Fable III coming in 2010, Fable II going episodic

  • By Guy Cocker, GameSpot
  • Posted Aug 19, 2009 11:15 am PT

GamesCom 2009: Peter Molyneux announces that Lionhead's next RPG will arrive next year, first trailer inside; Microsoft mum on rumors of $299 Xbox 360 Elite and 360 Pro discontinuation.

COLOGNE, Germany--After spending nearly three years in third place, Sony threw down the gauntlet yesterday at the 2009 GamesCom. First and foremost, the financially ailing electronics giant announced that a new $299/£249/€299 PlayStation 3 would launch on September 1 in North America and on September 3 elsewhere. The company also unveiled PSP Minis, a new "snackable game" initiative that will bring arcade and casual titles to the portable's download store at an affordable price.

Peter Molyneux, OBE

Today, it was Microsoft's turn. Its press briefing was the first event of the first official day of GamesCom, and had, like Sony's, been preceded by many rumors about what would be announced. The majority of speculation centered on the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite's price dropping to $299 and the 60GB Xbox 360 Pro model being phased out. Sony's move will certainly put pressure on Microsoft to take the former step, which could affect the bottom line of the software behemoth's money-making game division.

So what is Microsoft likely to unveil? Well, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux is due to make an appearance, and his company's Web site has been teasing images of famous revolutionaries all week. Will the company be showing off its follow-up to Fable II, or could this be something to do with Milo and Project Natal?

[1:17] Peter Molyneux is onstage talking about Fable II going episodic. He says Fable II is in five chapters, and each of these chapters has a natural break. The first chapter will be free, when players get to the end of the chapter or buy the rest of the game. All this happens in-game, and it will be released September 29. It will also be fully compatible with the expansions Knothole Island and See the Future.

[1:19] Molyneux says that the third in the series and second outing on the same format can be a problem. Players must always be surprised, must always "expect the unexpected." He says, "I think there's something fundamentally wrong with Fable."

[1:20] That's right, he just announced Fable III.

[1:20] Now a Fable III teaser is being shown. Voice-over says: "The kingdom of Albion is changing. The race for the crown has begun."

[1:20] "You are going to become the ruler of the whole of Albion," Molyneux says.

[1:23] "We want you to be king or queen, but you're not going to be that right away. You start as the son or daughter from your Fable II saved game," says Molyneux.

[1:24] "You will inherit your past indiscretions," he continues.

Fable II just had a kid.

[1:26] Molyneux: "You're going to overthrow the terrible tyrant that overrules Albion. You're also going to have to promise some things to the people of Albion. Like politicians in the real world, you're going to have to promise everything. You know, I look at Obama and he looks a bit haggard now. It looks like the truth has been revealed to him."

[1:29] "In the journey to rule, you're still gaining support. You're having to fight, and that doesn't change when you become ruler. You can still go and visit places within Albion. One of the things you can do with all [your] gold, is decide where to allocate it. You can say 'I'm going to build up a certain region' or 'I'm gonna let some people off their taxes.'"

[1:31] "50 years on, Albion looks a lot different, a lot more industrial. A lot of injustice, a lot of crime takes place. What are you going to do about that? A good portion of this game is set in places you've never seen before."

[1:37] Molyneux is showing a video of voice actors working on Fable III. "We went to [famed film studio] Shepperton Studios, to do voice-over work for Fable III. We've been doing this for weeks and weeks, trying to get to the heart of the story," he said.

Will you be a good or an evil king in Fable III?

[1:41] "We've got a new gameplay mechanic called 'judgments.' As king, we have the ability for people to come before you, and you say, 'I'm going to judge you.' Let's take an example: Someone comes in and says, 'We've caught this girl stealing food.' Players can call in the cook and she says, 'We've caught her stealing and we need to set an example.' Then, players can either go and investigate further or can summarily decide her fate. If a player continues, the girl might say, 'I'm starving and my family needs some food' and you can go out and see her family. You can think of this as a new way of accepting quests."

You will see more of Albion than ever before in Fable III, according to Molyneux.

[1:44] "The other new mechanic that we've got is called 'touch.' This idea of touch came about from you being ruler. We were thinking about the expressions system in Fable. [In Fable III] you can shake someone's hand, and then that might turn into a hug. You can then turn that into an embrace, and then into a full-on snog. I'm not going to tell you where that's going, but you can imagine."

[1:48] "Unlike in Fable II, where you would just press A to save the child, once you've got touch, you run up, the child is pulling against you. You can pull them through the fire, through the door, and then outside where everyone can see you've saved a child. I'm going to tease you with how we're doing this, and it's one sliver of what we're doing with Fable III." The way that Molyneux is gesturing, it sounds like he's talking about Natal, although he doesn't mention it by name.

[1:48] "Fable III will be coming out in 2010 on the 360...don't expect it too early in 2010. We're still working on [Project Natal game] Milo and Kate."

[1:50] OK, that's it. Molyneux is giving a talk this afternoon at GDC Europe.

[1:57] No, that's really it. No price point reduction, no more announcements. Guess that $299 price drop is just a rumor...for now.

613 Comments

  • rexstar22

    Posted Jan 23, 2010 3:16 am PT

    well i think fable 3 will be better.and you can be a king or a queen, i think it is gonna be cool.

  • loggens

    Posted Jan 7, 2010 4:31 am PT

    well fable is getting only better and better i think it going to be good one

  • hartham444

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 1:31 pm PT

    i cant wait until fable 3 comes out! i think you can command forces.

  • CurvedSword

    Posted Oct 16, 2009 3:45 am PT

    notice how the xbox isnt even turned on
    molyneux = b u l l s h i t e

  • FiFa_kirikiki

    Posted Oct 7, 2009 1:47 pm PT

    YES! another Fable game, I guess I really need a 360. @Tylmarande I have the same problem.

  • Tylmarande

    Posted Sep 25, 2009 12:19 am PT

    please make PC versions,..!!!,.. i only played FABLE: TLC, but i havent yet played fable II because i dont own an xbox,..jus make a pc versions please,.i beg you!!

  • nublits

    Posted Sep 15, 2009 11:14 pm PT

    well if they put more boss battles in the game like in number one and being the boss is all right but seeing as your a hero you want to do fun stuff instead of giving people more taxes and all that crap but it's a fable game so it's still going to be awsome. and could they have co op again but the saints row 2 co op so your not just stuck in one screen and make online play better .

  • Storm_Walker

    Posted Sep 8, 2009 10:06 pm PT

    Great, I hope this one isn't just another family/business/real-estate sim with an adventure slipped in like the last one, maybe Pete will actually give us what we want this time. Then again, judging by his arrogant expression in that pic up there, he probably doesn't give a crap what we think.

  • MoonlightJust

    Posted Sep 8, 2009 8:28 am PT

    I can't speak for everyone else, but I've never exactly wanted to PLAY a politician before. If they make it a side quest, albeit a major one, then that'll be fine, but if it's your main quest then just blah.

    Fable tends to be over-hyped in general. I've played and beaten both 1 and 2, and both suffered from a very linear feel, both in storyline and in exploration and advancement. If Fable 3 can open the world up, and at least add split screen for multi-player, then maybe it will be at least as half as good as Peter there is hyping it up to be.

  • chefbabyryan

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 8:13 pm PT

    oh sweet lets see what dreams they can fill me up with. And then not include them in Fable III sweet

  • killersrike

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 12:55 pm PT

    i had fable ond fable 2, i but fable xbox live i peaty cool fable 3 is going rock the house!

  • hero513

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 12:39 pm PT

    Awesome!!!!!!!! your going to get to be king

  • Zeronemo101Wii

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 10:19 am PT

    Looks. . . . decent. I cant decide yet, I just like the idea of being the hero and doing things not be the boss who does nothing exciting and gets crap.

  • BlueChecker

    Posted Aug 25, 2009 7:57 pm PT

    Fable III eh? Here's to hoping that Lionhead step up their game. Not that Fable II was bad, it just didn't nearly live up to it's potential. Oh yeah and judging from the released artwork, lets hope you can have a chicken as a companion!

  • lucasc130

    Posted Aug 24, 2009 9:12 pm PT

    Great idea! Fable rules, keep up the good work! Cant wait

  • thorfox

    Posted Aug 23, 2009 1:01 pm PT

    i think fable one was even better than fable two, fable twos co op was a huge corner stone in the game and it was a complete failure and the way peter is describing fable 3 it sounds even worse than the 1 and 2... and his talk to reality ratio is not very good im curious to see how this will turn out

    and Baelath is right

  • thegreatleviath

    Posted Aug 22, 2009 11:33 am PT

    fable games all way seem to come out good.

  • Konami964

    Posted Aug 22, 2009 10:14 am PT

    HOPE ITS BETTER THAN FABLE 2 CUZ DA CO-OP SUCKS

  • TheDarkFortress

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 10:20 pm PT

    i cant wait

  • Baelath

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 6:30 pm PT

    Does anyone else think Fable is becoming sort of like...a RTS? Let's just take a look at the Fable franchise, so far.
    Fable, you play a Hero, you train to become a Hero in hopes of finding your sister. You kill bad guys, get kewlie armour, fight more monsters, get flaming axes (and somewhere in here you buy a house, not a big issue). Fable is an RPG.
    Fable II, you play another Hero, you do more Heroic things. But 99% (exagerration) of the Quests are about real-estate. Owning Houses, buying houses, selling houses. Being a biggamist, getting families, renovating houses, selling more houses, collecting taxes. Less focus on killing things and getting cooler armour.
    Fable III, you're going to be a -King-. You get to decide what goes on in your country, is that not RTS-like? You get to decide what areas you want to develop? They never mentioned anywhere in there about revamping the combat system, bigger monsters, cooler magic. No where. Like...uh...Fable III should be called; "Fable III: The Third Installment Where We Forgot What an RPG Really Is."

  • tslujan

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 5:29 pm PT

    Man, I love the Fable series...but I really dislike the Expressions system, lol. It reminds me of some of the KOTOR moments where you play an evil character, but you're presented with dialogue that you KNOW your evil character just wouldn't be caught saying...you know?

    And I respect the comedic side of Fable, but I just wish it was a little more serious...
    I'd love to play a game that really truly immerses you in its world. That would be awesome. Kind of like playing your first RPG game ever, or playing Oblivion for the very first time.

    Fable 3? Ehhh...I'm psyched for it. I think I'll always be psyched for Fable, regardless of whatever promises are made or broken. It caught my attention from the very beginning, and still continues to do so.

    As long as it doesn't end up like Dynasty Warriors...ha.

  • GidsyWidsy

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 3:53 pm PT

    I just watched Milo doing his stuff and i am amazed. This could be a whole new generation of gaming. You could be drawing out battle plans and then show them to your 2nd in command, and he would carry out those orders. So awesome.

  • bcp117

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 1:41 pm PT

    part of fable 1 was being a super powerful god who was either good or bad and making u the king just makes that better. fable II was a letdown but if peter is smart he wont make the same mistakes and make a longer storyline.

  • LOXO7

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 9:56 am PT

    Scary. Lets all get Natal like we did with the Wii.

  • Nazerick

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 8:47 am PT

    What do they mean fable 2 is going episodic? Are they reinventing the wheel and releasing it again in a different format or are they going to expand on the gameplay more? I would think the first but why? or did he mean to fable 3?

  • awesomeness790

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 3:30 am PT

    Um why would I want to talk to a tv screen to play a game. In fact I have yet to see a single practical gaming application for Project Natal. It is an impressive piece of technology but thats a lot of time and effort just into a form of gaming(if you want to call this gaming) where all you do is mindlessly wave your arms around.

  • vengeance00

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 12:00 am PT

    they better not recycle the story again apart from one or two differences fable 1 & 2 story lines are pretty much the same.

    both compete in the arena to get the antagonist's attention
    both go to a prison island for 10 years or so (1 as a prisoner, 2 as a guard)
    and both needed three people gathered to unlock the power to save or enslave the world.

    and thats just a few.

    EDIT: oh and dispite it being classed as an RPG its got very little inbetween.
    the map is small and linear (anyone else notice that no matter where they went to explore they seemed to still follow the paths).
    very few customising options for weapons and magic
    its always very good or very evil options never in between so in most cases you were never neutral.

    in my opinion they really need to reinvent the game because it feel old now, i would think it would be a lot better fallout 3 style.

    oh and the DLC sucked paying 800points (can't remember the actual price) for an hour long expansion that doesn't give a challenge, i and i bet many more people one hit killed almost all the bad guys in thoses expansions. (i only bought the first one because of this.)

  • RyantheHedgehog

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 8:45 pm PT

    sooo theres no ponit in getting this??? cause its not a game Its trying 2 be real life. if I had 2 talk 2 a tv sceen I would say f uuuuuuuuuu and why im I talking 2 some ones and zeros

    fail >

  • Caboose365

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 7:49 pm PT

    fable 1 was good fable 2 was great so this one should be awesome

  • Englandfc1966

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 7:17 pm PT

    It'll be great.

    Lets hope Peter doesn't bring his hype machine.

  • NuKkU

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 5:40 pm PT

    @ColdP1zza: hey chill man MAYBE if you would have read my whole comment i wasn't just referring to Fable i was referring to all games in whole sequels are getting out of hand sure sequels are great but not when its the only thing coming out nowa-days

  • Reuwsaat

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 2:01 pm PT

    There's no excuse to don't port fable II to pc, xbox games are so easy to copy. I think they should stop thinking in a way to stop the piracy. I don't know if they didn't get it yet but: THERE IS NO WAY TO STOP THE PIRACY. Instead of burning thousands of dollars with SecuRom bulls*** they should make something that would be useless to copy. I don't know the answer for this but, creating codes or serials isn't the way. But one thing is for sure: The more expensive is the product, the more the hackers will try to copy. You don't need to answer this, just think about it.

  • ColdP1zza

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 1:41 pm PT

    @The_Al they aren't going to bring Fable 2 to the PC for the same reason they won't bring Gears 2 or Halo 3. Over-piracy. @NuKku Fable 2 was released 4 years after Fable 1, and Fable 3 will be released 2 years after. How is two years out of hand? Is your idea of perfect spacing Bionic Commando where they make people wait 20 years?

  • The_Godfather_

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 1:05 pm PT

    where is the pc version of Fable II ?!?

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 12:54 pm PT

    @XxFulgrimxX

    Me too

  • XxFulgrimxX

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 12:52 pm PT

    Fable 2 was a HUUUUUUUUGE letdown for me. The first one was good though.

  • Lionoversusking

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 11:44 am PT

    Fable was awesome loved it the sequel sucked lets see what happens for 3 then egh...
    Im really not liking the focus on expanding a glitchy rip off that really didnt capture any of the origonals epic story...

  • Trogeton

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 11:37 am PT

    Excellent News ALRIGHT!!!

  • ProGamerNerd

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 10:53 am PT

    fable1 is awsaome fable2 is excellent, fable 3 we will see. and as for project natal, why would i waste my time chatting to that kid. really come on.

  • gnrlstuart

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 10:43 am PT

    oh and just to add, despite the ps3's price cut and redesign, they announced absolutely nothing either. but ms had a killer e3, and layed pretty much all its cards on the table. so it understandable for the lackluster conference. lets hope sony get some more sales with this. because its definitely a good move on thier part.

  • ultralesus

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 10:42 am PT

    Sounds promicing. However, I've lernt to take things Peter Stupid-last-name-I-can-never-spell says with a pinch of salt..

    Kinda lame though this is all Microsoft has. They seem to have used everything for e3 this year.

  • gnrlstuart

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 10:39 am PT

    i hope it has some natal integration. oh well fable 2 was pretty fun.

  • Zapp3d

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 10:24 am PT

    if your the king then that sort of defeats the purpose of fable, being able to explore any where and beig able to interact with people normally, if you were king everyone would just freak out when they saw you

  • swamptick

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 10:07 am PT

    I am getting it.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:29 am PT

    I am pumped but I can see this game being pushed back past late 2010

  • slipknot611

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:21 am PT

    That whole Project Natal thing sure looks sweet... but they seriously want me to believe that it's going to be that awesome when it drops? Not to mention, are 360 gamers really going to want to interact with little kids on their televisions for hours? Nice looking tech, don't get me wrong, but how about getting some interaction with characters we'd care about. Imagine that tech applied to a world like the one in Gears of War or Halo. At the very least, it could make a sequel to Playboy the Mansion rather... *ahem* interesting.

  • rosen22

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:10 am PT

    still no pc release. F*** you peter

  • gimlifn

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:09 am PT

    I think its a nice switch to start out as a king instead of always starting out as the nobody that advances to stardom by the end of the game.

  • Misfit1119

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:07 am PT

    @Icehearted - Amen to that. Then again don't even get me started on that crappy half-baked "multiplayer" mode. A terrible camera and inability to use your actual character just made that laughable. Then it doesn't even work properly out of the box. Argh!

    Feel free to take that comment out of context. That'll show those women for not talking to me and then threatening divorce!

  • noxboxlive

    Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:01 am PT

    ok i surrender im buying it 'bows down to pm' all hail

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