Rare: GoldenEye for Virtual Console long past the stage where a deal is possible

This long and miserable saga seems to have come to a disappointing end

Ever since Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s head honcho, announced the Virtual Console for the then Revolution at E3 2005, speculation grew intense as to whether the N64 classic, Goldeneye 007, would make an encore appearance for eager Nintendo gamers.

The complex situation surrounding the reason why the game hasnt yet been re-released on the Virtual Console is something of a Proximity Mine, if youll forgive the analogy. Original developers, Rare, are now part of Microsoft, who produce the rival Xbox 360. Nintendo still hold the publishing rights for the game and third-party publisher Activision has ownership of the Bond name. In other words, like all aspects of the industry, it comes down to money.

Rare addressed a recent reader question asking whether there would ever be an agreement between Nintendo and Microsoft to bring the title to their respective online services, saying that the chance for this to happen is “long past the stage where an agreement was on the cards, but you never know.”

The response was also referring to a possibility of a release on Microsofts Xbox Live Arcade service, so it looks like no-one will be getting the game at any point in the realistic future.

What does this mean for us mere mortals? Well, youll either have to dig up your Nintendo 64 and play GoldenEye how it was meant to be played, or download an emulator and play on your PC, which practically kills the experience that the original game was all about.

In its time, and even today, many regard GoldenEye as one the best first-person shooters of its time, if not of all time. The game had it all. Stealth levels. The ability to dual-wield weapons. Different missions for different difficulty levels. Stellar level design. And the best multiplayer component for a console in its day. The two- to four-player split-screen deathmatches featured a huge assortment of play options, tons of secret paths and chambers, and past Bond enemies. Put simply, the game was a masterpiece and thoroughly deserved all the accolades it received.

The game is so highly valued that a keen group of amateur developers have attempted to re-create and remaster the experience in a total conversion mod for Half Life 2, called GoldenEye: Source. Though it is still in a beta stage, it is well worth a look.

So, can you bite the bullet and accept the absence of GoldenEye on the Virtual Console? Does Rare’s statement bring final closure to you? Do you think Nintendo and Microsoft should just get a life and listen to the fans? Let us know your thoughts below.

Source: NintendoEverything