No Fable II for PC, says Lionhead News

"We're not working on a PC version of Fable II."

Ah but is the company subcontracted to do the work doing so?

:)

"Ah but is the company subcontracted to do the work doing so?"

Yes, it's the same team that's porting MGS4 and Mario Galaxy to the Colecovision.

A NEXT FABLE IS = ! = i

Well I always say "Never say never"...

... but if Fable II doesn't happen then it would be a shame because a tear-free version with a better framerate and extra features would have been very, very nice...

That's a shame, I prefer Fable 1 on PC. Still, if I really want to play Fable II I'll buy it for 360.

Theres no viable reason for there not to be a more complete PC version released.

It makes no sense not to do it, it was successful with Fable I...

This is starting to be as boring as the "MGS on the 360" affair.

"Theres no viable reason for there not to be a more complete PC version released.

It makes no sense not to do it, it was successful with Fable I... "

Let's see, spend you starteam resources on porting a game to the pc where it will get questionable results or spend those resources on making a new IP for the 360 that is guaranteed to be a success...Yeah, that's a really tough choice.

I'd say... cut that "more complete, ultimate yada, yada...", and... beg!

lol.

@Xerxes

+1

I think MS wants to keep exclusives like that and Gears 2 to get more hardware pushed.

I'm kinda disappointed by that - would have liked to play it - but to be honest I think I'd rather it didn't come out at all than to be a unstable or unreliable port like a few PC conversions have been recently.

There's nothing wrong with being a console game, and there's no reason to just shove it out on PC unless you are going to do a proper job with it.

Having said all that, I stil wouldn't be surprised to see a PC version eventually - maybe it'll be a better game for the wait.

noooo !

I want it real bad, and don't wanna buy -again- a 360

@Xerx3s What do you mean questionable results? Fable I sold very well on the PC.

It doesnt take as much effort to port a 360 game (already using direct X architecture) to the PC as it does to create a whole new IP on the 360.

Yeah right :)

Same as there were no GTA IV PC version in work :D

And a lot of other games before.

Not like I care for "casual rpg with three buttons control" anyway :D

It's funny to check the profiles (and previous statements) of those who comment this thread :}

@ ChaK

Welcome to the strategy of Microsoft Game Studios. They are forcing PC gamers to buy 360's to play their games. The way that MS is killing the PC gaming, I wouldn't be surprised if Windows 8 didn't contain DirectX.

"It's well worth a look - check out the review if you don't believe us. "

depending on which one of the EG staff review it at the time...

;)

Of all idiocy you see on the internet these days, the gloating of the intellectually more challenged console nerds at news like this is amongst the most stupid one. No wonder miiguel is on the forefront. \o/

Good thing it's only Fable. Would have been interested, but I am not too fussed, as the first one was a bit pap.

It's embarrassing this website thinks it's well worth a look.

Why do developers like to call "No PC version!" so early? Gear of War and GTAIV both did it, and both have PC versions now, so I'm not sure if that's reliable. I certainly believe it's not in development as I type, but it won't surprise me when I see it in the shops.

@farticusmaximus
27-Jan-09 09:07:20

"Ah but is the company subcontracted to do the work doing so?"

Yes, it's the same team that's porting MGS4 and Mario Galaxy to the Colecovision.

I dont understand yourpoint - porting fable II to pc would hardly be challenging, and in the past this type of thing is outsourced

The quote was carefully crafted PR bullshit. I am surprised you do not see through it.

"Good thing it's only Fable. Would have been interested, but I am not too fussed, as the first one was a bit pap. "

+1

Also, I thought everyone had Miiguel on ignore since about 2007? ;)

@jstar

Usefull comment there.

I still play it, 2 months down the road, 2 characters now, firing up nr 3. Love it to death, different tastes I guess. There are no games which everybody likes. Especially not anal people like us gamers.

Didn't they outsource the Fable PC dev to someone else? Or was it just a different internal team?

"The quote was carefully crafted PR bullshit. I am surprised you do not see through it."

I'm not a fan of speculation. When a PC port is announced by MS/Lionhead then it will be official. Until then it will officially not be coming to the PC. End of story.

"@Xerx3s What do you mean questionable results? Fable I sold very well on the PC."

It sold just over 1 million iirc. That's a nice figure but why waste time and resources on it when you can make 3 to 5 times that much? At the best you can hope for some port by a b-team outsider.

"It doesnt take as much effort to port a 360 game (already using direct X architecture) to the PC as it does to create a whole new IP on the 360."

Yes it has become a lot easier to port but even with the current tools you still need to rework tons of code, there is a big difference between developing for a locked down platform and developing for a platform that has unlimited hardware combinations. That's not even mentioning the art side that has to be completely upgraded, all the new testing, new bugs, etc. We are not talking a single button press thing here (even though the 'convert to windows game' button in the VS solution explorer might suggest that ;p).

Just a small example, I've been working on a small pet project for XNA. Works like a charm on the 360 but when porting to the pc it just completely went tits up. Things you haven't even thought about rear their head. No shader 2.0 cards i.e. And the 360 supports models with textures in quantifications of 4 while 3 out of 4 pc's I tested only supported quantifications of 2 (meaning that you will have to redo the texturing on the models just for those old machines). etc. etc. etc.

I can only imagine what kind of awesome bugs pop up when porting a game with years of coding in it.

Bah! I was really looking forward to this, the original is one of my favourite games. : (

Well the 360 could do with some proper exclusives.

/drools

"but if Fable II doesn't happen then it would be a shame because a tear-free version with a better framerate and extra features would have been very, very nice... "

Games like this arent always technically superior on a PC. See Saints Row 2 review.

I guess this is one game PC owners will not be able to download off some porn ridden torrent site. My heart bleeds for them.

That's right, pretend 360 games piracy doesn't exist.

and of course all PC Gamers are thieving bastards...

Although lets not get started on the piracy debate, again. Until digital distribution numbers are taken into account when discussing sales the impact piracy is having is mostly guess work.

UncleLou
"Of all idiocy you see on the internet these days, the gloating of the intellectually more challenged console nerds at news like this is amongst the most stupid one."

+1 I never understand where the good news is in news like this.

Welcome to the strategy of Microsoft Game Studios. They are forcing PC gamers to buy 360's to play their games. The way that MS is killing the PC gaming,

Is this a joke? Please tell me you were being sarcastic there. Forcing PC gamers to buy original 360 IPs on 360? Bwahahaha!

Really then if there are more people with this idiotic notion then MS can NEVER do right by the haters because you have both sides of the coin smeared in that shit.

side a) MS doesnt even have any exclusives for 360 so whats the point in buying one? Just wait for the PC port.

side b) Teh evil MS are destroying PC gaming by not releasing their own AAA games from 360 on the PC.

Im glad they are starting to see the importance of platform exclusives(and not just console exclusives), it really will shift more hardware in the long run as they pile them up(Gears2, Fable2, Banjo, the Forza's and PGR's and so on)... they will likely make much more money from the extra install base the platform exclusives will bring than the 1million units or so they will sell if they are lucky from the PC port which is sold at a lower price anyway(and often pirated all over the show).

Really I never thought I'd see that kind of reaction to MS rightfully holding on to their 360 exclusives(their own IPs) for once.

@Calgon

But surely for the consumer, exclusives are bad. Much better if every game is released on every platform. Or better yet, only one open platform exists which all games are made for.

@Cylinder

One single platform would be ideal for consumers, however would not give hardware manufacturers much of a unique selling point to tempt customers with so there's virtually no chance of that happening.

Welcome to the strategy of Microsoft Game Studios. They are forcing PC gamers to buy 360's to play their games. The way that MS is killing the PC gaming

I am a hardcore PC gamer, with an embarrassingly overpowered rig; and always get multi-format games on PC (e.g. FarCry 2 @ 2560x1600 everything maxed out and 110+fps).

But, I bought a Jasper 360 + 120GB hard-drive to play Halo 3, Fable 2, and GoW2 -- so I think you could be right. :-(

This generic reply have been the standard for years before fable 2 was launched....Old news is old.

Also that guy with the secon reply in that thread is so fucking cool

But then, do PC gamers really care?

The Witcher > Fable II

This is exactly what Rockstar said.. six months before GTA4 came out on PC. They're paid to lie, of course it's coming out for PC. I'd estimate in the middle of summer.

@Crofto

Isn't that coming to 360 and PS3 too?;P

@Crofto
But then, do PC gamers really care?

The Witcher > Fable II

The Witcher is awesome, Fable II is awesome. Whichever one you prefer is purely personal, it's like saying apples > oranges. If you like apples more, I suppose they are.

Incidentally, The Witcher is coming soon to a console near you! (Well, it is, depending on your definition of close and soon and providing said console is a 360 or PS3).

http://become.thewitcher.com/

@farticusmaximus
@Cylinder

One single platform would be ideal for consumers, however would not give hardware manufacturers much of a unique selling point to tempt customers with so there's virtually no chance of that happening.

Yeah, even assuming that you could get them to agree on specifications can you imagine the fight over who gets to run the Xbox Live/PSN equivalent? On a single platform (call it the WiiBOXPC3) that's damn near a licence to print money.

They'd end up having to free the whole thing up, a services company will host it making "modest" profits and every developer and publisher capable of uploading a file and negotiating a price would have a go. Good for everyone except the current console manufacturers. Naw, Nintendo, MS and Sony are happy as it is, getting a slice of everything sold on their systems. Losing out on the occasional exclusive is a small price to pay.

Anyway, I'm gonna go brush off my Colecovision in preparation for MGS4 and Mario Galaxy.

@mkreku
This is exactly what Rockstar said.. six months before GTA4 came out on PC. They're paid to lie, of course it's coming out for PC. I'd estimate in the middle of summer.

Incidentally, "we're not working on a PC version of Fable II" is not the same as "we're not considering a PC version of Fable II" in the same way that "we're considering a PC version of Fable II" is not the same as "we're working on a PC version of Fable II".

They are not currently working on a PC version, they may start at some stage in the future but they're not, at the moment, working on a PC version. This seems clear to me and I see no reason to call them liars over it. As for GTA4, maybe if Rockstar had spent more than six months porting to PC it'd have been a better version. :)

Really I never thought I'd see that kind of reaction to MS rightfully holding on to their 360 exclusives(their own IPs) for once.

Let's assume for a moment Microsoft would lose interest in consoles and tried to push PC gaming more. First step would be the release of sequels PC-exclusively where the original was also on the 360. Sounds great, no?

Their strategy (and they openly said it's their strategy in the past) to basically make PCs look less attractive to shift more consoles is a very strange one, considering PC gamers already own a gaming platform Microsoft is responsible for. Now all that wouldn't be so bad if they had a clear direction, but they absolutely have none. Lies about exclusivity which turns out to be none, oiginals on the PC where the sequel is suddenly exclusive, on the other hand lip services like joining the PC Gaming Alliance, or the mess that is GfW.

If you are able to look just a little bit beyond your own little world, you should be able to see why they don't have the best reputation. That you applaud them for this just because it happens to be in line with your current interests is as short-sighted as it is worrying.

Do I believe I have any "right" to get a PC version of Fable 2? No, absolutely not. Doesn't mean I have to agree with their policy.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go brush off my Colecovision in preparation for MGS4 and Mario Galaxy."

I have advanced preview copies, if you'd like I can send them to you.

Don't be alarmed if the cases say 'asteroids' and the games both look very similar to 'asteroids'. ;)

Just buy a 360 you cheap bastards! :D

The "I don't need a 360 because all of its exclusives go to PC anyway" excuse is losing water by the day. Maybe MS heard you and is listening.

Just buy a 360 you cheap bastards! :D

Nothing to do with the price, I just don't want one. I don't like the whole philosophy and business model behind consoles.

"Their strategy (and they openly said it's their strategy in the past) to basically make PCs look less attractive to shift more consoles is a very strange one"

No, no it isn't even in the slightest bit a strange decision. More money can be made in console gaming, plain and simple.

They still have the PC world tied up quite neatly through windows and the vast majority of the worlds development being done via Visual Studio products. Microsoft's income from PC games has to be pretty much negligible.

I know you're here to troll, but at least try to understand the context. Thanks.

"Nothing to do with the price, I just don't want one. I don't like the whole philosophy and business model behind consoles."

Well, then you're going to miss out on some games - that's something you'll have to accept. Conversely, you'll get some games that console-only owners won't. Give and take, man.

Don't know how you can disagree with the strategy, though I do see your point that it's not a very consistent one. Maybe in the future that'll change? All of the grumblings about not needing a 360 due to the exclusives going to PC may have set MS on a new course.

"Well, then you're going to miss out on some games - that's something you'll have to accept."

Why of course. I never said anything else.

Don't know how you can disagree with the strategy

I have no idea why I should agree with it. I can understand it as a business strategy - doesn't mean I need to agree with it. Not because I want them to go out of business, of course, but because I think there'd be alternatives which would be a lot more consumer-friendly than what they're doing right now. I think it's wiser in the long run to give costumers something they want than to try and sell them something they don't really want.

And again (Fable 2 is a bit of a shitty example, admittedly, so this really is more of a general point) - it's their half-arsedness that's annoying. If they announced today that all gaming will be banned from Windows, I'd buy an Apple and be done with it. ;)

Is every PC gamer a lost 360 gamer?

This is part 2 of the interview. Here they also state that getting people to buy the 360 over the a PC is goal. Although they mention Germany, you can be sure that this is a worldwide strategy (backing up what Uncle-Lou said):

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/microsoft-game-studios-europe-part-2

@ Calgon

Chill the fuck out dude.

@ farticusmaximus

I agree with your point about them not making much money from the PC world. They don't have many big name IP's to cash in on.