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General Banjo-Kazooie XBLA release delayed until Dec. 3
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Nov 20th 2008 at 9:40AM }
Microsoft is currently "investigating" the holdup, urging customers who did not receive a redeem code to contact their retailers' customer service departments. That's always a grizzly task. GEDDIT? BECAUSE GRIZZLY IS A TYPE OF BEAR AND BANJO IS A BEAR.
Gallery: Banjo-Kazooie (XBLA)
Battletoads and Killer Instinct jokes in Nuts & Bolts
by Richard Mitchell { Nov 17th 2008 at 2:45PM }
Now, we could live without most of them (okay, technically we could live without all of them), but we have to admit a new Battletoads would be more than welcome. Unfortunately, the text itself is relatively clear, the sequels are mentioned merely as a joke. Unless, of course, a sequel to an old franchise counts as Rare's upcoming "surprise."
We're not holding our breath.
[Via Joystiq]
Rare promises to 'surprise' with future projects
by Dustin Burg { Nov 17th 2008 at 1:15PM }
Talking with GamesIndustry.biz, Rare studio manager Mark Betteriedge hinted that their future projects will "surprise a lot of people, both in terms of what they are and the different styles."Betteriedge goes on to discuss Rare's roll within' Microsoft's overall gaming strategy, saying that Rare's goal is to expand the Xbox 360 demographic beyond the "shooter box" or "hardcore box" perceptions. "It's more about what we will do to change conventional thinking of games and entertainment. I don't see us fighting the same battles as everybody else." Hmm, doesn't sound like we'll be seeing a Killer Instinct sequel anytime soon ...
Rare drops Battletoads, Killer Instinct gags in Banjo-Kazooie
by Justin McElroy { Nov 17th 2008 at 12:00PM }
As recently as today, Rare talked about how its next project is going to surprise people. We're not sure that points to a lot of its franchises being revived.
... We can still hope though, right?
[Thanks, Justin; via GameTrailers]
Rare set to accept Nuts & Bolts challenges
by Dustin Burg { Nov 12th 2008 at 1:45PM }
With Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts making its way to retail, team Rare is stepping up to the multiplayer plate and will be swinging at anyone who dares take them on.On Sunday, November 23rd from 3-5:00PM eastern, members of the Rare dev team will be on Xbox Live sporting a stylish pair of sunglasses and will be taking on any and all Nuts & Bolts challengers. As a bonus, you'll have the chance to earn the "What's That Smell?" achievement for playing against any Rare member or (for the less cool) playing with someone who already has. Good luck and show Rare that X3F fanboys take no mercy.
Rare to fix Banjo-Kazooie's text issues after all
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 10th 2008 at 6:00PM }
Hastily abandoning an ill-advised plan to include a magnifying glass with every purchase of the game, Rare has resolved to solve reported text issues in its build-a-bear's-car adventure, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. After stating that the in-game text, allegedly illegible on standard-definition television sets, would be "too expensive in terms of time, resources and money to alter," the company has committed to releasing a correctional title update within the next 30 days.
This is "good news for everyone," according to a post on the developer's website. "Including us, as we would actually like people to enjoy our game and not revile us with a fiery passion." There you have it, internet. You may now return to being angry about other things, like Banjo's square nose.
This is "good news for everyone," according to a post on the developer's website. "Including us, as we would actually like people to enjoy our game and not revile us with a fiery passion." There you have it, internet. You may now return to being angry about other things, like Banjo's square nose.
Rare has a change of heart, will fix Nuts & Bolts' small text problem
by Dustin Burg { Nov 10th 2008 at 11:15AM }
After hearing the collective internet vent in anger regarding the tiny on-screen text in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts not being embiggened, developer Rare has had a change of heart.
Rare just announced that they will be fixing the Nuts & Bolts tiny text issue with a title update post launch. The update should be "released within the next 30 days" and "will fix it [the small text] for those with Standard Definition TVs". We say nice move Rare ... nice PR move. Now that we've won this tiny text battle, who's up for focusing our text embiggening efforts on Capcom and Dead Rising? Show of hands, please.
Rare will fix SDTV Banjo-Kazooie text issue [update]
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 5th 2008 at 2:20PM }
Original story:
Rare has confirmed that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts' unclear text on standard definition televisions will not be fixed. The issue came to light following the release of the demo last week and now Rare states that the issue is "too expensive in terms of time, resources and money to alter."
SDTV haters aside, let's accept the fact that this is a serious oversight on par with Dead Rising's tiny text. Adding insult to injury, CVG points out that Xbox Live Arcade games must be playable, which includes text being readable, on a 14" SDTV. Too bad Microsoft doesn't seem to hold its first-party retail games to that strict standard.
Source - Rare community manager statement [NeoGaf]
Source - No fix for Banjo SD TV issue [CVG]
No fix planned for small Nuts & Bolts text
by Dustin Burg { Nov 5th 2008 at 2:15PM }
If you've tried the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts demo (now available on the XBLM) and played it on a SD television you may have noticed that the text is Dead Rising itty-bitty small. Heck, HD television owners claim the text is rather difficult to read. And if you think team Rare can / will fix the small text issue in the retail build of Nuts & Bolts, then you're sadly mistaken because no text embiggening will be done.
Rare community manager George Kelion informed CVG that "this is an issue that doesn't look like it will get changed," confirming that "the text you see in the demo will be the same as that which you find in the retail version of the game." Our advice, get an HD television, a new pair of reading glasses or sit seven inches away from the screen. No more, no less.
[Via Evil Avatar]
It's a Halloween themed Viva Piata card
by Dustin Burg { Oct 30th 2008 at 3:30PM }
Halloween is almost upon us and in the land of candy-filled piñatas, they're celebrating. Piñatas are celebrating, because Halloween is the only day children opt to go door to door to get their sweets rather than beating defenseless piñata bodies.
To show their celebratory support of Halloween and the preservation of the piñata species, team Rare just released a Halloween themed piñata card that can be scanned into Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise using the Vision camera. Though, we've been warned that scanning of this card should only be done on Halloween day for a special surprise. No sooner, no later. You've been warned.
To show their celebratory support of Halloween and the preservation of the piñata species, team Rare just released a Halloween themed piñata card that can be scanned into Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise using the Vision camera. Though, we've been warned that scanning of this card should only be done on Halloween day for a special surprise. No sooner, no later. You've been warned.
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts demo on the XBLM
by Xav de Matos { Oct 29th 2008 at 10:00AM }
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts demo on Xbox Live
by Justin McElroy { Oct 29th 2008 at 8:30AM }
Go ahead, ignore our warnings and download the 1 gigglebyte slice of joy. Just don't come crying to us when everyone you know starts judging you. Harshly.
[Thanks, Travis!]
Virtually Overlooked: Slalom
by JC Fletcher { Oct 23rd 2008 at 6:15PM }
One of the less famous "black box" early NES games, which falls roughly in the Volleyball/Urban Champion level of fame rather than the Super Mario Bros. level, or even the Hogan's Alley/Donkey Kong Jr. Math level, is an unassuming little game about downhill skiing. Slalom was video game consoles', and America's, introduction to a company who had already risen to relative fame in Europe for their computer games: Rare. They would later become a fixture on Nintendo systems, providing many of the most memorable games for the NES (and also stuff like Beetlejuice) for various publishers before becoming a Really Big Name for their N64 games. It's a good thing they went on to become the Rare we all know, because even their reputation for googly eyes, collectathons, and endless delays beats being known as the company responsible for making thousands of gamers play a game about staring at some guy's butt.
Nuts & Bolts slated for Nov. 14th Euro release
by Dustin Burg { Oct 22nd 2008 at 1:15PM }
In news that we thought was already confirmed, Microsoft and Rare just "officially" announced that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will be hitting European retail shelves on Friday, November 14th. So, if you were like us and were under the impression that November 14th was Nuts & Bolts' European release, then take this as a confirmation of your gaming wisdom. Also, don't forget you still have time to get your pre-order on and take advantage of the free Banjo-Kazooie XBLA offer.
NXE Avatars get URL'd
by Jason Dobson { Oct 21st 2008 at 8:00PM }
Numerous Microsoft employees appear to already be taking advantage of the service, including Major Nelson and Xbox Live front man, Aaron Greenberg. However, plugging in our own gamertags into the service simply returns an original Xbox logo, which while nostalgic, is considerably less exciting. As for why, we assume Microsoft plans to use the graphics on its own sites and forums, or perhaps as part of a larger social networking scheme, assuming this feature doesn't get dropped as well.
