The Virtual Console has been a success, branching off with great classic games such as Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. Nowadays, questions still stir whether Rare’s Goldeneye 64 will ever see the light on the VC. Over at Rare’s UK site, someone asked whether the developer’s previous games would make it to the VC. Goldeneye 64 was aimed at specifically. This was statement was mentioned:

From my (uneducated) point of view, GoldenEye is caught up in a convoluted web of rights the likes of which would make the Weaver from Perdido Street Station jealous. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that a lot of people with a lot of different perspectives are involved.

A little more was mentioned about other possibilities:

This is where we finally edge into territory that could see Scribes neutron bombed from management level. The only Rare-developed title on Virtual Console right now is the original Donkey Kong Country, and unofficially there’s a strong likelihood that its sequels will follow. But the Donkey Kong series of games is a Nintendo-owned franchise starring an established Nintendo character, whereas something like Banjo isn’t (and even Diddy Kong Racing is less clear-cut), so it’s nowhere near as easy to call. Especially when you also consider the existence of Xbox Live Arcade. So right now, the best answer we can offer (for either download service) is “it’s possible”. I like your sausage casserole mix, by the way.

Will any of the non-Nintendo owned franchises of Rare make it on the VC? Serious decision making is being processed, so that’s a plus. But we must remember that Microsoft has grasp Rare in their arms, so only time will tell.