Peter, this is in no way intended to be insulting, no way, no shape, no form.
But seriously.
Why have you chosen, once again, to give the bird to the PC market, the very group that brought this once fine company into existence? Especially after dropping a bomb the likes of BW2 upon us, with no true follow up or multiplayer?

I am honestly ashamed that I once believed in you and your products, that I thought, oh, no worries, Fable II will eventually be ported, BW2 will be fixed...

But no.
Nothing
Fable 3, YET AGAIN xbox only. No BW3. No PC support, no PC love.

Pete, I bought BW 1, and the expansion, 3 times in various formats. I bought Fable I forgotten chapters. I bought BW 2 twice, and the expansion once. I endlessly promoted and flaunted BW 1, pushed friends and family into purchasing it, and hell, even convinced myself that you would hold true to a multi player BW 2 patch.

Nothing, zip, nadda.

Thanks for all the love and respect, and I hope you arn't too shocked when your karmatic balance straightens itself out.

Santini

Lionhead is now a part of Microsoft.  They are a company.  Companies make money.  XBOX Live makes money.

Hey Santini, thanks for your post and don't worry, we don't feel insulted by your post or opinion. Making games for PC now is just completely different from what it used to be when Lionhead started, I think that's something everyone can agree on? The illegal distribution and readily availability of PC titles has made it very difficult for the platform to be a viable one, let alone one that a developer can rely on if it comes to surviving in the economic climate. Would we want to see this change? For sure, in fact - I think I can say that we always look at the PC and it's an ongoing process - maybe today game X isn't coming out for platform Y, but that's not an absolute, it can always change.

guitarscout:

Lionhead is now a part of Microsoft.  They are a company.  Companies make money.  XBOX Live makes money.

So does Windows.

Fable 2 needs porting to Windows. I haven't yet a heard a enough reason why it won't make any money, tales of mass piracy have been greatly exaggerated. It's an issue sure, Windows gamers are bloody stupid for wrecking the industry with piracy, but PC gaming is still making money.
I'm beginning to suspect though, it's the fact that the Xbox game seems to be rather bug ridden.

I partly agree with the OP. I think I speak for most of the PC gamers still around here when I say that Lionhead were best at making PC games. Fable was OK, but Peter Molyneux is quite clearly in his element when he's making god games. Bullfrog's discography is singing that tune too.

It just seems like wasted talent to me.

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The only thing worse than beating a dead horse is betting on one.

I can agree that it has changed, yes, but not that piracy is that much a bigger problem then what it used to be. A whole LOT of pirates actually end up buying the game, and those who don't buy the game never really intended to. And a lot of devs also take piracy in one way: If one pirates, one steals, which is an arrogant and blind view on the matter. I don't trust every developer to bring me a game that I'll enjoy, and boy is this a remark towards EA. I have made a rule for myself to NEVER buy a game from EA unless I try it first, and the easiest method is to download, crack and play it "illegally". Now, if I wouldn't have that opportunity, the idea of buying the game wouldn't even pop in my head, but since I can try it out I can decide for myself without the praise from the company whether I actually like what they have to offer. I don't view this as a lost sale, but rather a potentially gained one.

I find it unfair to hear developers say that piracy is a unique problem to PC, because there is a WHOLE lot of piracy going on on consoles as well. Valve have always been focussed on the PC, and I haven't read much about them losing money or complaining about piracy (they have, but haven't read them recognizing it as a OMGWTF PROBLEM as many other companies will have you believe.)

Piracy has always been a problem, and I can only conclude that the reason there is an uproar about it today, is because some fat guy with a cigar in a huge office says he isn't making two bucks more than what statistics would have him make. And now you can see piracy, while in the past it would mostly go around friends or schools (Doom II).

I've always liked Lionhead, but truth be told, you completely lost me when you began focussing on consoles. I found Black and White to be pure art in gaming, while I find Fable to be the sketch of something that could be done so much better (not to say it isn't a game, I have the PC version of 1 and I enjoyed the sequel when I tried it out at a friends house.)

But I do like hearing that you are looking at the PC and its progress! And I hope that in the future you guys get back to the challenging platform

Edit: I think, as Del said about wasted talent, that Peter really knows more about making a PC game than a Console game. Peter is a person who should not be focussing on a system that limits something (such as controls), as he is a man you can't constrain if he's to paint his masterpiece.

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Thanks much for the reply!

I just wanted to say:

A. Recent studies have shown that P2P'rs typically spend the most on digital products.

So yes, they download, but they also go back and buy the stuff

B. Secondly, using microsoft live, it would be possible to make multiplayer a feature accessible only to truely legit copys. IE, play single play BW3 all you frikkin' want. Wanna play witchur friends? Cough up the dough.

 

Anyhow, once again, thanks for the reply!

Um might not be as easy but 360 is definatley being pirated atm. Pc piracy has always been apart of well the pc and so has many consoles. Its down to the producer to put in enough reason for the user not to pirate.

Example Fable online - Pay to access to direct server

mmm easy enough just made yar a direct profit there sorry for the factiousism i dont see piracy as a bad thing.

Why? cus piracy is also a vital part of a medias growth. look at it this way if you give a media item away say 200,000 copys how many do you expect to make back of purchases. Word of mouth is an advertisers best friend and many media outlets release this. They have also started to release that ready avadbility is the best thing. EG steam etc download not having to wait for a copy of the title.

But yeh as long as you give the user reason to want to own the game legitimately the pc user will purchase the title. Its not that everyone with a pc will pirate the title its because the producers dont give a enough reason not to now days.

Dont abdoonon the pc as thats where the best gamers are and always will be.

Most software houses let other studios do the porting to different formats, why doesn't Lionhead do this? id Software used Splash Damage and Nerve to get Doom3 ported  hither and tither.

I reckon if Lionhead threw Fable 2 into the air with an opening attached, some studio somewhere would jump on it to get it ported, and supported for PC. For the cash and to be associated not only with a great game but with Lionhead. If you let another team deal, you get a return and your game gets more attention across different platforms.

I didn't think Lionhead were deliberately avoiding a platform due to cost or potential piracy, until I read this. I genuinely think it has more to do with XBOX Exclusive than anything else, because if Microsoft can keep it on their console, they have Lionhead fans in the bag, and their console gets more sales.

Seems like a more viable and money-spinning option than releasing a ported version for PC, from which Microsoft would see little return. The exclusivity, I suspect, was in the contract when Lionhead went over to Microsoft. A promise of creative freedom, with all the hooks of corporate money spinning boundaries... like no porting to PC.

I don't think this exclusivity thing has affected the quality of the games though, and I'm not overly concerned since I own a 360. However, I do think if people wanna follow a studio they should go where the studio goes, and if the studio's gone to console for whatever weak reason... better get saving and get a console guys... if you don't have one already.

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"Deus lo vult!"

Sam:

Hey Santini, thanks for your post and don't worry, we don't feel insulted by your post or opinion. Making games for PC now is just completely different from what it used to be when Lionhead started, I think that's something everyone can agree on? The illegal distribution and readily availability of PC titles has made it very difficult for the platform to be a viable one, let alone one that a developer can rely on if it comes to surviving in the economic climate. Would we want to see this change? For sure, in fact - I think I can say that we always look at the PC and it's an ongoing process - maybe today game X isn't coming out for platform Y, but that's not an absolute, it can always change.

Thank you for taking your time to answer this question with such a answer.

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~ Mel ~

Damn fine answer Sam. Sadly many companies develop games for consoles with the PC port being something they will focus on later. By the time the game comes out on consoles the publisher and developer have to look at many things.

How much the game will cost to finish on the PC, how well it sold on the console, the amount of time needed to complete it, etc. And for the numbers to come back with a large margin of profit (specifically on the PC) is pretty rare. It makes me a sad panda.