You did provide good sources, but there is no point in believing anything at this point.

That is probably the best information supporting the notion of Rare going third party. It's worth noting that the IGN editor believes they are going third party, but they still seem to be jumping to conclusions that is not supported by any evidence.

It seems clear that there is tension between Rare and Nintendo, but that tension has been there since Conker. The fact is, most people who were expecting Rare to go multiplatform believed there would be an announcement at E3. That didn't happen.

If this is true, why wouldn't Microsoft and/or Rare announce it at E3? It would be huge news! I think the subject header is misleading, and "(Unconfirmed Rumor)" should be added. I clicked here thinking there was actual news.

Nintendo has said numerous times that they were only showing games that will be released (here or in Japan) by the end of the year at E3. That's why Kameo and DKR weren't shown, as well as Mario Kart and some other games.

Right. On Rare's homepage they still have Kameo and Donkey Kong Racing as projects coming out. Actually the order they have them in are Star Fox Adventures, Kameo, and then Donkey Kong Racing, which is probably the order they're planning on bringing them out. I don't know if anyone here visits their page, but their scribes (letters) column is absolutely nuts, but I guess it really reflects the humor of the company. Someone actually asked about DKR, here's what they said:

Q:4) Thanks for the continued delays on the GC software. It implies that things are being improved all the time. What happened to Donkey Kong Racing, though? No news in ages... was DK shot for being so bloody slow in DK64

A:.4) That's enough sarcasm, you young rascal. As for Donkey Kong Racing, you'll see soon enough...

We'll see soon enough...I'm guessing they're keeping it under tight wraps like Diddy Kong Racing, that game was kept top secret until it was released somehow. Actually now that I think about it its pretty funny how secretive and little information they give out, not to mention how frickin long it takes them to develop without updates hehe :). It's driving the gaming sites to insanity

I want Mario Kart!!

Let me punch a hole in your analogy...Legend of Zelda. It will not be out until at least 2003, even in Japan. Now you could deflect this hole by saying that Nintendo has not officially announced that Zelda has been pushed back to 2003, but I'm just putting this out there.

When Nintendo said that they were only showcasing games to be released "this year" at E3, they meant fiscal year, not calendar year.

You can't tell me some of those games wouldn't be out in fiscal year. I honestly don't know Nintendo's fiscal year, but I'd be willing to put a bet on July 1st to June 30th or somewhere around there. I would think Donkey Kong Racing would be out before next June 30th.

And don't count on Zelda by next June 30th.

Their fiscal year ends on March 31. (From Nando Times)

I was wrong...however, I still stand pretty steady by the fact Zelda won't be out in either country by then. I want it as much as anyone else, I just don't think it will be out by then.

I agree about Zelda. It won't be out here until Nov. 2003 IMO. Still Nintendo said several times they weren't showing anything that wasn't do out this fiscal year. I guess they felt they had to make an exception for Zelda. Or maybe they simply showed it because it hasn't been officially delayed and they hope to sell some GCNs to Zelda fans expecting it this winter or spring. ;)

I don't buy it. Where was Sabrewulf, then? It's supposed to be nearly ready to go, and it wasn't shown.

Personally, it appears to me that Nintendo owns enough of Rare's in-development games to kill them all if Rare tries to go multiplatform.

Remember, Nintendo has invested $$ and talent in these games. There are several Nintendo folks who are assigned full-time to Kameo, and Miyamoto is working on Perfect Dark. Rare is probably threatening to go third party, and Nintendo is probably threatening to kill all the games.

It sounds to me like either Nintendo is going to buy Rare out and the Stampers will retire or do something else, or Rare is going to negotiate a deal they can live with and stay second party. Nintendo's got too big a piece of them to let them go third party.

You never know...if Nintendo has such a big stake in the company they may WANT them to go 3rd party. If that is the case Nintendo would stand to make money also. Just a thought...

Doubtful, boobie. High-quality exclusives sell consoles. Strong console sales bring in third-party cash.