Post by Blade Runner 07 on Feb 13, 2013 19:07:18 GMT -5
Making History
The year was 1997. Most of the way through a hot summer dry spell the video game industry was in a state of suspension awaiting the next big game to revolutionize the industry. Then came Goldeneye 007 and in a way, nothing was the same.
The Nintendo 64 finally had it's 3rd party killer app and man was it a killer. This one game revolutionized the way first-person shooters were played on consoles and proved that the genre wasn't just for PC. It set the record for most copies sold in it's genre, a record that wouldn't be broken for another 7 years. It later won the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science Game of the Year Award for 1997 and has been placed at the number one spot of many a Top Ten list since. Needles to say, Goldeneye 007 was a massive success and to this day is considered to be the best first-person shooter around.
The years went by as other great first-person shooters thrived on consoles, building popularity of a genre that would one day rule the industry. Fast forward, 2008!
A new console is steadily growing in popularity, the Xbox 360. After it's predecessor dominated the FPS genre with Halo 2 (game that broke Goldeneye's sales record) it was set to become the FPS fan's dream console. With licenses for classics such as Half-Life 2, Wolfenstien 3D, Duke Nukem 3D, Doom and many more the question was inevitable "What about Goldeneye 64?"
Breaking Up is Hard
If you are reading this than you probably already know that Goldeneye 007 never made it to the Xbox 360, or any current generation console for that matter. It's still stuck on the Nintendo 64. So what happened?
In late 2000, Rareware, the developer of Goldeneye 007 ended it's 7 year partnership with Nintendo for undisclosed reasons. Micro$oft offered a staggering $375 million to own 100% of the company. Rareware accepted. This meant Ip's created by Nintendo would remain with the company while Ip's created by Rareware were now property of Micro$oft.
Allegedly, sometime in 2007 Rareware started working on a updated port of Goldeneye 007 to be released on Xbox Live Arcade the fallowing year. Sometime in 2008 news was leaked to the public that this was happening but that development was halted do to licensing complications between Nintendo, Micro$oft, and Activision, then current license holder to the James Bond Video Game Ip.
Live and Let Die
The story goes that Micro$oft, Rareware, and Activision were all willing to release Goldeneye on the current generation systems. Activision later reported that they were anxious to give permissions to Nintendo and Micro$oft to release the port on the Wii Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade respectively. However, it was later revealed that Nintendo holds the publishing rights to the Nintendo 64 title and stated that Goldeneye 007 would never be released on a console "not owned by Nintendo" effectively stalling the development of an updated Goldeneye port indefinitely.
A walk to remember. If only...
But what's this!
In early 2010 rumors began to surface that a game with the title "Goldeneye 007" would be coming to the Wii later that year. Needless to say, the respective internet forums lit up with speculation and excitement over the possibilities of many a nostalgic gamers favorite FPS coming to a new console. At E3 2010 Nintendo announced GoldenEye 007 but it wasn't what anyone expected. It was to be a full remake and "reimagining" of the story told in the film the original N64 game was based on. It was to be developed by Eurocom, and published by Activision.
Such a Sadness
GoldenEye 007 for the Wii was released and was nothing the nostalgic gamers expected from a remake of the N64 classic. GoldenEye for the Wii was universally loathed by the community. A year later it was ported to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 with minor improvements but was met with the same criticisms. As of 2013 there has been no word on the state of the original Goldeneye 007 or if there is any future possibilities of it's release.
Lonely at the Top
So among the the numerous "Top FPS games of all Time" lists there sits Half-Life, Halo, Modern Warfare, Doom, and a half a dozen more. On most, Goldeneye 007 sit's above all others as the greatest first-person shooter of all time. Yet, weather you own an Xbox 360 or a PC their is a legitimate means of playing any title found on said top ten lists accept for the very best, Goldeneye 007. It brings about an empty feeling inside when I think of how in 30 years when 90% of the worlds Nintendo 64's are no longer functioning and the save batteries die in our old Goldeneye 64 cartridges. There will be no way for my children to go about playing the best damn shooter ever created. All because a handful of corporations couldn't compromise and agree on something that would benefit the most important aspect of the business, the consumer.
The mere fact that the "best" is unavailable when I can play every other great game ever released on my current generation hardware says alot about the jaded world we live in and just how bad it's become. When the biggest players in the industry can't agree on things and have to neglect the very people keeping their business alive I find myself presented with the real epiphany to be had from Goldeneye 007.
It's special. It's that one of a kind. It's the masterpiece we see once in a lifetime. It can be copied but never replicated. When I look between the lines and see my passion for this game what I am looking at is a simple truth. Goldeneye is forever.