Peter MacDougall, executive vice president at Nintendo of America, confirmed that the sale was part of Rare's acquisition by Microsoft, which now owns Nintendo's 49 percent stake and Rare's majority share.
"The entire company has been sold to Microsoft," he said.
Microsoft has not announced the Rare purchase, and a company representative declined to comment on the deal. The acquisition has been the subject of numerous reports, estimating the buy at anywhere from $400 million to $540 million.