Rare has appointed a new creative director, picking industry veteran Simon Woodroffe. Woodroffe's career has taken him to his own studio at Headfirst Productions, along with senior roles at Midway, Ubisoft, and the head of games design for Sega West.

Rare entered this generation with a sterling reputation based on high-profile hits for Nintendo, but the studio seems to have had trouble finding its footing under Microsoft ownership. Microsoft has since moved the studio to Kinect development for games like Kinect Sports. The announcement gives no indication that the studio's Kinect focus will change, but maybe Woodroffe can infuse some new life into it.

"Games are my passion and they are Rare's passion so this is my dream role," Woodroffe said in the announcement. "I love working with talented and creative people and there are plenty of them here at Rare. I am looking forward to getting stuck into making incredible games that will be worthy additions to the pedigree of the studio."