The official statement from Nintendo that you all may have, or may not have been waiting for.
Nintendo Cuts Development Ties with Rare, Ltd.
Decision Reflects Strategic Move To Expand And Redirect Game Development
LONDON--Sept. 20, 2002--As part of a strategic redirection of its
game development investments, Nintendo announces it has sold its 49
percent ownership position in U.K.-based developer Rare, Ltd.
"Nintendo had the ability to continue its exclusive relationship
with Rare, but in looking at the company's recent track record, it
became clear that its value to the future of Nintendo would be
limited," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and
marketing, Nintendo of America. "In other words, we passed on this
opportunity for very good business reasons."
In fiscal year 2001, Rare accounted for only 9.5 percent of total
Nintendo software sales worldwide. In fiscal year 2002, that number
declined to 1.5 percent.
Nintendo will retain exclusive rights for all original properties
and franchises featured in games developed by Rare, including Donkey
Kong(R), Diddy Kong(R) and Star Fox(R).
According to MacDougall, game development is, by nature, dynamic.
Relationships continually change to meet the needs of both
manufacturers and publishers. "The disposition of this investment
leaves us in a position to become even more aggressive in expanding
our development capacity, both internally and externally. Aside from
several partnerships already announced over the past year, we are
currently in similar talks with several other prospective partners
around the world."
In the past year, Nintendo has added emphasis on games which offer
true innovation to video game players, and especially those with
appeal to older players. Key current and upcoming NINTENDO
GAMECUBE(TM) titles include Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem(TM),
Animal Crossing(TM), Metroid(R) Prime, The Legend of Zelda(R) and
Capcom's upcoming Resident Evil series exclusively for NINTENDO
GAMECUBE.
"Although we declined the opportunity to continue our exclusive
agreement with Rare, this announcement does not diminish our respect
for their work or the past contributions they have made to Nintendo,"
adds MacDougall.
As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of
interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan,
manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home
video game systems. The systems include Game Boy(R), Nintendo(R) 64,
Game Boy Advance and NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Since the release of its first
home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.6
billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such
as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such franchises as
Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of
America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for
Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.
For more information about NINTENDO GAMECUBE or any other Nintendo
product visit the company's Web sites, www.nintendo.com or
www.nintendogamecube.com.
