Could RARE Fans Get a New Banjo-Kazooie Game?

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Xbox is losing the Street Fighter franchise. It is a damaging loss, considering Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition sold a collective 300,000 copies for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

But Head of Xbox Phil Spencer sees this as an opportunity.

He stated via Twitter this week that he would be "making amends" for the loss of Street Fighter.

This was in response to a tweet from a fan that stated, "just give me a new banjo kazooie or conker and we can forget this whole SF thing ever happened."

Spencer stated that he "loved the idea of franchise bartering." He wasn't specific, however, about how he'd make up for the Street Fighter loss.

This leads to a question that Rare fans have been asking for over a decade: Could we finally get Banjo- Threeie?

Earlier this year, Rare composer Grant Kirkhope stated on Reddit that a recent Banjo-Kazooie-related project "fell to bits" due to pre-existing commitments. But Spencer's tweet has attracted media attention: Gamespot and Polygon have reported on it.

In addition, there has been fan speculation that a Banjo-Kazooie game for Xbox One would be announced at E3 2015.

The last Banjo- Kazooie title was Nuts and Bolts for the Xbox 360.

It received fair reviews--currently holding a score of 79 on Metacrtic.

It took the series in a car-themed direction, which received fluctuating feedback; AtomicGamer stated that the game gets "repetitive and downright frustrating." In contrast, Giant Bomb stated, "I had no affection going into Nuts & Bolts, but its list of great qualities quietly won me over."

Conker and Banjo- Kazooie are essential games for the Nintendo 64. Developed by Rare--then known as Rareware--the company's lineup of N64 titles also includes: Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and Goldeneye 007.

According to IGN, the company was responsible for over $1 Billion in revenue for the N64. Microsoft purchased Rare in 2002.

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