Rare on XBLA Killer Instinct

With Rare's platformer Banjo Kazooie (N64) leading the developer's charge onto Xbox Live Arcade, the studio remains open to the possibility of bringing more of its classic franchises to Microsoft's downloadable marketplace, including the 1994 arcade fighter Killer Instinct.

"We get e-mails all the time saying, 'Can we just get that? You're not doing anything at lunch! Get it done,'" joked Rare studio manager Mark Betteridge in an interview given to 1UP.

Betteridge, one of Killer Instinct's original designers, assured that if the fighter--which sported Street Fighter-like controls, violent finishing moves a la Mortal Kombat, and an over-the-top combo system--were to make a comeback, it wouldn't exactly receive a nip and a tuck like Capcom's Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

"There wouldn't be a halfway house," remarked Betteridge. "If we did Killer Instinct, it would look like and play like Killer Instinct coin-op. If there were a new Killer Instict, it would be completely new," said the Rare veteran.

In addition to the Banjo Kazooie revival, sequel Banjo Tooie is possibly following suit. Meanwhile, Rare's beloved Nintendo 64 shooter Goldeneye 007 is stuck in "no man's land" due to licensing issues, but the studio has expressed its love for the game anyway, saying "it's a shame" the game has not emerged on systems from Rare's current owner Microsoft or past owner Nintendo.

Betteridge, for his part, affirmed that Rare's structure lends itself to keeping XBLA titles in the works. "That would be a great balance for us, and I think that would keep a lot of people happy."