History Trivia / GoldenEye1997

** Back during UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Rare was working on a port for the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 after Microsoft and Eon Productions came to an agreement, but [[https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/ex-rare-devs-open-up-about-the-canceled-goldeneye-007-remake-for-xbox-360/ Nintendo of Japan reportedly wouldn't allow it,]] leading to the port's cancellation. Reggie Fils-Aimé in 2006 also claimed Nintendo was "exploring all the rights issues" to bring the game to the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}'s UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, but since that never came to fruition, it can be assumed Microsoft in turn wouldn't allow Nintendo to have the game on just their console. [[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-12-why-are-there-no-james-bond-games A 2020 interview with Adam Foshko of Activision]] revealed that EON and MGM were notorious for placing restrictions on games that, while keeping Bond games "in-character", would greatly restrict what the rerelease could do.
** With Nintendo and Microsoft forging a FriendlyRivalry by the end of TheNewTens following a leadership change at Xbox Game Studios, leading to a number of Microsoft-owned games and characters appearing on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', it can be assumed that the only roadblock left in a rerelease in TheNewTwenties is Eon Productions and MGM, who have since taken their extremely sweet time on Bond video games after previous license owner Creator/{{Activision}} crapped that bed with ''VideoGame/DoubleOhSevenLegends'' in 2012, only putting the Bond license back on the market for Creator/IOInteractive to grab 8 years after the fact in 2020.

* KillerApp: The game's split screen multiplayer made it a standout for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, especially since it was novel for an FPS in its time period. The high praise from reviews and what was considered a good singleplayer campaign also helped. If you owned a N64 you ''needed'' to buy ''[=GoldenEye=]''. The game even ended up the third best-selling title for the system.

** An UpdatedRerelease of the game for the UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade was in development and even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRRuhviJGMQ partially completed]]. However, it fell afoul of legal issues; Microsoft, Rare (who at this point had been bought out by Microsoft) and Activision (who owned the Bond game license at the time) were all on board, but even if they were somehow able to get Nintendo on board as well, [[https://www.denofgeek.com/games/goldeneye-007-remaster-cancelled-rare-nintendo-video-explained/ the real hurdles would be MGM Productions and EON, due to the in-character restrictions they'd demand that would hurt the rerelease's faithfulness]]. This led to Rare and Microsoft using the engine they had created for the game for an UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'', while Activision would [[VideoGame/GoldenEye2010 completely remake the game]] using Creator/DanielCraig as James Bond. For a long while, the only footage of said version was a low quality video of the Silo level in 2007. This all changed on February 2021 when a user calling themselves "Fyodorovna" leaked a 90% complete closed beta of the XBLA version on the internet for the general public to play, preceded a day earlier by a playthrough of the game by notable ''[=GoldenEye=]'' streamer [=Graslu00=].
** An [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/04/exclusive_martin_hollis_talks_goldeneye_64_development_in_this_new_interview interview]] with Martin Hollis also revealed that they had planned to include a UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum emulator within the game in the guise of an arcade machine that would have allowed players to play Rare's ZX Spectrum games, but the idea was scrapped due to time constraints. The coding for the emulator is still in the game itself, but no games are present to use it with. This was later kept for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', giving players the ability to play the original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' and Rare's own ''VideoGame/{{Jetpac}}''.

* SleeperHit: The game received almost no pre-release coverage, had a lackluster showing at E3 1997, and was based on [[Film/{{Goldeneye}} a movie]] that came out two years prior. It was developed almost as an afterthought, with the development team consisting of 10 inexperienced college students, most of whom expected the game to be overshadowed by the technologically superior ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}: Dinosaur Hunter''. Nobody thought much of anything from it. But then it turned out to be an immediate smash hit both critically and commercially, becoming the third best-selling game for the N64 (and the second-best selling N64 game in the US, behind only ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'') and a popular multiplayer title.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://goldeneye.wikia.com/wiki/GoldenEye_Wiki A fairly modest wiki]], but it provides very detailed information on the game.

* InspirationForTheWork: The devs took a lot from ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' when making the game (such as enemies reacting differently depending on where they were shot), almost making it RailShooter like its inspiration. Creator Martin Hollis even describes the aim function as a "''Virtua Cop'' mode".

** Finally averted in January 2023 with a remaster for Xbox Game Pass and a widescreen rerelease of the original N64 version for Nintendo Switch Online.

** A cut enemy model is a Russian police officer, believed to have been intended to be fought in the Saint Petersburg-set "Statue Park" and "Streets". It isn't known why this went unused, though most fans presume that the famously protective Creator/EonProductions objected to James Bond killing police officers.

** Finally averted with the September 2022 announcements of a remaster for Xbox Game Pass and a rerelease of the original N64 version for Nintendo Switch Online.

* CreatorDrivenSuccessor: The game ultimately received two: ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'', which uses the same game engine and some assets, and has overall similar gameplay as a SpyFiction-themed shooter, albeit with a much more science-fiction edge. Several of the developers behind the game later left Rare to form Free Radical, who made ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters'', which is also similar in gameplay.

** The game was originally intended to be an on-rails shooter in the vein of ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop'', before it became a first-person shooter. The game's unconventional aiming, where the crosshair is not locked to the center of the screen as in most shooters, is likely a remnant of this early plan.
** It was intended that former Bond actors Creator/SeanConnery, Creator/RogerMoore, and Creator/TimothyDalton would have been available in multiplayer as playable characters, and also would have been used in the Aztec and Egyptian bonus missions. Unfortunately, Rare was forced to cut them late in development due to legal concerns...but not before the developers had a 100-point deathmatch between the four Bonds.
--->'''Dave Doak''': "Right near the end of development, a guy came in from EON who owned the Bond licence and saw we had put in Connery, Dalton and Moore as well as Brosnan. We thought it would be great for marketing and even some screenshots went out with Connery in his white tuxedo. Then an edict came down from on high and we had to get rid of the other Bonds, so on the day we had to take them out we played this epic deathmatch – first to a hundred kills – which went on for about three hours. Mark Edmonds played as Moore and won by one kill. It went down to the wire…”

** An UpdatedRerelease of the game for the UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade was in development and even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRRuhviJGMQ partially completed]]. However, it fell afoul of legal issues; Microsoft, Rare (who at this point had been bought out by Microsoft) and Activision (who owned the Bond game license at the time) were all on board, even if they were somehow able to get Nintendo onboard, [[https://www.denofgeek.com/games/goldeneye-007-remaster-cancelled-rare-nintendo-video-explained/ the real hurdles would be MGM Productions and EON, due to the in-character restrictions they'd demand that would hurt the rerelease's faithfulness]]. This led to Rare and Microsoft using the engine they had created for the game for an UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'', while Activision would [[VideoGame/GoldenEyeWii completely remake GoldenEye]] using Creator/DanielCraig as James Bond. For a long while, the only footage of said version was a low quality video of the Silo level in 2007. This all changed on February 2021 when a user calling themselves "Fyodorovna" leaked a 90% complete closed beta of the XBLA version on the internet for the general public to play, preceded a day earlier by a playthrough of the game by notable ''[=GoldenEye=]'' streamer [=Graslu00=].

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The game has not seen any kind of rerelease since its original run, due to ownership of the game being split between Nintendo, Microsoft's Creator/XboxGameStudios (of which Creator/{{Rare}} is a subsidiary) and Creator/EonProductions, for [[ScrewedByTheLawyers several reasons]];

** There are frequent rumors of Oddjob and May Day appearing in singleplayer, or of Xenia showing up for a boss fight in the Frigate level. In this case, the rumors came from the fact that the instruction manual says Oddjob and May Day ''do'' show up at some point and encourages players to try and find them, and the briefing for Frigate outright says Xenia is there. The latter might simply be a leftover from the movie, where she did show up on the yacht (the movie's equivalent of the Frigate) before boarding the Tiger helicopter.

-->'''Dave Doak''': "Right near the end of development, a guy came in from EON who owned the Bond licence and saw we had put in Connery, Dalton and Moore as well as Brosnan. We thought it would be great for marketing and even some screenshots went out with Connery in his white tuxedo. Then an edict came down from on high and we had to get rid of the other Bonds, so on the day we had to take them out we played this epic deathmatch – first to a hundred kills – which went on for about three hours. Mark Edmonds played as Moore and won by one kill. It went down to the wire…”

** There are frequent rumors of Oddjob and May Day appearing in singleplayer, or of Xenia showing up for a boss fight in the Frigate level. In this case, the rumors came from the fact that the instruction manual says Oddjob and May Day ''do'' show up at some point, and the briefing for Frigate outright says Xenia is there. The latter might simply be a leftover from the movie, where she did show up on the yacht (the movie's equivalent of the Frigate) before boarding the Tiger helicopter.

** There are frequent rumors of Oddjob and May Day appearing in singleplayer, or of Xenia showing up for a boss fight in the Frigate level. In this case, the rumors came from the fact that the instruction manual says Oddjob and May Day ''do'' show up at some point, and the briefing for Frigate outright says Xenia is there.

* KillerApp: The game's multiplayer made it a standout for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, especially since it was unique for its time period. The high praise from reviews and what was considered a good singleplayer campaign also helped. If you had a N64 you ''needed'' to own ''[=GoldenEye=]''. The game even ended up the third best-selling title for the system.

* SleeperHit: The game received almost no pre-release coverage, had a lackluster showing at E3 1997, was based on [[Film/{{Goldeneye}} a movie]] that came out two years prior, and was developed almost as an afterthought, with the development team consisting of 10 inexperienced college students, most of whom expected it to be overshadowed by the technologically superior ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}: Dinosaur Hunter''. Nobody thought much of anything from it. But then it turned out to be an immediate smash hit both critically and commercially, becoming the third best-selling game for the N64 (and the second-best selling N64 game in the US, behind only ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'') and a popular multiplayer title.

* KillerApp: The game's multiplayer made it a standout for the Nintendo 64, especially since it was unique for its time period. The high praise from reviews and what was considered a good singleplayer campaign also helped. If you had a N64 you ''needed'' to own ''[=GoldenEye=]''. The game even ended up the third best-selling title for the system.

* ThrowItIn: The multiplayer aspect of the game was a major afterthought and would have not been in the game at all if it wasn't for a programmer or two that decided to create it at the last minute. Not only was the multiplayer made in just a few hours, it was done without Rare or Nintendo knowing about it before the game was ready to be released to the market. Rather than reprimand the programmers who coded the multiplayer, they basically said "Screw it, keep it in". The decision would prove to be a good one since not only was the multiplayer touted as one of the best things of the game, but it would also set the standard of first person shooter multiplayer games on consoles.

* SleeperHit: One of the definitive examples in video gaming. It received almost no pre-release coverage, had a lackluster showing at E3 1997, was based on [[Film/{{Goldeneye}} a movie]] that came out two years prior, and was developed almost as an afterthought, with the development team consisting of 10 inexperienced college students, most of whom expected it to be overshadowed by the technologically superior ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}: Dinosaur Hunter''. But it was an immediate smash hit both critically and commercially, becoming the third best-selling game for the N64 (and the second-best selling N64 game in the US, behind only ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''.) and a popular multiplayer title.