Rare founders Chris & Tim Stamper Interview & Behind Scenes - 2023 ULTRA Remaster!

This is the ultimate remaster and behind-the-scenes story of my interview with the co-founders of Rareware, Chris and Tim Stamper. Rare is obviously one of the most beloved game developers of all time -- they made Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, Conker and much more -- but it was also one of the most secretive, and famous for never doing interviews. So this interview with Rare really IS rare, because it’s one of the only interviews the Stampers have ever done -- possibly the only interview they've ever done together* -- and certainly seems to still be the only video interview with them in existence, anywhere online. And it’s been that way for over 20 years now.
Also in this video, I wanted to share for the first time a bit of background on how this all came together, including the 1994 TV feature that first inspired me to find the Stampers, and my first meeting with Chris two years before this interview took place,
The interview itself is a totally new, more coherent edit with FULL AV restoration from what was fairly problematic source material but kept in my archives for the past two decades.
The interview took place in 2002, the day after Microsoft announced it had bought Rare for $375 million, which back then, was as big as it got in games industry acquisitions; the Stampers were joined by Ed Fries, one of the best guys who ever worked at Xbox, who personally announced the deal on stage at X02, and provides additional context on this unique moment in gaming history in the interview.
MY TAKE: At the end of the day, the acquisition was both a studio and a bunch of IP and the IP is what fans care about most - for my part I'm happy that my favorite Rare IP, Killer Instinct, made it through to modern day in great shape, to me it didn't matter which studio made it as long as it was great (and it was). Also, while times have changed and studio owners across the board are making different types of games nowadays (i.e. fewer titles like Banjo and Conker), it was still nice to have all of those classics in Rare Replay. And apparently we may still see some of the key IP return (again, Rare-developed or otherwise). Finally I would argue Rare's groundbreaking work/talent on DKC series heavily inspired modern DKC games which were great... I like to look for the positives in the Rare story and its IP and I think there are more than a few!
* [UPDATE 8/28/23 -- while this certainly does still seem to be the only video interview with the Stamper brothers ever published, I did just rediscover one print magazine interview with them in the 'Christmas 1997' edition (issue 53) of Edge magazine, which had a gorgeous Rare cover and 5-page interview with Chris and Tim].
Related:
Xbox Buys Rare: Full Announcement Footage Recovered - Microsoft Rareware Acquisition X02 2002: • Xbox Buys Rare: Full A...
Rare's GameCube Demos (Spaceworld Source Video!) Banjo Kazooie (Not Threeie!), Conker & Perfect Dark: • Rare's GameCube Demos ...
Nintendo Spaceworld 2000: The Ultimate Video (2023) Unseen & Remastered Footage: • Nintendo Spaceworld 20...
XBOX X02 FULL CONFERENCE (2002 Event) Fable, Sudeki, Kameo, Rare, Project Gotham Racing 2, Xbox Live: • XBOX X02 FULL CONFEREN...
And finally... an important open letter to Chris and Tim Stamper from one of my favorite sites, Time Extension, who seem to agree with me on one of the key issues!
www.timeextens...