The Problem: Buying a video game company can be a tricky proposition; you never know if the company will continue to make great games or if their best work was in the past. This is something that Microsoft has come to learn thanks to their purchase of Rare Ltd. Since splitting from Nintendo, Rare has yet to develop a game that is both a commercial hit and a critical hit, something that they were known for many years ago. Could it be that Rare's best work is behind them, or have they just had a patch of bad luck working with Microsoft? And when it comes right down to it, was it really a good idea for Microsoft to buy Rare in the first place?

The Situation: It's not that Rare was one of the elusive "Dream Team" members on the Nintendo 64, it's not that they worked on some of Nintendo's biggest games and it's not that helped develop Killer Instinct. The reason that everybody loves Rare Ltd. is because they have one of the most impressive game catalogs of all time. Regardless of how old or young you are, Rare's games have probably played an important role in your life. Rare's catalog includes some of the best games of all time, including Battletoads, Wizards & Warriors III, GoldenEye 007, Blast Corps, and Conker's Bad Fur Day. With 25 years under their belt it's easy to see why so many people love Rare.

But not everybody was happy when Microsoft bought Rare for $377 million. The news came especially hard to those Nintendo fans that grew up loving Rare's console games; it was hard to believe that a company that developed Star Fox Adventures and Donkey Kong 64 would be jumping to the dark side. But that's exactly what happened, and right after the news of the purchase went public Microsoft announced several new games from Rare. The first two titles confused long time fans, they included a brand new game called Grabbed by the Ghoulies and a remake of Conker's Bad Fur Day, the poor selling 2001 game that Nintendo decided not to publish.

Recently Rare played a major role in the launch of the Xbox 360. For a company that is known for releasing only one game a year (at most), Rare managed to surprise everybody by not only finishing Perfect Dark Zero but also releasing Kameo: Elements of Power. Unfortunately neither of these games lived up to the expectations from fans, but most critics agreed that they were solid titles that were enjoyable to play through. Because Rare had created so many memorable games in the past a lot of people were disappointed when their first four offerings for Microsoft were only average. At $377 million you would have expecting amazing, but so far the purchase hasn't lived up to expectations.

The good news is that Rare's most recent Xbox 360 game, Viva Pi?ata, is one of their best games in ten years. But even with the critics backing it, Viva Pi?ata failed to drum up a lot of support at retail. Some are starting to wonder if their next game, a sequel to the popular Nintendo 64franchise, Banjo Kazooie, will be the game that decides Rare's fate. Even if things are as dire as some analysts predict, something has to give and Rare has to live up to their name. It's about time for them to come up with some truly original games that revolutionize the industry (and in turn bring new fans to the Xbox 360).

The question I keep coming back to is that if Microsoft had paid attention they could have seen that Rare was on a downward spiral. Rare's GameCube games were less than stellar and even the last few Nintendo 64 offerings failed to live up to expectations. I'm not sure if Microsoft felt like they could potentially turn around the sinking ship or just didn't pay attention, but whatever the case is it's painfully obvious that Rare has been in something of a lull for the past few years. Hopefully Rare can turn it around and Microsoft will get their money's worth, because as of right now it's hard to justify spending $377 million on this company.

The Solution: After Banjo Kazooie 3 it's time to let Rare do something completely off the wall, and then you promote that bad boy like it's the only game you have coming out. Also, it's important that you don't sabotage your game by releasing it alongside another popular game or giving it the kind of package that only appeals to young kids. I would also suggest you let Rare get its groove back by updating their older classics on the Xbox Live Arcade, the idea of them going back and being forced to remember what made Blast Corps so damn fun would help them out when it comes to making a brand new IP. Do these things and maybe Microsoft will get its $377 million worth!

The Problem: Defunct Games has been around for six years now and continues to do the same old thing day after day. They provide classic reviews on the weekends and regular articles every weekday. But lately the site run by long-time jerk Cyril Lachel has veered off course and started covering non-defunct items, like Xbox 360 games and previews of PC titles. Has Defunct Games lost its way? And more importantly, is the idea of talking about old and defunct titles still relevant in this world of next generation games?

The Situation: When Defunct Games launched six years ago a lot of people didn't see the point in talking about old games. People were too busy saving up for the Xbox, GameCube and PlayStation 2 games to care about something on the TurboGrafx-16 or Sega Master System. But as the site grew they started to cover other things, a broader selection of games and systems. All of a sudden there was a whole show dedicated to covering the world's worst advertising, a podcast that talked about current games and systems, a feature that addressed complaints we all have with the industry and even a show that debunked EGM's famed gossip guru, Quartermann.

To be fair to Defunct Games, the staff has continued to offer reviews and articles related to classic games that nobody remembers, even if a lot of that has been pushed to the weekends. Lately it feels like Defunct Games is walking that fine line between being another GameSpot clone and being a professionally run fansite. But in truth maybe it's a little of both, maybe a site about forgotten games can in fact look at the entire industry and have a unique view. Maybe we just live in a world where people like to complain about everything.

With the Nintendo Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Store, I would argue that Defunct Games is more relevant now than ever. Sure they may not always focus their attention on their original mission, but where else are you going to go to find out what TurboGrafx-16 game you should download or what SNK compilation is worth your money? So far the first six years have gone smoothly; one can only wonder how amazing the site will be when they finally hit their 12th anniversary. Who knows, maybe by that time people will actually appreciate these systems for what they were and not how they sold. That's a future I can sign on to, even if it's a long way off.

The Solution: You quit whining and enjoy the articles/reviews we give you. We're not doing this for money and there's no advertising, so how upset can you be about the broad focus? Defunct Games is trying its hardest to deliver original content each and every day, something that a lot of the competition wouldn't dream of. While not every one of the articles succeeds, Defunct Games is still doing its best to not only be relevant but also be entertaining. When it comes right down to it, Defunct Games is even more relevant today than it was six years ago ... and that's saying something!