Let's clear something up before we continue. A brand extension is when a company goes out of their way to extend a certain brand to develop new products in industries or markets they may not necessarily have much share in. In the case of video games, we've seen this before with Sony offering an apparel line based on Gran Turismo or the Walkmans they made for MGS Peace Walker.
Now, why is this important? What the hell does this have to do with Banjo Kazooie you may ask? Well, a brand extension agency that goes by the name of Beanstalk tweeted a few hours ago that they would be at E3 to talk about licensing video game brands. They've represented the Xbox brand on behalf of Microsoft since 2016 through their subsidiary Tinderbox to market Xbox branded lifestyle products.
This image above shows Tinderbox's current clients, listing Crash, Spyro and some Microsoft IPs like Halo and Sea of Thieves. What's interesting though is that they recently added Banjo-Kazooie to this. If you use the Wayback Machine and go back to February, Banjo wasn't there.
All of this is hinting towards a potential reveal of a new Banjo-Kazooie game at Microsoft's E3 presser with Beanstalk being brought in to renew some interest in the IP in different markets. Furthermore, this Beanstalk agency are currently at E3 and literally have a booth right next to an Xbox/Microsoft one. You can see the Banjo-Kazooie logo on their booth alongside other Microsoft properties like Halo.
EDIT: Thanks to ShinobiBk for the correction: The below image is from the 2019 Las Vegas Licensing Expo which is currently going on and was posted on the Beanstalk Twitter yesterday. E3 preparations haven't happened yet but they're confirmed to be there and they've made the necessary changes to their booths, updating them and the website with the Banjo-Kazooie logo.
I honestly think it's finally happening. With all the teasing in the leadup to E3 even from our very own Shinobi, a new Banjo game seems like an open secret with the potential of seeing Banjo in Smash being pretty high. There seems to be a lot of renewed interest in the IP with a plethora of merchandise being made for it which tend to coincide with a brand revival so I think it's finally time for the return of the bear n' bird.
Now, why is this important? What the hell does this have to do with Banjo Kazooie you may ask? Well, a brand extension agency that goes by the name of Beanstalk tweeted a few hours ago that they would be at E3 to talk about licensing video game brands. They've represented the Xbox brand on behalf of Microsoft since 2016 through their subsidiary Tinderbox to market Xbox branded lifestyle products.
This image above shows Tinderbox's current clients, listing Crash, Spyro and some Microsoft IPs like Halo and Sea of Thieves. What's interesting though is that they recently added Banjo-Kazooie to this. If you use the Wayback Machine and go back to February, Banjo wasn't there.
All of this is hinting towards a potential reveal of a new Banjo-Kazooie game at Microsoft's E3 presser with Beanstalk being brought in to renew some interest in the IP in different markets. Furthermore, this Beanstalk agency are currently at E3 and literally have a booth right next to an Xbox/Microsoft one. You can see the Banjo-Kazooie logo on their booth alongside other Microsoft properties like Halo.
EDIT: Thanks to ShinobiBk for the correction: The below image is from the 2019 Las Vegas Licensing Expo which is currently going on and was posted on the Beanstalk Twitter yesterday. E3 preparations haven't happened yet but they're confirmed to be there and they've made the necessary changes to their booths, updating them and the website with the Banjo-Kazooie logo.
I honestly think it's finally happening. With all the teasing in the leadup to E3 even from our very own Shinobi, a new Banjo game seems like an open secret with the potential of seeing Banjo in Smash being pretty high. There seems to be a lot of renewed interest in the IP with a plethora of merchandise being made for it which tend to coincide with a brand revival so I think it's finally time for the return of the bear n' bird.
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