Conker | |
---|---|
Genres | Platform, Action/Adventure,Third-person shooter, Beat 'em up |
Developers | Rare |
Publishers |
Rare (1999-2001) THQ (2001) Microsoft Studios (2005-present) |
Creators | Chris Seavor |
Platforms | Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft HoloLens |
Platform of origin | Game Boy Color |
First release |
Conker's Pocket Tales 8 June 1999 |
Latest release |
Conker's Big Reunion April 2015 |
Conker is a series of platform video games created by Rare. It chronicles the events of Conker the Squirrel, a fictional red squirrel that made his debut as a playable character in Diddy Kong Racing. Although the first game in the series was family friendly and geared towards children, the series is noted for its later games which includes strong bloody graphic violence, sexual innuendo, strong language, toilet humor, and several film parodies.
Conker was introduced to the world for the first time at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1997. His game Conker's Quest was presented by Rare as another 3D platformer aimed at a young audience for the Nintendo 64. Later the same year, this fact was confirmed with Conker's inclusion in Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, thus promoting his future games. In the spring of 1998, Conker's Quest was renamed Twelve Tales: Conker 64. In 1999, Conker made his first solo debut in Conker's Pocket Tales for the Game Boy Color.
Before its release, the Nintendo 64 game was deemed too similar to Banjo-Kazooie, another platformer from Rare, and its release date was pushed back almost a year while it underwent a complete transformation, eventually being released in 2001 as Conker's Bad Fur Day. The redesigned game was geared towards a mature audience and featured sexual content, foul language, drug and alcohol usage, and excessive violence. According to Rare co-founder Chris Stamper, "When people grow up on games, they don't stop playing. There aren't games for people who grew up on the early systems", explaining the change. The game suffered from relatively poor sales, but received a cult following with its unique brand of humor.