Long before the first-person shooter genre saw games likeHalo, Call of Duty,andCounter-Strike,there wasGoldenEye 007.The FPS genre existed well before Rare and Nintendo releasedGoldenEye 007,but the genre’s founding members likeDoomwere often confined to PCs. Rare’sJames Bondadaptation provided evidence that FPS games could thrive on consoles. Lots of other developers gave the genre a chance afterGoldenEye 007, and considering this hugely important legacy it’s no surprise thatGoldenEye 007has lots of fans to this day. There’s a huge market for a re-release or remaster of the game.
Unfortunately, bringingGoldenEye 007back to modern consoles is difficult for multiple reasons. Rare was a close ally of Nintendo at the time ofGoldenEye’s release, but it is now a Microsoft subsidiary. What’s more, the usage of theJames BondIP means another edition ofGoldenEyewould require Rare to strike licensing deals with both the owners of James Bond and the producers ofBondmovies. Although recent events have offered a glimmer of hope thatGoldenEye 007could appear again, the game seems difficult to revive.
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Obstacles in GoldenEye 007’s Way
Licensing the James Bond property would require untangling a lot of threads. For starters, Rare would need the permission ofJames Bond’s IP owners, but that’s not enough to access the story ofGoldenEye.Since this movie was the first in the franchise not based on an Ian Fleming novel, Rare would need to approach Eon Productions and MGM for broader access to the film rights. What’s more,GoldenEye 007uses the likenesses of actors like Pierce Brosnan, whomade his debut as Bondin theGoldenEyemovie, meaning Rare might need the actors' permission to adapt it again.
Even if Rare were to secure permissions from all of these sources to remake or remaster the game, there’s delicate questions about the game’s original release to answer. The originalGoldenEye 007was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo, but today Rare works under Microsoft. On one hand, Nintendo probably wouldn’t want a game it published to become an Xbox exclusive, but on the other hand Microsoft might be weary about setting Rare loose to remaster a game for Nintendo exclusively again.An Xbox Live Arcade version ofGoldenEye 007got cancelled because Microsoft and Nintendo couldn’t reach an agreement before, and disagreements could block the game again.
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Potential Hope for GoldenEye 007
In spite of this difficult road forGoldenEye 007, there’s a glimmer of hope that it may reappear. A Nintendo partner recently requesteda rating change forGoldenEye 007,which was originally banned in Germany for violence, and the request was accepted. Nintendo probably wouldn’t take that action without plans to use the game. This request comes in the context of a new N64 expansion to Nintendo Switch Online’s library, which includes tons ofGoldenEye’s well-loved peers - including Rare games likeBanjo-Kazooie. The natural conclusion is that, in spite ofGoldenEye 007’s licensing complications, Nintendo may want the game on NSO.
For all fans know, Nintendo and Microsoft may have already reached a deal behind closed doors, with Rare earning some amount of NSO income for collaborating on aGoldenEye 007release.GoldenEye 007more than deserves an appearance on NSO alongsidegames likeSuper Mario 64that also revolutionized their genres. Getting the rights to release another edition ofGoldenEye 007might be difficult, but it’s worth the effort. There’s a lot of fans out there who would welcome Rare and Nintendo’s FPS with open arms.
