Will we be seeing the duo back on Nintendo soil?

Rumours have started circulating the web that Nintendo are hoping to negotiate ownership of the Banjo-Kazooie franchise. Zelda Informer reported that an anonymous source has revealed to them the details. Chalk this one up as the biggest, fattest rumour at the moment since it comes from another site rather than Nintendo, Microsoft or Rare themselves.

“According to the tipster, Nintendo is in direct negotiations with Microsoft to buy RARE, though the purpose of buying them seems to be all based around getting the rights to Banjo and Kazooie.” it reads.

Now this alone is a pretty ‘out there’ rumour, but the next part is even stranger. “Of course, this rumor doesn’t stop there – it goes as far as to suggest that Retro Studios is actually deep into development on a Banjo and Kazooie title, and that the talks with Microsoft have been ongoing for some time.” Very unlikely but Reggie did say that they held back the announcement of Retro’s new project at E3 so maybe this could have been the reason why?

As a Nintendo fan, I would love so much for this rumour to be true. Nuts and Bolts didn’t quite hit home for me and a true sequel to the excellent platformers on a Nintendo console would be much appreciated. Lately the developer hasn’t been delivering the same quality titles they were once known for. Games like Goldeneye, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Donkey Kong 64 are distant memories so maybe it’s about time someone else gave the Banjo-Kazooie series a try. Retro’s past work with the Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises have been amazing after all.