January 12^th, 2005 (10:43pm) - Despite Rare no longer being a Nintendo second party, the last few games that they’ve actually managed to finish development on have been for Nintendo’s popular handheld, the Game Boy Advance and today THQ announced that Rare’s latest GBA project, Banjo Pilot, has shipped to retailers nationwide.

"THQ has added another valuable title to its Game Boy Advance library as a result of a strong partnership with Microsoft. Rare’s ability to produce high- quality titles has helped extend our leading position in the handheld market," said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for THQ.

In the game players take control of many characters from the Banjo Kazooie series, including the gullible bear and loudmouth bird duo, as they race their aircraft across thirty different tracks, each of which contain a number of power-ups and obstacles. Players will also be able to upgrade their aircraft and race against three friends using the Game Boy Advance link cable.

"The Banjo-Kazooie franchise has reached a broad audience worldwide with its beloved characters and stunning visual effects. Banjo-Pilot offers fast, fluid game-play in addition to Game Link multiplayer capabilities which creates an unmatched racing experience," said Ken Lobb, Studio Manager for Microsoft Game Studios.

Banjo Pilot is available for a suggested retail price of $19.99.