Microsoft execs thought they owned Donkey Kong after Rare purchase

Chris Seavor recently revealed that a Microsoft executive believed the company owned Donkey Kong after Microsoft bought Rare in 2002. In an interview, Seavor was asked what the Xbox One equivalent of the PlayStation 4 game Knack would be. Seavor then relayed the tale of how a Microsoft executive believed its purchase of Rare netted the company the Donkey Kong IP as well.

The current generation of ‘enablers’ won’t even know they own the IP… Here’s a true story.. When Rare was first bought by MS a group of execs came on a tour.. One of them noticed the Donkey Kong. ..Posters everywhere and said.. ‘Hey that’s great.. We own Donkey Kong right??’

This is an absolutely hilarious look at how executives manage businesses they’re not even aware of and how intellectual property works. Perhaps this is another clue in the puzzle of why Microsoft has turned Rare from the once proud studio that it was into a Kinect Sports churn factory.