"Once we were bought up by Microsoft obviously things have changed within the top ranks and stuff. And I think over the last few years maybe the awareness of Rare has dropped." That's according to Steve McFarlane, art director for the studio responsible for such titles as, umm ... hang on, we're just checking Wikipedia here.

Won't take a moment.

Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Viva Piñata and GoldenEye, it says here. Anyway, according to an interview with OXM, Rare's counting on some revitalized recognition, courtesy of new(ish) Microsoft Games Studios Europe director, Peter Molyneux. "And the idea of Pete coming in and being this new face of Rare it's a great thing for us. It's really just to get us out there a bit more," McFarlane said. Pete's a real pal, having similarly expressed a desire to foster an improved identity for Rare just a few weeks ago.

With a hit game and solid promotion, there's no reason the spotlight can't fall back on Rare, even inside Microsoft. We're fairly confident you've all heard of standouts like Lionhead and walkouts like Bungie.

If you're in the market for a delightfully bouncy orchestral video game soundtrack, then we've got some good news for you. Sumthing Digital will be offering the official Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts soundtrack starting tomorrow. We've sampled a few tracks and can confirm that it is most definitely delightfully bouncy and orchestral. All kidding aside, it's actually a pretty decent soundtrack, and certainly better than a lot of the other game music out there.

The soundtrack will also be available from Amazon, and can currently be pre-ordered for $13.99, nearly two bucks off the $15.98 list price. As Rare states on its website, "Nobody has an overabundance of vehicular bear music in their library right now, so this deserves a shot."

Source - Sumthing Digital
Source - Amazon

Microsoft's European Creative Director Peter Molyneux would like to help fellow UK developer Rare gain an identity. Speaking with GI.biz during E3, the outspoken Lionhead Studios head says he was "totally blown away" by the talent at Rare and he wants to "help them get well known." Not that the studio isn't already known -- for better or worse over the last half decade -- having developed Perfect Dark Zero, Viva Pinata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts.

It's not exactly clear what Molyneux will do to help Rare gain an identity. Overall, Rare has been a disappointment ever since Microsoft bought it for $375 million back in 2002, never achieving the greatness it had while developing titles for Nintendo like Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64 and GoldenEye.

Major Nelson just confirmed via his Twitter that Xbox Live will be receiving a care package this winter in the form of Rare's Perfect Dark. Major made no reference to price or improvements to game content, aside from mentioning that the title will run in 1080p and that fans will be able to nab it this winter. And if you are a fan of Perfect Dark, keep an eye out for a free theme releasing tomorrow on Xbox Live.

[Thanks to all who sent this in!]

It's good to be the king, and no other title would know that better than Halo 3, which still reigns supreme at the top of the Xbox Live activity charts. According to Major Nelson, the latest figures show Bungie's crouching-on-dead-enemy-faces-sim beating out other fan favorites, Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty 4.

On the XBLA side, the dual release of Virtual On and Banjo-Tooie proved to be quite the alluring mix, as both titles populated the top of the XBLA list. Now if only we could get a game that combines birds, backpacks, bears, and gigantic death machines ...

Remember that rumor from yesterday involving Forza 3? Well, at that same get-together in Brazil, someone apparently snapped an image of a game listing for Perfect Dark on XBLA and sent it to Destructoid. The image itself looks legit, and features the same thumbnail Rare had leaked back in early April.

That's where the story ends. This one lone image is all we have to go on right now, but based on Rare bringing its other N64 titles -- Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie -- to XBLA, we're confident that this won't be the last time we hear about the game.

[Via Gamerbytes]

The original N64 version of Banjo-Tooie was met with near-universal critical acclaim, though some were disappointed by the cancellation of one of the title's most lauded additions -- a feature known as "Stop 'n' Swop," where special eggs located in Banjo-Kazooie could be imported into Tooie to exchange for various prizes.

Now, nearly a decade later, the feature has found its way into the XBLA re-release of Banjo-Tooie -- but this time around, the rewards are a tad more tangible. As seen in the video after the jump, an achievement, gamer pic and a Banjo-Kazooie NXE theme (as well as a few in-game cheats and items) are all up for grabs if you've got the mettle to go egg hunting in Banjo the First. And by "the mettle," we of course mean "the GameFAQs guide."

Collectors, listen up: One Nintendo-loving eBay user has dug through his/her Nintendo collection and decided to give up a few rare (and autographed) collectibles. Included in the auction are four gold and black N64 controllers (won during a Star Fox tournament) signed by legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto and ex-Nintendo president Minoru Arakawa. The auction also includes a copy of Next Generation magazine signed by Miyamoto and Arakawa as well as former Nintendo executives Howard Lincoln, Peter Main and others.

It isn't the sexiest auction available but at $21.48 (as of press time) it may be the cheapest way to grab classic Nintendo autographs... or at least a half-dozen N64 controllers.

[Thanks, Charles P.]

The release of Banjo-Tooie is quickly drawing near, and to keep the hype up, Rare has presented a new trailer for the game. Featuring FPB gameplay (first-person birding), you'll be able to scope out some boss fights and oh man that's a freaking playable washing machine and it shoots underwear. Now that's charm you can't put a price on.

Well, actually, you can. Banjo-Tooie is scheduled for release on April 29 for 1200 ($15). Who's ready to Stop 'N Swop?

Fans eager to play the sequel to Banjo-Kazooie will get their chance to Stop 'N Swop on April 29 when Banjo-Tooie releases on Xbox Live Arcade. As with the first game, Banjo-Tooie will be priced at 1200 ($15) and will sport "a super-charged frame rate," which is crazy developer speak for "gewd grafix."

Rare also promises more on the Stop 'N Swop feature leading up to Banjo-Tooie's release, and we'll be sure to update you all on that when it's available.

[Via Eurogamer]

As an early Easter present, Rare has compiled the video you see above and released it onto Xbox Live. Like the good bloggers we are, we traversed the virtual landscape of Xbox Live to retrieve it for you. In fact, many Bothans ... ah, nevermind.

The video shows off the Stop 'N Swop feature in Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, which unlocks content for one of the games granted you achieved a certain goal in the other title, and was promised in the original N64 games, yet never fully implemented. Now, with Banjo-Tooie on its way to Xbox Live Arcade, Rare has had ample time to get the feature into the games, and offers the above video as a teaser on what to expect.

The above image (used to promote the Banjo-Tooie premium theme for Xbox 360) was revealed via the Banjo-Kazooie forums. Notice anything? No, not the huge, red arrow. Look at what it's pointing at. What could that be?

Forum users are saying it's an icon for Perfect Dark on XBLA, though it could be anything, really. We should also mention that Rare does like messing with fans. Remember that Christmas card debacle? This could be another tease that goes ... nowhere. Also, how do we know that Rare isn't developing a game called "Person Stuck in White Room"? Hey, it could happen!

Regardless, we contacted Microsoft about the possibility of Perfect Dark on XBLA. The company's response: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

[Via Xbox360Achievements]

We really hope the new Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts DLC, "L.O.G.s Lost Challenges," sells a lot of units. No, we don't have any financial stake in Rare or Microsoft, we just hope they can afford a better trailer than the one we've embedded just above.

Honestly, with that font and those production values, it looks more like an Olive Garden training video on making the perfect pasta than an advertisement for a game published by the world's largest company.

So, on April 7th, won't you please spend 400 MS points for 250 achievement points, 12 new challenges, 7 new multiplayer games and the satisfaction of knowing an up-and-coming studio won't have to post such a depressing trailer ever again? We think it's well worth it.

Gallery: Banjo-Kazooie: L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges

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At the beginning of this month, a posting on the forums of Banjo-Kazooie developer Rare lead us to believe that we'd be seeing more content for the game a lot sooner than today. Whether we were mislead or simply employing the jumping to conclusions mat too liberally remains to be seen, but today the list of achievements for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Xbox.com has been amended with 250 extra points, hinting pretty heavily at directly confirming the upcoming DLC and laying out details for some of it.

One such achievement, titled "L.O.G. Master" tasks the player with winning "all of the new multiplayer games" (emphasis on "new") while another, titled "Halfway Home," confirms the inclusion of "L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges" in the as-yet-unannounced content. While this achievement list certainly solidifies the future release of more Banjo-Kazooie content, we would certainly appreciate some more detail. So we reached out to Microsoft for comment and got this in return:

"Yes, these Achievements are connected to my upcoming add-on pack for Nuts & Bolts, but don't go thinking that this is all I have in store for you. Oh no, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve ... but looks like you eager gamers will just have to wait until the Day of Fools to learn more."

Looks like we're waiting 'til April 1st for all the hard facts. While this is a better response than "No Comment," is a straight answer too much to ask?

[Via CVG]