Poll of the Day > Xbox admits they mishandled Lionhead Studios (Fable dev)

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.pcgamer.com/xbox-says-the-way-it-dealt-with-lionhead-studios-was-one-of-the-biggest-missteps-it-made

Phil Spencer implied that Lionhead's demise shaped the way Xbox viewed its developers. "You acquire a studio for what they're great at now," he said. "And your job is to help accelerate how they do what they do, not them accelerate what you do."

That's probably as close as Spencer will ever come to saying: Yeah, we shouldn't have put them on Kinect or forced them into making a Fable live service game. The latter, Fable Legends, was content-complete and in a live beta when Microsoft decided to close the studio, and never saw release.

Still would like to see Fable Legends, in some form or other, someday. Looked promising, although I'd prefer a standard entry to the main series

I loved the crap out of the original Fable.

At least I got it on PC.

I liked fable 2 the most

At least they admit it, which is cool, better than a lot of other companies.

The concept of fable was so cool but I personally feel like it never really reached its potential

probably doesnt help that when I was younger I had very little appreciation for British humor

Armed and Dangerous on OG XBOX was great for British humor

Remember black and white? That game was so weird

fable 3 was garbage town

Bulbasaur posted...

fable 3 was garbage town

yeah it was a disappointment

all three games feel almost completely disconnected from each other as far as the story too. Which is a bummer because I really loved the narrative of the second game. It was complex and it was tragic.

The third one its like they didnt even try to come up with a compelling story at all.

Far-Queue posted...

"You acquire a studio for what they're great at now,"

Then why do they acquire studios like 5 years past their prime?

the first two fables were amazing. feels like whenever any series from that era hit 3 it was likely take a big hit in quality if it didn't outright turn to garbage. maybe valve was on to something.

i feel like if Peter molyneux wasn't a dipshit most of it could have been avoided, that dude was an idiot and It's incredible he got as far as he did with his lies and bullshittery.

I'm not sure Xbox is entirely to blame but the Kinect probably did have a part in it's demise.

Nade Duck posted...

the first two fables were amazing. feels like whenever any series from that era hit 3 it was likely take a big hit in quality if it didn't outright turn to garbage. maybe valve was on to something.

Ehh. People praise the shit out of 2, but I think it was mediocre at best and kind of annoying at worst. I'd easily rate 3 as being the better game in pretty much every way that matters. Fable 2 had moments that were cool, but it's mostly pulled down by how incredibly stupid the plot is overall.

The first Fable wasn't all that brilliant, either - it was an enjoyable experience if you didn't go in expecting all the things Molyneux overpromised, but it was basically "Baby's First Hack-and-Slash RPG". The plot was fairly generic, combat wasn't anything extraordinary, and all of the touted NPC interaction (including the alignment mechanics) was simplistic as fuck and shallow as hell. Sure, you could have fun with it, but I'm not sure I'd even put it in the top 5 RPGs of its generation - and the original Xbox wasn't really heavy with good RPGs.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I'd easily rate 3 as being the better game in pretty much every way that matters.

What? Do you remember Fable 3? So I know "worst video games ever" lists always have the same games in it: ET, that big rig truck game, superman 64 ect. I never played those games, I think I typically do a decent job at avoiding bad games. I didn't avoid Fable 3, I played it (honestly I think I might have even preordered it if I remember right) because I had some fun with the first two and Fable 3 without question lands on my list of worst games I've ever played. I can't think of anything the game did well.

But if you would like a refresher have one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSaw85bliyQ

Oh yeah only lionshead though. I guess rare can go fuck itself.

BlackScythe0 posted...

I had some fun with the first two and Fable 3 without question lands on my list of worst games I've ever played. I can't think of anything the game did well.

It's always going to be subjective, but I never found the game to be as bad as people imply it was. Or at least not bad in any meaningful way that wasn't also an issue with the previous games.

Which is why I tend to laugh in the face of anyone who praise the first two games (or especially the second one) for being fantastic but crap on the third one. It makes me feel like those people have very, very selective memories. Or they played the earlier games when they were children and the combination of lack of taste and nostalgia blinds them to anything resembling reality.

If anything, it's not so much that I'm saying Fable 3 is great as much as I'm saying Fable 2 was kind of shit.



BlackScythe0 posted...

But if you would like a refresher have one!

Two can play at that game!

https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=2105
https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=2106
https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=2108
https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=2109

no, i definitely remember fable 2 getting a lot of hate back then, too. not as much as 3 got, but still. for some reason though it just clicked with me and i loved it enough to get every achievement. i guess i wouldn't put it on any objective top 5 list anywhere but it's up there for me personally, at least. i'd still argue it didn't deserve as much hate as it got, though. i couldn't get into 3 at all.

i enjoyed fable 2 as well, because it was good, story aside.

it certainly didn't meet any of molyneux's claim - nothing did after all - but it was still extremely polished with solid gameplay

3 was just bad. and don't ever make the pause menu a playable area

I always found Fable to be over-hyped, it wasn't bad, but it was so generic it felt meh. Fable II and III were both unadulterated garbage.

Kimbos_Egg posted...

Oh yeah only lionshead though. I guess rare can go fuck itself.

I'll never forgive them for fucking perfect dark up so bad.

Kimbos_Egg posted...

Oh yeah only lionshead though. I guess rare can go fuck itself.

I read Spencer's response as being a sort of blanket admission that the entire push surrounding the Kinect was handled poorly, and that while Lionhead is being referenced, he's also speaking to other unnamed casualties of that era, such as Rare

Somewhat related:

https://blog.gala.games/legacy-land-sale-starts-tomorrow-c54761629c0f

Molyneux's new game deals with NFTs and crypto...

Loved 2 and 3, it was sad to hear they closed. Even if Fable 4 did become a thing it wouldnt be enough for me to get an Xbox but itd still be nice to see.

Will have to play 1 at some point still.

Far-Queue posted...

I read Spencer's response as being a sort of blanket admission that the entire push surrounding the Kinect was handled poorly, and that while Lionhead is being referenced, he's also speaking to other unnamed casualties of that era, such as Rare

nah, rare did the Kinect stuff on their own, that was known for years. Microsoft gave them a blank check to do whatever