Nintendo 64 title GoldenEye is a classic title and seems like a perfect fit for the Wii’s Virtual Console. Seems, that is.
Alas, the Rare development game doesn’t look like it will because of sticky legal issue: Rare is owned by Microsoft so that nixes the Virtual Console, and GoldenEye was first released on the N64 so that makes an XBLA release hard.
GoldenEye designer Martin Hollis certainly would like to see it on the Virtual Console, saying, “There’s always someone with some exclusivity agreement, so there’s lots of lawyers… I’m not going to hold my breath. I’d love it to happen, but I can’t see it.”
GoldenEye Designer Talks Virtual Console [Official Nintendo Magazine via VG247]
Michael
May 14, 2009 at 12:50 PM
If Nintendo bought Rare back it would solve this issue as well as the ongoing issues with Killer Instinct. I don’t know why Microsoft continue to hold onto Rare to be honest, it’s not as if they’ve released anything noteworthy on the Xbox or 360.
Report PermalinkCyK
May 14, 2009 at 1:36 PM
Well that’s why Nintendo ‘let’ Rare go in the first place.
Report PermalinkAl
May 14, 2009 at 1:10 PM
yet banjo kazooie made it to XBLA right?
Report Permalinkdiddy kong and viva pinata made it to DS, so maybe it could be ported?
CyK
May 14, 2009 at 1:38 PM
MS see’s the DS as not direct competition since they do not have a handheld console.
Report PermalinkWiseHacker
May 14, 2009 at 1:12 PM
This confuses me. Banjo Kazooie (both of them) are on XBLA, so why is it so hard to have Golden Eye on XBLA in the least?
Me thinks its a license issue with the movie studio.
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
May 14, 2009 at 1:21 PM
@WiseHacker
Rare owned the Banjo IP which transferred to Microsoft when they purchased the studio. The rights to Goldeneye are held across Nintendo (who published the original game), Activision (who hold the Bond license today) and the movie studio (Sony?). So yeah, it’s complicated!
Report PermalinkBlackwater
May 14, 2009 at 1:28 PM
I thought Activision, Microsoft and Rare were all keen for Goldeneye to come out on XBLA, the only thing stopping it was Nintendo.
Report PermalinkJeremy
May 30, 2009 at 4:55 PM
@ Blackwater
Yes indeed you are right, even Nintendo of America was all out on this, but Nintendo of Japan literally smashed this Idea, freakin retards… seriously, I would go to nintendo of Japan and slap their ceo and financial admins in their faces.
Report PermalinkBlackwater
May 14, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Bah! I’d rather get Perfect Dark on XBLA
Report PermalinkAnt R
May 14, 2009 at 3:29 PM
Bring on perfect dark for xbla!
Report PermalinkBob!
May 14, 2009 at 3:45 PM
I feel like making a tower of mines!
Report PermalinkRyan
May 14, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Personally I want to engage in a “one hit kill” with slappers only match. Those were always the most tense when I played this game. It was always so rewarding when you timed your attack correctly while walking up to an enemy. In fact the bouts often devolved into two players walking forward, *slap*, walk back, walk forward *slap*, walk back etc. until the magical moment when someone made contact and a howl of frustration and a roar of triumph went up among the two combatants.
Report PermalinkBrett C
May 15, 2009 at 2:35 AM
As far as I remember, shots of a hi-res remake for Live Arcade were leaked and the story emerged that Nintendo President had categorically said “No” to a remake even though Microsoft agreed to port it to WiiWare as compensation.
Word is there were many people at both Microsoft and Nintendo (including Reggie Fils-Aime of NOA) who thought it would be a fantastic coup for gamers everywhere to be able to replay GE. Not to mention the issue of sales on Live and WiiWare being very high indeed.
So, there’s a version of GE with hi-res textures and tweaked mechanics sitting in the Rare/Microsoft offices. But until the Nintendo impasse falls through we probably won’t ever see it anywhere.
Except in our dreams.
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