Call this the first gaming tragedy of 2008.

1Up has both confirmed and destroyed the rumors that a handful of Rare's fantastic Nintendo 64 titles, (007 Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Banjo-Kazooie to name a few) would soon be made available for download on Xbox Live Arcade.



According to 1Up's source, the Goldeneye conversion was a mere two months away from completion when it had to be scrapped, as Microsoft (which now owns Rare) and Nintendo could not agree on "the financial side of things".

Want some salt for that wound? Kotaku is today reporting that it was Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata who axed the deal, despite a proposed deal from Microsoft which would have allowed Goldeneye and other unnamed Rare titles (Jet Force Gemini anyone?) on the Wii Virtual Console.

Heartbreaking, isn't it?