Videogamer.com recently spoke with Rare design director George Andreas, and got his quick take on how Project Natal is bringing Rare’s expertise in creating mainstream products to Microsoft.
From Videogamer.com:
“I do feel in many ways that and I ve said this to some people as well for me this is really the first time that Microsoft and Rare are on a very similar path,” said Andreas. “We ve obviously been tasked to create experiences that nobody else can create, which explains things like your Kameos and your Piñatas and your Banjos. But obviously the hardware is aimed at a different demographic, and so we ve always battled against that.”
“Whereas now with Natal, it looks like the roads are on the same path. It’s a union of the two philosophies of the different companies, I guess. Natal is supposed to reach out to a broader audience and a broader consumer, and Rare’s products are always aiming in that direction as well.”
Microsoft Game Studios has leaned heavily on Rare to deliver more mainstream titles (like Viva Pinata and Banjo-Kazooie) than the hardcore Halo and Gears of War fare synonymous with Xbox 360. The British developer was also instrumental in the creation of the new Xbox 360 Dashboard and Avatars, which seems to have paved the way for much further collaboration between these two companies with Project Natal.
Let s just hope they market Natal better than Rare’s Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Yikes.
