Donkey Kong (franchise): Difference between revisions

''Diddy Kong Racing'' was going to have a full-fledged series based on it; two sequels were planned before eventually being canceled. The first, ''[[Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)|Diddy Kong Pilot]]'' for Game Boy Advance, had flying as the only means of transport; however, Nintendo found the game substandard because its levels were too flat (the GBA cannot generate "true" 3D graphics, only flat effects similar to the SNES's {{wp|Mode 7}} technology). Some Rare employees believed the company was prejudiced since it occurred in a time period just before the Microsoft acquisition.<ref name="DK Vine">[http://www.dkvine.com/?p=1082 DK Vine]</ref> None of the Rare Ltd. games except ''[[lylatwiki:Star Fox Adventures|Star Fox Adventures]]'' were showcased at E3 2002. On September 24, 2002, Nintendo sold their share of Rare to Microsoft, which caused the company to lose the rights to ''Donkey Kong'' characters. Around the same time, in 2002-2003, Diddy Kong Pilot was being redeveloped into an entirely [[Diddy Kong Pilot (2003)|different game]], which ended up being converted into the game ''{{wp|Banjo-Pilot}}'', which was released in 2005. Another sequel, called ''[[Donkey Kong Racing]]'', was planned for the GameCube, but it was canceled on August 13, 2002, a month before Microsoft bought Rare on September 24, 2002, and that game was being reworked into ''{{wp|Sabreman}} Stampede'' for the {{wp|Xbox 360}}; this iteration of the title was canceled due to a lack of focus and Rare's unfamiliarity with the hardware, however.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200126075054/http://www.mundorare.com/features/stampedes-sorrowful-swan-song/ "Stampede's Sorrowful Swan Song" (Internet Archive)] (accessed July 19, 2012)</ref><ref>[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/02/month_of_kong_whatever_happened_to_donkey_kong_racing Nintendo Life: Month Of Kong: Whatever Happened To Donkey Kong Racing?]</ref> Another potential sequel, ''[[Diddy Kong Racing Adventure]]'', was pitched to Nintendo by {{wp|Climax Group}}, but was rejected.

Donkey Kong was also planned to have his own puzzle game, ''[[Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers]]'', on the GBA. However, due to Rare's sale to Microsoft before the game was published, that game was canceled on August 13, 2002. ''Coconut Crackers'' was then reworked as ''{{wp|It's Mr. Pants}}'', which was released in December 2004.