Rare’s Christmas Card Retrospective
There’s a particularly festive tradition that’s recognized each holiday season at Twycross when the Rare staff will get together and create Christmas Cards themed around both current releases and titles yet to come.
Some designs are shared internally, whereas others have been posted through Rare’s social channels online and, if you’re especially lucky, mailed through personally as a gesture of thanks and goodwill. Keeping with our own tradition to meticulously archive everything involving Rare, we’ve chosen to list all of the known Rare Christmas Cards below in chronological order, with explanations detailed underneath for context. Happy Holidays!
Rare’s 1995 Christmas Card:
Celebrating shared success with their recent releases on the SNES, the stars of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Killer Instinct enjoy Christmas together in this cozy fireside scene.
Dixie and Diddy Kong seem pleased with a bounty of bananas that they’ve unwrapped, while Fulgore dons a party hat and brings out the champagne. The gift exchange continues with B. Orchid holding an armful of presents while TJ Combo offers the Kongs an animal buddy; namely Rattly the Rattlesnake who peeks out from Santa’s Sack. Beside Chief Thunder, a Christmas Tree capped with a Rare logo overlooks the festive scene below.
Rare’s 1996 Christmas Card:
Having previously made stars of Diddy and Dixie Kong in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest and Kiddy Kong in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, Rare would have them reaching for further stardom as they attempted to decorate a Christmas Tree in this snowbound scene. Kiddy Kong might have been chosen for his stability at the bottom of the makeshift stack-up, but his curiosity for the gifts under the tree might lead to their downfall…
Rare’s 1997 Christmas Card:
Revealed as Rare’s surprise holiday release during 1997, Diddy Kong Racing proved to be a fitting choice for further festive cheer. Skating about on the ice, adorned with matching Santa hats and candy canes in hand, Taj the genie pachyderm and Diddy Kong welcome in the season. The dutch angle has never looked so jolly!
Rare’s 1998 Christmas Card:
Serving as Rare’s sole release in 1998, Banjo-Kazooie was the clear choice for their Christmas Card spotlight. The Bear and Bird would also introduce some of the Rare card staples that would become commonplace, including the appearance of a Christmas Pudding; a chiefly British dessert, and wrapping paper that featured the Rare logo. In a scene reminiscent of their off-the-wall antics, this card features Banjo attempting to balance an armful of presents and the Christmas Pudding whilst Mumbo-Jumbo and a Jinjo cause havoc above. Interestingly, the label on Mumbo’s bottle reads, “Best Plonk”, a term reserved for particularly low-quality wine.
Rare’s 1999 Christmas Card:
At the turn of the millennium, the Kongs would return just in time to celebrate the release of Donkey Kong 64 with a Christmas Card all their own. Draped in ornaments and wreaths, the playable apes would form their own pantomime tree standing atop each others shoulders. History seems to repeat itself here, as Tiny Kong grapples with the star as Dixie had done previously, while Chunky Kong appears as easily distracted as Kiddy Kong with his eyes on Mince Pies and a large Christmas Pudding.
Rare’s 2000 Christmas Card:
In the year 2000, Rare created two Christmas Card designs featuring the cast from Banjo-Tooie; the first would be shared internally while the second was posted on their website for fans. The former card presented a gigantic collage of every character seen in Banjo’s second, larger adventure whereas the latter card featured its own winter scene with a touch of speculation for good measure. While Banjo and Kazooie attempt to push Mumbo-Jumbo towards a waiting Gruntilda armed with mistletoe, a Jinjo holds a GameCube console and gestures pointedly at Banjo as if to ask, “Does he have a chance on this?”. At this time, it was entirely within reason to expect the next Banjo-Kazooie title to be released on the GameCube if it were announced.
Rare’s 2001 Christmas Card:
Rare’s next Christmas Card would feature the first instance where multiple game franchises would receive representation, this time extending an invitation to Kameo: Elements of Power, SabreWulf and Perfect Dark Zero. Referencing the Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, the text underneath the four panels would read, “4 elements of power / 3 wulf tracks / 2 perfect shots / and surprises under every tree”. The final panel of the card was the most intriguing, as it illustrated that Rare was interested in developing for future consoles outside of Nintendo. Underneath the Christmas tree, Mr. Pants is seen picking up an orange present that appeared to be a PlayStation 2. Next to it, a large black present with green ribbon arranged in an ‘X’ symbolized the Xbox. The GameCube was the last home console covered in purple wrapping, while a pair of smaller devices believed to be mobile phones were also on show. An answer would come the following year…
Rare’s 2002 Christmas Card:
2002 was a very significant time for Rare, as it was in September of this year that they began to develop for the Xbox, and titles that had previously begun on the GameCube were being moved over to Microsoft’s first home console. Kameo: Elements of Power was chosen to represent this shift with a Christmas Card that featured the emblazoned Elf flying out from within a Rare gift box, holding a banner reading, “Merry Xmas”, with the “X” lifted from the Xbox logo.
Rare’s 2003 Christmas Card:
Christmas and Halloween would become intertwined in 2003 with Rare’s internally shared Christmas Card that paid tribute to Grabbed by the Ghoulies, which had been released just two months prior in October. Revisiting the newly-decorated Embassy Ballroom, Cooper and his previously captured girlfriend, Amber, would put aside their differences with the inhabitants of Ghoulhaven Hall for a bit of a kickline. The Mummy, Zombie Pirate and Mr. Ribs were adorned in Christmas Cracker hats, while the groundskeeper, Fiddlesworth, was doing his level best impression of St. Nick with a Santa Hat all his own.
Rare’s 2004 Christmas Card:
Preparing for the release of Conker: Live & Reloaded on the Xbox in 2005, Rare’s mischievous Red Squirrel would find himself the subject of their Christmas Card with a particularly unique greeting. After managing to down nine cans of fizzy soda, Conker is seen relieving himself in the snow and using a bit of creative control to spell out “Happy Holidays”. He’s even managed to arrange the used cans so they look like mistletoe – color us impressed, but don’t expect a handshake.
Rare’s 2005 Christmas Card:
The launch of the Xbox 360 in November of 2005 was an event much-celebrated during the festive season, especially since Christmas Card ambassadors Kameo and Joanna Dark had seen their own titles released alongside it with Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero. Showing off a candid shot during a Christmas party, the console sisters enjoy a glass of champagne as they toast a successful start.
Rare’s 2006 Christmas Card:
Despite the fact that Piñata Island wouldn’t receive a blanketing of snowfall until Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, the 2006 Christmas Card featured a garden filled with Piñata residents frolicking about in white fluff to coincide with the first Viva Piñata title. It looks like these guys didn’t need to find the Piñarctic region to get onto the holiday spirit!
Rare’s 2007 Christmas Card:
For fans of the Banjo-Kazooie series looking forward to the next release on Xbox 360, the 2007 Christmas Card from Rare would serve as their first tantalizing glimpse into the world of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts following the trailer shown at X06. Depicting a questionable Christmas morning where Banjo and Kazooie would unwrap their gifts with a Horstachio, Fudgehog and Sparrowmint, the Bear and Bird look less than pleased to receive a collection of vehicle parts and Mumbo’s Wrench. The card also served as the first appearance of Gruntilda, whose lower body could be seen in a framed portrait behind the duo, while her head could be spotted in the fireplace aflame. Grunty’s stocking was also hung with care alongside one branded “KI3”, a less-than-cryptic tease referring the third installment of the Killer Instinct series.
Rare’s 2008 Christmas Card:
Following the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Rare would once again pair the duo with a few familiar faces from the Viva Piñata series for their 2008 Christmas Card. A suitably festive scene in an open snowy field had Mumbo-Jumbo acting as Santa Claus, riding in a sleigh comprised of vehicle parts and lead by similarly constructed reindeer. Pointing towards a Rare constellation overhead, Banjo and Horstachio would find themselves followed by a large crowd of Xbox 360 Avatars, which had been developed in-house at the Twycross studio and debuted earlier in November.
Rare’s 2009 Christmas Card:
Serving as the first Christmas Card from Rare to feature none of their characters, the 2009 design opted instead to feature a number of gifts based on toys taken from Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise and the first sneak peek towards their first Kinect Sports title ahead of E3 the following June. Surrounding a large Rare logo serving as a wreath-wrapped Christmas Tree, the Intrepid Voyager rocket ship, The Road Hog vehicle, Jeli House-inspired Snowglobe and Wildcat Fulldozer made up the first row of identifiable presents. Just behind, a number of wrapped, but very much perceptible gifts could be seen, including a tennis racket, ping pong paddle and volleyball – all of which were realized as events in Kinect Sports. The pair of Boxing gloves would also allude to this future release, though Rare took care to leave them exposed, so that their stars and stripes pattern and label for ‘TJ’ could serve as a reference to Killer Instinct boxer, TJ Combo.
Rare’s 2010 Christmas Card:
2010 was a very significant year for Rare and the direction the studio – in June they had announced the development of Kinect Sports alongside a redesign of their logo and website to appear more modern. Their Christmas Card embraced this new direction as well, setting the new Rare logo in the center of a snowflake comprised of Avatars caught mid-motion. While the orange hexagon stood as the only illuminated Rare logo, the surrounding circles and octagons would represent the green and pink redesigns respectively.
Rare’s 2011 Christmas Card:
Partnering with developer BigPark, Rare would release the collaborative Kinect Sports: Season Two in October of 2011, where players could compete in American Football, Baseball, Darts, Golf, Tennis and Skiing. With the final sport serving as an appropriately snowy setting, the Christmas Card focus was given to a skiing Avatar donning a Santa Hat.
Rare’s 2013 Christmas Card:
Moving on from the Xbox 360, Rare would develop Kinect Sports Rivals to launch on the Xbox One in November of 2013. While the release was eventually pushed to April of 2014, the interim was filled by the debut of Kinect Sports Rivals Preseason which would see players competing for monthly prizes on the Wake Racing circuit. This would serve as the inspiration for their 2013 Christmas Card which featured a Champion Avatar dressed as Santa Claus determined to deliver a sack filled with Xbox One consoles to the world. Our particularly fit Santa gets aboard his festive Wake Racer and takes flight with Viva Piñata‘s Horstachio as Rudolph.
Rare’s 2015 Christmas Card:
Following an extremely receptive E3 showcase in 2015 with the announcement of Sea of Thieves and the release of Rare Replay in August, Rare would model their Christmas Card after their marquee theater seen in their compilation collection. While the influence of Rare Replay can clearly be seen from the visual style and setting, Sea of Thieves would receive a tease in the form of a “Coming Soon” poster just to the right of the theater doors.
Rare’s 2016 Christmas Card:
With all hands on deck for Sea of Thieves in 2016, Rare would realize their Christmas Card as a festive gathering in a Tavern, with a large pirate holding court amidst much shanty playing and grog swilling. The warmth of the holiday is extended to the tavern itself, with wreaths and ribbon draped across the bar and a bit of mistletoe found on the table.
Rare’s 2017 Christmas Card:
Setting sail for a March 2018 release date, the impending Sea of Thieves launch just months away would be the subject of Rare’s 2017 Christmas Card. In a similar nature that the 2001 Christmas Card had referenced “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, the new design would pay tribute to “I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)” Christmas Carol, though the alternative lyrics on the card suggest more underhanded piracy than originally intended…
Rare’s 2018-2020 Christmas Card:
In December of 2018, Rare’s Christmas Card would feature their snowswept Twycross studio and its surrounding property in a landscape photograph. Eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot their current logo stretching across the frozen acres, as well as three familiar Rare characters shaped into the clouds overhead. These figures appeared to take the shape of Conker from Bad Fur Day fame, Rash of Battletoads notoriety and Banjo from the eponymous Banjo-Kazooie series.
Rare’s 2021 Christmas Card:
Rare would unveil their next card on Christmas Eve in 2021, which was fitting given that the scene depicted Santa’s Sleigh flying overhead on its annual destined trip. Rather than having Old Saint Nick at the helm however, his spot was taken by a large Rare logo donning his hat. Just ahead, the sled was lead by Horstachio from the Viva Pinata series in his fourth appearance, along with an Alsatian of Sea of Thieves fame and a deer-like creature from Everwild leading the pack as Rudolph.
Categories: News, Special Features
0 Comments
This post has been left all alone with no comments. Don't leave it lonesome - give it some company with a comment.