The Banjo Kazooie franchise is coming to Xbox 360 (and will be the FIRST Rare game developed from the ground up for Xbox 360!)

Main Highlights in BOLD

Good news for fans of the N64 originals - a top Microsoft exec has told Eurogamer that the original team responsible for Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie is working on the new 360 instalment announced at last week's X06.

Rare's platforming double act took the Nintendo console by storm in the '90s. And while the series' return has been anticipated for some time, Microsoft Game Studios general manager Phil Spencer wanted to reassure gamers that Banjo's 360 debut is very much in the right hands.

He revealed: "Team sizes are so different now and we have more animators now than the full Banjo 1 team, but the key core team is really the same."

Spencer was also keen to play down suggestions that Banjo-Kazooie 360 is being created for younger gamers, insisting: "Certain people look at the bear and the bird and think it's a kids' game. What we think is that Banjo as an intellectual property has the ability to span audiences.



"For us in the next Banjo game it was about evolving the gameplay while keeping the approachability of the characters, but the depth of the gameplay is very important. This can't turn into some minigame-based paper game. It has to be something that has a ton of substance."

Given the Fort Knox-style levels of secrecy at the Twycross-based developer, specifics are predictably thin on the ground at this stage, but Spencer had a few more vague snippets for us.

"I think where we are with that game right now is something that is extremely innovative," he continued. "We're not talking about the game idea yet, but what you'll see coming from Banjo is a game that has even more depth than Banjo-Kazooie or Banjo-Tooie, more variability, more gameplay - but keeps the face that is Banjo on the game to make it more approachable.

"It'll be familiar to fans of the originals in terms of style, absolutely, and in terms of setting, story and characters. In terms of it being another platformer? I think that genres evolve, and that's what we're doing with this game. So you might call it something else when it comes out - but it's the same team and it's staying true to that team and what it believes in."

It's worth noting that this will also be $375 million Microsoft studio Rare's first 360 game that actually originated on the platform. Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero were first GameCube then Xbox 1 games, while Viva Pinata started out on Xbox 1 and came to 360 via mobile devices.

"Banjo has never seen another platform," Spencer confirmed. "The original gameplay ideas were on this box [Xbox 360] and that's where they'll ship." But it looks like we'll have a bit of a wait on our hands before we learn exactly what these "original gameplay ideas" are, sadly.

Spencer added: "There's some very good gameplay in the game, but we want to show it in a way that creates the excitement that it should. We're probably a little ways away - not too far - but a little ways away from showing it in all its glory. But the gameplay is already solid."

source: http://www.news4gamers.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=11146

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As long as it isn't ruined like Sonic... I'm game. I loved Banjo Kazooie.

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I only played the original on N64. did the sequel ever come out on GC?

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no, the sequel was for N64.

I played the original on N64 and it was such an awsome game...even better than Mario 64 in my opinion.

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^ It's close IMHO. Both were VERY fun games though!

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I dont think the first was better then mario 64 :/ I dont know why i never played the sequel then, i still got the first down there *points to entertainment center*

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I still have every game and every game system I ever owned up to the N64. After that system it's very hit or miss if I have all the games/systems. I have quite a few old Atari systems... I'm such a videogame geek! :lol:

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i'm not sure where my N64 games are... :/

i do remember i had around 25-30 of them at one point. N64 games had such varied prices. I remember some were like 40 or less new, some were 50, and some were as high as 70

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The pricing on N64 games had to do with the game being a third or first party product. Also, once the N64 came out with that updated chip the games that used that chip cost more to make/purchase.

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-lol- i loved my expansion pack Perfect Dark FTW

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