Fable-3 posts

PC games have been wondering if Microsoft is really serious about re-entering the PC game publishing field with Fable III. The folks at developer Lionhead certainly seem serious about their work to bring 2010's Xbox 360 fantasy RPG to the PC platform, at least according to the game's new developer diary video.

The video shows a number of Lionhead team members talking about the various new changes they made to the game to make it work on the PC, including a total rewrite of the game's control system, the addition of 3D support and more. Fable 3 is currently due for release on May 17.

Download the Fable 3 PC developer diary video at Big Download

In a major about face for Microsoft, the publisher announced today that the upcoming PC version of developer Lionhead's fantasy RPG Fable III will be made available for purchase and download via Valve's Steam service as well as Microsoft's own Games For Windows Marketplace web site. Fable III will be the first Microsoft published game to be sold on Steam.

Microsoft and Valve have been rivals in the PC game download business as well as for extra PC game services (Steamworks vs Games For Windows Live) so Fable III's appearance on Steam is a pretty huge change of pace for Microsoft. The game will be made available for pre-orders later today on both Steam and Games For Windows Marketplace. Games For Windows Marketplace will offer Fable - The Lost Chapters, the PC port of the first game in the series, for free as a pre-order special. In addition Steam pre-orders will also get the exclusive Rebel's Weapon & Tattoo Pack, which adds four exclusive weapons and five character tattoos. The game will be released via these outlets and via retail stores on May 17.

Update: Games For Windows Live has now put up its pre-order page for Fable 3 as has Steam with its own Fable 3 pre-order page.

PC gamers have been waiting a while for this but today Microsoft, via the Major Nelson web site, finally announced that the long awaited PC port of Fable 3 will finally be released on May 17.

This port of 2010's Xbox 360 RPG from developer Lionhead Studios will come with a couple of extra features. One is support for Nvidia's 3D Vision technology. The other is a PC exclusive hardcore play mode which gives PC gamers a choice to go even higher in difficulty while playing through the game.

This game will be Microsoft's first major PC game it will publish since the PC port of Gears of War way back in December 2007. The May 17 release date also means it will join an already crowded May in terms of new PC game releases with titles like F.E.A.R. 3, Duke Nukem Forever, Red Faction Armageddon, Brink, Dungeon Siege 3 and The Witcher 2, among others.

[Via Joystiq]

Peter Molyneux is going to be hard to miss when it comes to picking up awards next month. The creator of classic PC games like Populous, Dungeon Keeper and many others is already set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award next week at the Game Developers Choice Awards at GDC 2011.

Now comes word that the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will also be honor Molyneux with its Academy Fellow honor during the BAFTA's annual game awards to be held on March 16. In a statement Molyneux states, "I remember back in 1967 watching the first BAFTA awards on television with my family and seeing them being so excited about those accolades. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would be possible for me to accept one of the greatest honours the entertainment industry has to offer."

PC gamers are still awaiting the promised PC port of Molyneux' latest game, the RPG Fable 3, from his Lionhead Studios team.

Peter Molyneux, one of the true pioneers and innovators in the PC game industry, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2011 Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony. The event will be held on March 2 as part of the 2011 Game Developers Conference.

The UK native Molyneux co-founded Bullfrog Productions in 1987 where he helped to create a number of classic PC games including Populus, Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper and many other titles. He left Bullfrog and founded Lionhead Studios in 1997 which made the Black and White titles and The Movies for the PC. While he has moved away from the PC platform in favor of the Xbox and Xbox 360 with the Fable RPG series, Molyneux will return to the PC platform in 2011 with the planned release of a PC version of Fable 3.

That Razer concept dealie for the mobile PC game device has a ton of potential. They just need to get the right combo of hardware and price and it could sell like hotcakes.

• Steam now has the Mac port of Assassin's Creed II available for purchase. It also supports Steamplay (PC version gets the Mac port for free and vise versa).
• Steam has new automatic updates available for Swarm Arena, Ship Simulator Extreme and Rush.
• Fable III for the PC showed up with a playable build at CES this week. Sadly there's still no word of a release date.
• A panel about Thief 4 is scheduled for the 2011 Game Developers Conference. But it's just for the game's music.

The current status of Fable 3's PC port is still up in the air and developer Lionhead Studios isn't much help in giving its fan any info on what's happening with the promised version of its Xbox 360 RPG. In a new message on the studio's Twitter page, Lionhead status, "It's painful to admit we can't yet answer any questions on the PC version of Fable III... Hopefully soon we can spill the beans!."

Publisher Microsoft announced a PC port of Fable 3 in 2010 but then delayed the PC version so it wouldn't be released at the same time as the Xbox 360 version which came out last October. In November, Lionhead issued a "tweet" saying the PC port "is still in development here at Lionhead".

[Via VG247.com]

Microsoft is getting ready to launch yet another major revamp in its 3 1/2 year old Games For Windows program for PC gaming. Today the company officially announced that starting on November 15, the Games For Windows Marketplace web site will go live. PC gamers can purchase and download full PC game titles from the site. The Games For Windows Live client software, which also supports for full PC game downloads, will be used for other purposes after November 15.

Big Download chatted on the phone earlier this week with Microsoft group product manager Peter Orullian about the upcoming changes for its PC game download service. However before we get to his comments and the specifics of the changes that will be made to Games For Windows Marketplace let's go back in time to see how it has evolved to its current point.

There are star-studded voice acting casts, and then there's the cast of Fable 3. This developer diary goes in-depth into the process of recording dialogue, and in the process showcases some very well-known names attached to Lionhead's newest project. Our favorites of the list are three of the funniest comedic actors around: John Cleese, Simon Pegg, and Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry is a returning actor, as he is once again voicing Reaver (a character from the second game), but the other two are new to the series. In general, this diary is a good introduction to the cast of characters and actors behind the story in Fable 3, and that's always fine by us.

Microsoft has been trying to convince the media that it's really serious this time about improving its PC games business. The company hasn't published a PC game in almost three years but now has three announced PC games in the works (Fable 3, Age of Empires Online and Microsoft Flight).

In a chat with MCV, Microsoft Games Studios' general manager Dave Luehmann states, "It is our job to lead the way on PC. And in some ways we are doing that and in other ways we are not. So we need to step up." He says that the three games mentioned above represent " .... some real investment and big IPs behind the Windows platform." And he adds, " ... we are not going to stop there."