Report: Rare cuts 12 positions from art, engineering teams
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Feb 19th 2009 at 9:49AM } 
Remember, though, this is all "part of the plan." Microsoft, which owns Rare, is expecting serious layoffs over the next year, but won't discuss details. The Redmond giant does, however, insist that "exciting" new IP will remain its focus.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 19th 2009 9:52AM
they cant get rid of too many people. dont they only have like 40-60 people at Rare??
Just Hurry up and Announce Killer Instinct 3 already!!!
Sadly enough if they were still Nintendo funded they would be rolling in dough
Mr Khan @ Feb 19th 2009 12:05PM
There's a reason why Nintendo sold them. Their performance just wasn't up to Nintendo's standards anymore
Although they have continued to be a fairly inspired studio, they just haven't been up to snuff, mostly due to lost talent from their heyday
McWilly @ Feb 19th 2009 2:00PM
Nintendo have standards? Evidence proves otherwise.
j @ Feb 19th 2009 3:37PM
"Sadly enough if they were still Nintendo funded they would be rolling in dough"
I really don't get this whole "Rare should've been with Nintendo, they would've done better" thing.
A rose by any other name still smells sweet; a developer with any other company would still make a botched Banjo sequel.
Lieutenant @ Feb 19th 2009 4:13PM
They would probably be a lot more successful with Nintendo, since it seems MS lets their titles die on arrival (maybe 'cept for the launch titles).
But Rare is still very valueable to MS. They designed most of the NXE and are outsourced throughout the company to help with other projects.
Slighty offtopic, but Raresoft needs to create a permanent hardware/software bundle.
Cj @ Feb 19th 2009 9:53AM
Poor guys. Havent make a best seller in years. Im so certain that Conker 2 would be just that. It would appeal to a huge 360 fan base.
AkaMagi @ Feb 19th 2009 10:02AM
I love the Joystiq hyperbole here.
Can someone please explain how 5,000 layoffs over the next year, most being temps, in a company that employs over 70,000 permanent and over 25,000 temporary employees constitutes "serious layoffs"?
Especially when MS is also HIRING several thousand people in this quarter alone for positions not effected by the layoffs.
Don't tell me no one at Joystiq bothered to actually read MS's statement about the layoffs, and had no idea that they were hiring, as well as firing.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 19th 2009 10:05AM
maybe because 5,000 people, Temp or not, will be JOBLESS, FURTHER adding to the Housing Crisis as well as bringing the economy FURTHER down the Grub hole....
Lieutenant @ Feb 19th 2009 4:04PM
I assume those who were failed off from MS have severance. Most of the jobless people will be rehired by Microsoft with different positions.
AkaMagi @ Feb 19th 2009 10:06AM
Chris
Rare employs nearly 300 people. 12 leaving, none of which are actually programmers won't have any effect at all on the company, other than to reduce their labor costs.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 19th 2009 10:14AM
your reply button not working?? lol
300?? guess they arent as small as I was thinking. yet and still tho they would be better off under Nintendo.
XLM @ Feb 19th 2009 11:49AM
Akamagi, I think you may have blinders on.
So far everything I've read indicated that those being let go were in R&D development, marketing, sales/finance, corporate affairs and legal, human resources and IT.
They also killed the Aces studio (home of Flight and Train sims) which was 100 or so people.
Saying that "hiring hasn't been stopped entirely" is as good Balmer could spin it and that the possible 3000 new jobs would be in areas like Internet Searching.
As a MS stockholder, and someone with a job in technology, I don't fear MS is going anywhere, but I certainly look at this as a serious and troubling matter.
AkaMagi @ Feb 19th 2009 10:09AM
Chris
What about the thousands who will be HIRED though?
Did you even think about that? MS is laying off 5,000 people over the next year, but are hiring several thousand new employees in the next 3 months. The net result will be that for at least a few months, MS will have MORE people working for them than they do now, not less.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 19th 2009 10:19AM
thats like saying, "I'm going to kill 100 bald eagles but before that those hundred will have a few offspring so it going to be more than 100 bald eagles to take the place of the ones I kill later"
point is you are still giving 100 eagles the axe regardless of how many will be born before you do the deed
5,000 jobs is STILL 5,000 jobs. if you were one of those people you wouldnt see it the way you do, especially if you werent getting hired back with the THOUSANDS they are hiring.
AkaMagi @ Feb 19th 2009 10:40AM
That's lovely.
Now, are you going to actually address my point? Or are we going to ramble on about how important 5000 mostly TEMPORARY employees who would eventually lose those positions anyways. (That's why they are called TEMPS)
In case you've forgotten, my question was how are 5000 layoffs over a year when MS is hiring several thousand in the next 3 months alone considered "SERIOUS LAYOFFS"?
And for the record, MS will probably hire several thousand more next quarter. In 2007 alone they hired enough to increase their total workforce by 17%, this "layoff" will result in a net loss of less than 3%, and that's if we assume MS doesn't hire a single person after this quarter.
How is that "serious"? Sounds pretty normal to me, but then again, maybe I've just got more corporate experience than you do, including having worked for MS for a couple of years.
Hardy @ Feb 19th 2009 10:28AM
I amazed anyone even wants Rare anymore... I mean they made great games in the past but it started going downhill pretty damn fast.
ice~ @ Feb 19th 2009 10:59AM
The quality of rares latest games has been astounding. Just because you didn't like them because they may have seemed too "childish" doesn't mean that rares been going down hill.
squeehunter @ Feb 19th 2009 2:42PM
They raped Banjo-Kazooie.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 19th 2009 1:23PM
Nuts and Bolts was fantastic is just that the xbox crowd is too stupid to realize that.
Noshino @ Feb 19th 2009 3:18PM
"They raped Banjo-Kazooie."
Correction, they only raped Kazooie to that point that even Banjo now find Kazooie useless
Mazrael @ Feb 19th 2009 10:33AM
any cuts should be from the top.. they get some rediculous paychecks.. instead they go & cut the ones who bring in the money.. at where I work, the woman who is the head of recruiting cut our shop staff right down to the bare bones, and still trying to get those hours right down til we can't function.. and she gets £1.5 million bonus every year.. it's stupid..
prence @ Feb 19th 2009 10:40AM
Mother of Jesus. Oh no. I can't believe this. Oh my god no. Holy crap.
Now how will my avatar get a new tan colored track suit with matching mittens?!
AkaMagi @ Feb 19th 2009 10:52AM
Mazrael
Most of the people who are being laid off are not "bringing in the money" as you say. The people who ran the Xbox Blog were laid off. They weren't brining in any money. No one pays for access to the blog. A bunch of temps will also be "laid off" or more accurately, they won't have their contracts renewed when their current one expires. These guys are typically just tech support people and occassionally light software playtesters. They don't bring in money, and if they are supporting software that is about to become obsolete, odds are they aren't doing much work anyways.
When I worked at MS I worked as an tech support rep for Powerpoint and Publisher. I worked a 3PM to 2AM CST shift. It was not unusual for me to field less than 10 calls on my entire shift, so at the end of my 2nd year there I was not surprised that they no longer needed me and never refilled my old position. I was honestly surprised they kept me in that position as long as they did. $40k plus per year to do less than 1 hour of work a day, 3-4 days a week.
The guys at the top make that rediculous paycheck because they've been there from the start and helped turn MS from a tiny company no one ever heard of into the massive corporation it is today. The guys at the bottom typically don't do much more than answer the phone and fumble through some solution database that the caller could have accessed on their own online.
Mr Khan @ Feb 19th 2009 12:09PM
Just because no-one pays for access to the blog isn't primarily a reason for axing it. Microsoft just wanted to integrate their community outreach efforts into the 360 (which is where some of those staffers were moved)
Indeed, Microsoft's blog is part of the reason for its success. Microsoft, especially in the gaming arena, has been very conscious of the power of good PR through community outreach and association. It helps show that they "care"
Hooterman @ Feb 19th 2009 10:53AM
Note to Rare:
1. Axe Viva Pinata
2. Killer Instinct 3
3. Battletoads 2
4. Profit!!
ice~ @ Feb 19th 2009 11:00AM
They best not axe Viva Pinata....
Hooterman @ Feb 19th 2009 11:14AM
Sorry if you like the series axe, but it's obviously not doing them as much good as their other franchises. Rare was one of the best devs out there back in the day.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 19th 2009 1:33PM
The problem with rare isn't their games is that MS don't do crap for them.How many ads you saw in tv about Nuts & Bolts? not to mention that they release their games at the same time as games as Gears of War 2 or other highly anticipated game.
They should release them in spring or something,In Christmas they get lost because the xbox crowd wants the latest M game.
They should have stick with Nintendo.
Tuxy79 @ Feb 19th 2009 10:59AM
Announce a friggen BattleToads remake!
darthjayson @ Feb 19th 2009 11:27AM
Imagine if the James Bond franchise had been continued by Rare and not shifted to EA.
Hmm......