At the climactic explosive finale to Banjo-Tooie, it said very clearly that the series will continue. But it said that Grunty will return in Banjo-Threeie. That right there. Banjo-Threeie. That confirmed that the third installment would be called Banjo-Threeie. No doubt about it. And it's logical. After all, it rhymes with three, just like Tooie rhymes with two. But today, when we finally saw the first gameplay footage of Banjo-Threeie, Microsoft and Rare dropped the bomb, i.e. the official title for Banjo-Threeie. The new Banjo game will be called Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. What!?!
Why!?! This is why I think that name is a bad idea. It messes up it's lineage. The name Banjo-Threeie would have said that this was THE sequel to Banjo-Tooie. But the new title goes back to Banjo-Kazooie and adds a subtitle. So what, now it's a spin-off? This will be confusing to both it's fanbase and to consumers that have been waiting 7 years for the next main installment in the series. Is what they have been waiting for all along is a spin-off? That will dissapoint a LOT of people. That's like calling Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Sunshine: Space Adventure.
So why the name change? It's obviously the fault of the publisher. Nintendo would let Rare call their game whatever they want, because they are safe under the Nintendo name. Microsoft is not in that position. This has happened before to Rare actually. Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge for the GBA, was a prequel to the Banjo series, but it was not going to be under that name, it would be a name like the console ones, using a pun meaning "before". But THQ, the publisher for the game since Nintendo was not going to publish, didn't like the name because maybe people would not understand the pun. So they suggested to change the name. Rare had no choice but to use a subtitle.
The name change alone could tell how big the impact on the game was. Publicity was way down on the game, and the hype all but virtually dissapeared. Not only was the game a flop commercialy, it was never able to release in Japan. All because of the name change, as fans and costumers saw the game as not a real Banjo game.
Microsoft bought Rare as an opportunity to bring hardcore games into it's new Xbox console. Rare makes big name games based on big franchises, such as Donkey Kong and Goldeneye. The biggest franchise they have now is the Banjo series, which not only is a big seller, but one of the most critically succesful games of the last century. So why would Microsoft change the name of their biggest gun towards bringing gamers who have other consoles (mostly from Nintendo)? If Nuts is the actual Banjo-Threeie, then this might be the greatest game of the year. But we'll see if it will sell. After all, did you see the difference in hype between yesterday (when it was Banjo-Threeie) and today (Nuts)?
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