Rock'' (NES) - Milton Bradley''WWF Superstars'' (Game Boy) - LJN''Battletoads'' (NES, Game Boy) - Tradewest''Beetlejuice'' (NES) - LJN''Super R.C. Pro-Am'' (Game Boy) - Nintendo''High Speed'' (NES) - Tradewest''Sneaky Snakes''(Game Boy) - Tradewest''Sesame Street ABC & 123'' (NES) - Hi Tech''Pirates!'' (NES) - Ultra Games
1992 - ''Wizards & Warriors IIIWizards & Warriors III: Visions of Power'' (NES) - Acclaim''Beetlejuice'' (Game Boy) - LJN''Indy Heat'' (NES) - Tradewest''R.C. Pro-Am II'' (NES) - Tradewest''Championship Pro-Am'' (Sega Mega DriveMega Drive) - Tradewest
1993 - ''Battletoads'' (Mega Drive, Game Gear) - Tradewest''Battletoads & Double Dragon'' (NES, Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemSNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy) - Tradewest''Battletoads in Ragnarok’s World'' (Game Boy) - Tradewest''Battletoads in Battlemaniacs'' (SNES) - Tradewest''X The Ball'' (Arcade) - Capcom/Brent Walker/tecmo''Snake Rattle 'n' Roll'' (Mega Drive) - Sega/Tradewest
1994 - ''Monster Max'' (Game Boy) - Titus''Super Battletoads'' (Arcade) - Electronic Arts''Donkey Kong Country'' (SNES) - Nintendo''Killer Instinct'' (Arcade) - Williams
1995 - ''Donkey Kong Land'' (Game Boy) - Nintendo''Killer Instinct'' (SNES, Game Boy) - Nintendo''Donkey Kong Country 2Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest'' (SNES) - Nintendo
1996 - ''Killer Instinct 2'' (Arcade) - Williams''Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run'' (SNES) - Nintendo''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (Game Boy) - Nintendo''Donkey Kong Country 3Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (SNES) - Nintendo''Killer Instinct Gold'' (Nintendo 64N64) - Nintendo
1997 - ''Blast Corps'' (N64) - Nintendo''GoldenEye 007'' (N64) - Nintendo''Donkey Kong Land III'' (Game Boy) - Nintendo''Diddy Kong Racing'' (N64) - Rare
1998 - ''Banjo-Kazooie'' (N64) - Nintendo
1999 - ''Conker's Pocket Tales'' (Game Boy ColorGBC) - Nintendo''Jet Force Gemini'' (N64) - Rare''Donkey Kong 64'' (N64) - Nintendo''Mickey’s Racing Adventure'' (GBC) - Nintendo
2000s -
2000 - ''Perfect Dark'' (N64, GBC) - Nintendo''Donkey Kong Country'' (GBC) - Nintendo''Mickey's Speedway USA'' (N64) - Nintendo''Banjo-Tooie'' (N64) - Nintendo''Donkey Kong Land IIIDonkey Kong GB: Dixie and Kiddy Kong'' (GBC) - Nintendo (Japan-only colorized Donkey Kong Land III)
2001 - ''Mickey's Speedway USA'' (GBC) - Nintendo''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' (N64) - Rare
2002 - ''Star Fox Adventures'' (Nintendo GameCubeGameCube) - Nintendo
2003 - ''Donkey Kong Country'' (GBA) - Nintendo''Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge'' (GBA) - THQ''Grabbed by the Ghoulies'' (Xbox) - Microsoft
2004 - ''Sabre Wulf (GBA)Sabre Wulf'' (GBA) - THQ''Donkey Kong Country 2'' (GBA) - Nintendo''It's Mr. Pants'' (GBA) - THQ
2005 - ''Banjo-Pilot'' (GBA) - THQ''Conker: Live & Reloaded'' (Xbox) - Microsoft''Donkey Kong Country 3'' (Game Boy Advance) - Nintendo
In Development - ''Perfect Dark Zero'' (Xbox 360) - Microsoft (expected at console launch 2005; originally planned for the Nintendo GameCube and the Microsoft Xbox)''Kameo: Elements of Power'' (Xbox 360) - Microsoft (expected at console launch 2005; originally planned for the Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube and the Microsoft Xbox)''Banjo-Kazooie 3'' (Check the page for all the info, and rumored material)Two secret Nintendo DS titles (Nintendo DS) - Unknown (TBA)
External links - rareware.com - Official Rare website rarenet.com - RareNet, first ever Rare fansite !rarefare.theextremenetwork.com - Rarefare, a Rare fansite with all the latest media, information, and news ultimate-wurlde.com - Ultimate Wurlde, a Rare fansite mundorare.com - Mundo Rare, a Rare fansite (spanish) dmoz.org - Open Directory Project listing rarewitchproject.com - The Rarewitch Project, an infamous Rare fansite specializing in unlocking Rare game secrets. Also contains Beta Image codes and ReviewsCategory:Computer and video game companiesCategory:British video game !companiesde:Rarewarees:Ultimat e? Play The !Gamehu:Rareja:レア社pt:Rare sv:Rare
|
|
Websites
HOME CINEMA MOVIES
Welcome to Hard-to-Find Recordings, your one-stop shop for rare and out-of-print recordings and movies at reasonable prices. Did you know that recordings and movies, whether they are records, tapes, dvd's or compact discs, are not produced continuously? When production stops, your only access to these recordings and movies is existing stock, and when that stock goes those recordings are lost forever. No more searching through the discount bins hoping for a find. At hard to find recordings.com,and homecinemamovies.com we specialize in discontinued and rare recordings,movies, novelties and collectibles.
http://www.homecinemamovies.com/
SugarTreeBooks
Antiquarian and out-of-print book dealers since 1972.
http://www.sugartreebooks.com
MOSHE NANAZIA DBA DIAMONDS 2000
Diamonds 2000, Version 7 and Diamonds 2000 light. Upgrade Your Business today! This professional diamond software is a rare combination of power, elegance, simplicity & value - unmatched by anything on the market.
http://www.diamonds2000.com/
RECORDMECCA
Buying and selling very rare records and high-end music memorabila from the 1960's
http://www.recordmecca.com/
www.videopac.org
Worlds Largest Videopac & Magnavox Odyssey 2 support site, including the forums where you can speak to all the top namess in videopac Odyssey2 collecting & programming, live. A full games database, with covers, variants and instructions to download in super-hi res, Valuation & News section where you can keep up to date on the latest releases & discoveries. Buy & sell your Used Videopac & Magnavox Odyssey 2 console equiptment.
http://www.videopac.org/
HARD TO FIND RECORDINGS
Welcome to Hard-to-Find Recordings, your one-stop shop for rare and out-of-print recordings and movies at reasonable prices. Did you know that recordings and movies, whether they are records, tapes, dvd's or compact discs, are not produced continuously? When production stops, your only access to these recordings and movies is existing stock, and when that stock goes those recordings are lost forever. No more searching through the discount bins hoping for a find. At hard to find recordings.com,and homecinemamovies.com we specialize in discontinued and rare recordings,movies, novelties and collectibles.
http://www.hardtofindrecordings.com/
Record Inspector
Specializing in rare, rap, hip hop, funk, soul, library, jazz...
http://www.recordinspector.com/
CaneCorso.com
The premier global resource for anything and everything about the Cane Corso, a rare breed working mastiff originating from Italy.
http://www.canecorso.com/
Royal Groove Webradio
A weekly mix of jazz, soul, funk, rare grooves, Brazilian flavours, easy listening, soundtracks and nu sounds, hosted by DeLuca.
http://www.royalgroove.org/
Irish Antique & Fine Art Auction Gallery
Loughlin Bowe auctioneers are leading fine art auctioneers. Irish Art and Antiques Auction Website, Incl. Auctions, News,Artist Search, Directory of Antiques and Art Services in Ireland, Results Gallery, People & Places Gallery.
http://www.loughlinbowe.com/
Superior Discus
high quality tropical fish and aquarium supplies.
http://www.superiordiscus.com/
CaneCorsoStandard.com
The official breed standards for countries around the world, translated in different languages.
http://www.canecorsostandard.com/
RareHollywood.com / RareDVD.com / RareVideo.com / RareMoviePoster.com
Collectors who specialize in acquiring for movie lovers rare, hard-to-find and out-of-print DVD, VHS and Laserdisc titles. We also collect original movie posters, lobby cards and Hollywood memorabilia.
http://www.rarehollywood.com/
Nappyface International Inc.
Nappyface International Inc. is a proud sponsor of the DOT-WS revolution. Providing the tools neccessary for entreprenuers to succeed in todays rat race as well as provide original artwork and entertainment courtesy of Shahied Al-Amin d.b.a. Rising Sun aka Ras Fuji
http://www.nappyface.ws/
Rare and antique books
A.W. van Bekhoven Antiquarian Bookseller & Publisher offers a wide range of rare and antique books about: Art, Architecture, Art History, Bibliography & Typography, Flemish and Dutch art, History, Philosophy, Middle Ages Serials & Periodicals, catalogues, and reference books on the same. Our specialised stock has been built up over 40 years and holds thousands of titles. These are offered worldwide. People who are setting up a special collection or library are invited to request our specific stock lists. We are always interested in buying single volumes and whole collections in our field or other antique collectibles.. All antiquarian offers are complete and in mint condition unless otherwise stated. Prices are in American ($) Dollars and ( €) Euros.
http://www.antonbooks.com/
Pegma AS
Pegma as is a mining company
http://www.pegma.no/
CaneCorsoLinks.com
A comprehensive list of Cane Corso related links, from breed clubs, bulletin boards, chat rooms, health, food, rescue, showing, site rings, supplies, gear, training, traveling and working.
http://www.canecorsolinks.com/
ARCANA BOOKS
Scholarly&General Antiquarian Books Our specialty:philosophy,religion,psychology,arts,sciences
http://www.arcanabooks.us/
Golden Books Group
Antiquarian leather bound books specialists. Libraries built of 18th/19th and early 20th century books. Also stocked prints, maps and library related antiques.
http://www.abook4all.com
HELL BENT FOR RECORDS
Mailorder - Heavy Metal Vinyl & CDs / Underground Distribution
http://www.hbfr.de/
SOULVILLE VINYL - Northern Soul Records Mailorder Shop
Online mail order shop for 45 rpm vinyl records. We specialize in Northern Soul, Classic & Rare Soul, Motown Soul, R&B, Funk, Jazz, Mod & Blues 45s. Label scans & audio sound bites are also available.
http://www.soulville.de/
NORD-National Organization For Rare Disorders
Offering discussions, resources, links, and synonyms for many immune deficiencies.
http://www.rarediseases.org/
Rareware
American website of the company.
http://www.rareware.com
|
|