Until recently, Rare was apparently working on a sequel to their Xbox 360 exclusive, Kameo: Elements of Power. The adventure game, which was at one point supposed to land on the Gamecube (it was actually on the Gamecube box at launch), found moderate success as an Xbox 360 launch title, earning an 79% on Metacritic and selling just over 500,000 copies. The sequel will likely never see the light of day, however, as CVG reports that the follow-up was scrapped by Rare's current owners, Microsoft. The reason? Natal.

Yes, apparently Rare is being directed to work on software that will utilize Microsoft's camera/motion controller/thing. Apparently, in order to fully embrace Project Natal's launch, the publisher scrapped several "traditional" projects, one of which was the Kameo sequel. In fact, word is that Rare recently underwent a company-wide restructure just to prepare for said work, meaning the Goldeneye developer has been completely gutted and turned into a lap-dog for Microsoft's projects.

Honestly, with Rare's recent record of somewhat disappointing software, I can't say I really blame Microsoft for cracking the whip. Banjo Kazooie was fun in its own right, but the developer still hasn't proven that they're worth the money Microsoft spent on them, especially considering their successes in past generations. More than this, I'm worried to find out what the other "traditional" sequels are. What else is Microsoft getting rid of so I can see the bottom of my Avatar's foot?