Rare: Kameo & PDZ sold tons, stop crying

by Xav de Matos { Aug 7th 2008 at 2:30PM }

This might be an unpopular opinion among some but, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power were boring games. Although each showcased a small portion of the Xbox 360's new power at launch, the games were (mostly) critically chokeslammed. Blame it on the short development cycle of launch games or the decline of Rare's developmental quality (until Viva Piñata that is) but both games could have been much better. So, what does Rare think of the majority opinion on those launch releases? Well, they're a business, they care about sales, and according to Rare's Nick Burton, they sold a metric ton of copies of each (you jerk):

"One of the things that I always find funny is when people always quote Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero as being flops at the launch of the 360. In the industry if you break even you're lucky, you're in the minority," Burton told VideoGamer. "If you make a decent amount of money you're really in the minority. You're in the top percentile. Those two games made a lot of money. For the install base they sold phenomenally well."

Honestly, we didn't need Burton to tell us PDZ and Kameo made money because we can already tell Rare has been infused with cash. Look at Viva Piñata and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts -- clearly the people of Rare purchased some creativity and talent with that stack of monies. We joke because we love.

Tags: banjo-kazooie-nuts-and-bolts, kameo, perfect-dark-zero, rare, viva-pinata

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

The BS Police @ Aug 7th 2008 2:42PM

Doesn't mean they were good games though, most of those who bough Perfect Dark Zero probably expected it to be just as good if not better than the original Perfect Dark.

PDZ was average at best and the amount of time I waited for PDZ was not even worth it.

UNSCleric @ Aug 7th 2008 2:36PM

Perfect Dark Zero could have been better, but wasn't boring. Kameo was kickass though, and I never play games like that.

Xoviet chiK @ Aug 7th 2008 2:38PM

Perfect Dark Zero wasn't boring, it was abysmal and archaic, lacking any and all charm and was a gigantic leap backwards from the innovations brought forth by Perfect Dark. Not Boring, Terrible.

Kameo: Elements of Power wasn't boring, it was a fun, charming action / adventure platformer, with solid versatile gameplay throughout the story. And has one of the best original scores of any current-gen game. Not Boring, Terrific.

Also, Grabbed by the Ghoulies kicks unbelievable arse. Believe it.

AoE @ Aug 7th 2008 4:25PM

wow, you almost got me to look into Kameo until that bit about Grabbed by the Ghoulies, now i have to write it all off as obsessed fan prattle. Ghoulies was... well, really it was confirmation that for whatever reason when MS buys a game studio, it turns to shit.

flameofdoom666 @ Aug 7th 2008 5:27PM

Kameo is amazing.

PDZ was disappointing, but not bad at all.

Also, Grabbed by the Ghoulies has amazing presentation. People should play it just for that! The gameplay, while repetative was fun and addicting!

MightyTACO @ Aug 7th 2008 2:42PM

Sure they sold a ton, thats because you had to buy them in a bundle with the 360 during the first months of the consoles life. I could sell a ton of anything if people had to buy it with a new, highly popular console. Definitely not a good determining factor of your game Rare.

Edds @ Aug 7th 2008 2:56PM

i wouldnt say perfect dark zero was boring. it was pretty bad and didnt hold nowhere near enough intrest perfect dark on the n64 did. PDZ gameplay felt the same which is a good thing. but the horrible shine cel-shaddey design and god awful story didnt cut it for me.

Kamal @ Aug 7th 2008 3:00PM

I, also, enjoyed Kameo. The ending suggested a sequel and I am still waiting for the announcement but with so many other great 360 games, I won't be saddened if it does not happen.

Dracula Jones @ Aug 7th 2008 3:11PM

Kameo is still one of the best games I've played on the 360. Extremely underrated and underappreciated game and still the only decent Zelda-esque puzzle-adventure game of this console generation.

Quit hatin'.

Vcize @ Aug 7th 2008 3:30PM

I don't see anything to argue about here. The guy never says that they're good games, just that they sold well. I don't think he's trying to convince us of anything else.

VaultICEE @ Aug 7th 2008 3:30PM

Never picked up PDZ but I thought Kameo was one of the best games on the 360 for its time. I put way too many hours messing around on co-op.

Dirty @ Aug 7th 2008 3:41PM

Kameo was the first game I played on the 360 (call of duty got stuck in shipping limbo for a week or so). I really enjoyed it. Solid launch title that offered platforming and exploration, definitely underrated.

I hated PDZ though, awful game.

RedSonRising @ Aug 7th 2008 3:52PM

PDZ was a trash launch title, Kameo was ok at best and thats being generous to both games considering their dev cycles and launch status.. the games sold because there was nothing else for sale and the mediocre sales numbers dont make up for both games lackluster quality.

if i were a developer id rather make a game that was critically successful and has a dedicated cult following instead of a product that was substandard but sold a few more copies.. Rare lost a lot of credibility with gamers (that i know) with those titles and pinatas wont gonna change that any time soon

VPhoenix @ Aug 7th 2008 4:00PM

So am I the only one here who actually likes Perfect Dark Zero? Yes, it didn't live up to its predecessor, and I was disappointed with some of the changes they made to the PD universe. But I still thought it was a good game, it was nice to see the Perfect Dark storyline continued, and the multiplayer is still some of the most fun I've had on Live.

Who's with me?

AoE @ Aug 7th 2008 4:27PM

split screen multiplayer in that game was excellent for playing with friends who aren't obsessive FPS players... they did make it fun.

The rest of the game made me want to claw my eyes out however.

Mechanical @ Aug 7th 2008 4:58PM

No, you're not the only one. I'm apparently one of the deranged folks that likes PD: Z as well.

Dadidito @ Aug 7th 2008 4:18PM

just picked up a used copy about 2 months ago for Kameo. I couldn't believe I had never given it a chance before that. I really enjoy that game. Very much the opposite of boring for me.

LiqwidZero @ Aug 7th 2008 4:30PM

Viva Pinata rocked

BlueThunder @ Aug 7th 2008 4:32PM

Hmm, I picked up Kameo and Viva Pinata a while back and even though I really only played them for a short amount of time I really enjoyed them...only to become distracted when the big hitters came around. Maybe I should 'rediscover' them...

Battles @ Aug 7th 2008 4:33PM

I agree, he never said they were great games. He stated they sold well.

I still play PDZ today for the multiplayer. Fun maps and a nice change from my other FPS's. Unique atmosphere. Looking forward to the next one.

northerngeek @ Aug 7th 2008 4:34PM

Both m and my ex-girlfriend still play Kameo and PDZ to this day and they're both our favourite games in the system probably- other notable mentions are Crackdown and Saints Row.

PDZ was good, I understand it's development troubles were huge and had an impact but it doesn't say anything about how great a dev team worked on it- introducing rolls and cover to mainstream console FPS was fantastic.

Kameo is beautiful, and I am going to go play it right now :)

P.S. I love Rare.

erico316 @ Aug 7th 2008 5:18PM

actually this time i agreed with Xav de Matos.rare quality had fallen comparing them to their n64 years.i did like the Viva Piñata games.also i did add u to my psn buddy list looking forward to play with or against u in fall of man 2.i also getting gears 2 if u want to play against or with leave a reply.

Tann @ Aug 7th 2008 7:02PM

PDZ was so frickin good!!!!

especially online, that game was like, the most incredible game ever..at the time of playing!

it's still probably the most played online game i've played!

yost @ Aug 8th 2008 6:31AM

I picked up both of them used (for 5 dollars each)...(I love blockbuster)...I've yet to really devote any serious time to either but from what I can see they are pretty mediocore titles (really glad I did not pay 60 dollars for them)...then again some of you're comments make me curious ..I'll have to devote some more time to both of them

edhc44 @ Aug 8th 2008 9:54AM

I played Kameo demo and was bored to death. My brother bought PDZ, up to a couple years ago we still used to play N64 PD multiplayer so we were pretty psyched about it. As soon as I got past that introduction level, got bored out of my head and quit. Never unlocked anything for MP and never tried it. Now that I bought an HDTV I'm willing to give it another shot, not that better graphics will make any gameplay improvements...

doobi @ Aug 9th 2008 9:44AM

I also really enjoyed Kameo and I only picked it up earlier this year. I think a lot of people were expecting a huge Zelda type experience and were disappointed, but on it's own merits it was a great game and I'd love to see a sequel.

I think Rare have an embarassment of riches. Forced to chose between a new Kameo, Conker or new IP from them I really couldn't say!