Earlier this year rumours began swirling that the title was to make its way onto the current-gen consoles with word that an Xbox Live Arcade version was in the words. With numerous screenshots and a gameplay video surfacing on the internet, gamers were all but assured that their dream had come true.
But with the title almost nearing completion, Rare has been forced to pull the plug on the title as the game sits in development hell due to licensing issues.
In an interview with VideoGamer.com, Rare's Senior Software Engineer Nick Burton explains why this project may be another chapter in the annuls of gaming vapourware.
Burton acknowledged the development difficulties of GoldenEye for XBLA and Nintendo's Virtual Console stating that "it's incredibly hard to solve because there's so many licence holders involved. You've got the guys that own the license to the gaming rights now, the guys that have the licence to Bond as an IP, and there are umpteen licensees." Burton further explained that because of this licensing debacle Rare doesn't have control over the project any more and that it's in the hands of license holders, leaving the title "locked in legal limbo".
As for the title ever seeing the light of day, Burton is resigned to the fact that "the ball's not in anybody at Rare's court really. It's squarely in the license holders' courts. It's a shame. It's kind of locked in this no man's land. There's nothing on Live Arcade, there's nothing on Wii".
His final words on the topic: "It's probably going to go down in the annals of gaming history as one of the big mysteries."
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