A new video has surfaced showing a ton of gameplay from Microsoft’s cancelled GoldenEye 007 Xbox 360 port. The game looks pretty neat and features a toggle button where you can switch back and forth between the original N64 visuals, and the updated ones on the Xbox 360.
However, as we all know, the game was never released, despite development being pretty much done.
Back in 2007/2008, Rare, under ownership of Microsoft, started working on a direct port of the famous N64 shooter GoldenEye 007. They were pretty much done with the game’s development, but then all the trouble began.
When Nintendo’s Japanese outfit found out and saw the game, they made sure the game would never be released, with then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata reportedly saying that under “absolutely no circumstances would Nintendo allow the game to see release on another platform”.
Nintendo didn’t technically own the game nor the 007 IP, but Activision did. Nintendo told Activision that this could be a threat to their relationship, so Activision blocked the release of the game. In fact, Activision was on board to publish the game on Xbox Live Arcade. Until Nintendo stepped in.
Which is a shame, because the game looks fantastic and was done by the original creators.
Even Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime supported it, because Rare offered to port it to the Wii as well. It would have been great for both Xbox and Wii gamers, but Nintendo’s bosses in Japan didn’t want any part of it.
