Banjo to be Mario of Xbox, says Rare

Speaking with CVG, Rare studio head Mark Betteridge said that he would like for Banjo to be as iconic for Xbox 360 as Mario is for Nintendo.

"We think the time is right for Banjo to be a mascot character for the 360, that's the key point. The price of the box is less than it was at launch, there are more casual customers buying consoles, so I think there's now a really good opportunity there. It's a unique game in the 360 line-up, it's a game that the 360 needs," he said.

When asked if he would like Banjo to be the Mario of Xbox, Betteridge replied, "Yeah. Certainly as a mascot character Mario is fantastic and that would be wonderful to have Banjo mention in the same breath as 360 in way that Mario is with Nintendo. That would be wonderful. That's certainly an aim."

Loads more through the link. Oh, and Banjo is 10 years old today: congratulations to Rare from VG247.

By Mike Bowden