Microsoft Acquires Lionhead

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steviep

Supreme [H]ardness
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Sad for fans of other consoles, but at least PC owners will get the usual "wait for 6-12 months for the game to show up on PC". Wonder how God games will work with a gamepad... wonder what happens to the DS' Black and White game. Too bad no Revolution titles either, since that platform would be perfect for Peter. Ah well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4882330.stm
 
No kidding. MS says they won't neuter him, but constricting his studio to one platform with only a gamepad as input effectively does that.
 
steviep said:
No kidding. MS says they won't neuter him, but constricting his studio to one platform with only a gamepad as input effectively does that.
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I wonder what the details behind the acquisition are? I'm sure that Molyneaux could always jump ship and start yet another company.
 
He could... especially considering he was one of the first to express excitment and bewilderment at the Revolution's controller. But I doubt Microsoft would allow that to happen, in either case.
 
I dont think it limits him at all really, he is creative enough to realize visions on the 360 and PC just fine. All this really means is that games like Fable2 will be X360 exclusive then come out on PC later...which was the case with Fable 1 anyways....
 
Wow that sucks. PC gaming is looking insanely grim these days. At this rate we'll get one generic FPS and one generic RTS a year with nothing in between.
 
Yeah, it's a sad day for innovation. Yay for another fable :rolleyes:
 
steviep said:
Yeah, it's a sad day for innovation.
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not at all, its not like Microsoft is moving Molyneux to accounting for their Office software :rolleyes:

It may be a sad day for innovation on non-MS systems (PC = MS systems). Microsoft has been trying to push Windows as a gaming platform lately so I doubt they will cripple Lionhead in their PC releases very much.
 
Erasmus354 said:
not at all, its not like Microsoft is moving Molyneux to accounting for their Office software :rolleyes:

It may be a sad day for innovation on non-MS systems (PC = MS systems). Microsoft has been trying to push Windows as a gaming platform lately so I doubt they will cripple Lionhead in their PC releases very much.
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Maybe, maybe not. But consider this. Oblivion was designed with the XBox and mind, and you can clearly tell. The fact that user-based mods are necessary to basically make the user interface usable on PC is one of the indication, its poorly optimized engine is another. Lionhead may fall into the same situation.
 
peacetilence said:
PC gaming is looking insanely grim these days. .
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Heh, oddly enough it was only what? One week ago there was a artical on the main page titled "Its a good time to be a gamer". :p
The artical stated that games where starting to resurge...

Regardless... I agree, its been a long while since games where consistantly kick ass.
 
steviep said:
No kidding. MS says they won't neuter him, but constricting his studio to one platform with only a gamepad as input effectively does that.
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Microsoft still puts out PC games. And, Oblivion should be a pretty obvious clue that you can do a lot with a gamepad.

-Erwos
 
Microsoft also likes money, and marketshare for their gaming devices. Yes, you can do a lot with a gamepad. But try playing a game like Black and White with one.
 
steviep said:
Microsoft also likes money, and marketshare for their gaming devices. Yes, you can do a lot with a gamepad. But try playing a game like Black and White with one.
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Which is exactly why games like Black and White will remain primarily on what Microsoft calls their number one gaming platform : Windows PC's.

So stop with all the doom and gloom people.
 
I think its GREAT news! More funding for Lionhead and Fable 2 for the 360 :D
 
steviep said:
Microsoft also likes money, and marketshare for their gaming devices. Yes, you can do a lot with a gamepad. But try playing a game like Black and White with one.
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I could see black and white working pretty good with a controller like the xbox360's.
 
I was happy to hear this. I have a decent PC and a 360, so either way I am covered. I will be able to play any game Lionhead can put out.
 
Viper87227 said:
I was happy to hear this. I have a decent PC and a 360, so either way I am covered. I will be able to play any game Lionhead can put out.
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Same here, and daddy Bill's bankroll is a powerful thing to have at your disposal. Personally, I like (yeah I said it) a fair amount of system exclusive titles. Makes for better competition amongst the consoles rather than putting out the same game on every platform and letting people take it or leave it.
 
Rare is till putting out game boy games so I think its possible we might see somthing on non MS systems.
 
[T5K]thrasher said:
Rare is till putting out game boy games so I think its possible we might see somthing on non MS systems.
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This is because MS doesn't have a handheld system, so it doesn't compete with any of their products. I wonder if MS only allows them to make Gameboy/DS games since they are much more interested in overtaking Sony than worrying about Nintendo.

I also like exclusives. They seem to be much more optimized for the exclusive system and its particular controller.
 
this seems to be great news, it pretty much gives him an unlimited pocket book
 
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/10/molyneux-predicted-a-revolution-in-04/
Just thought I'd ressurect this thread with a recently discovered statement from Peter back in '04... interesting and sad at the same time. Hehe.

During a demonstration of Fable, his then-upcoming RPG, at 2004's DICE conference, Peter Molynuex predicted that game controllers needed a revolution -- so to speak -- to accomodate the shift in game design. He said:
I reckon, and this is a real personal point of view, the greatest innovation in hardware won't come from the next graphics processor, or the next processor, or the next console, or even the next PC. Someone, somewhere will come up with an input device that enables us to do games that we haven't even imagines before ... somewhere, someone is going to come up with a second-generation controller because, I would argue, the controllers we have now were designed to actually move around 2D worlds, and they've been hybrided for 3D worlds, and they're still not good enough, and the number of times you have to go through and re-jig your game because of the controllers.
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Why is it such a tragedy when Microsoft does this? I don't see people spreading this doom and gloom nonsense when any other company acquires a develpoment studio.

steviep said:
Maybe, maybe not. But consider this. Oblivion was designed with the XBox and mind, and you can clearly tell. The fact that user-based mods are necessary to basically make the user interface usable on PC is one of the indication, its poorly optimized engine is another. Lionhead may fall into the same situation.
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This is such a ridiculous cop-out for lazy developers.

Interfaces for PC titles don't have to be sloppy because they have a counterpart on consoles. Lay the blame where it really belongs; Bethesda.

The game was rushed in many respects and it wasn't because of Microsoft.
 
steviep said:
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/10/molyneux-predicted-a-revolution-in-04/
Just thought I'd ressurect this thread with a recently discovered statement from Peter back in '04... interesting and sad at the same time. Hehe.

During a demonstration of Fable, his then-upcoming RPG, at 2004's DICE conference, Peter Molynuex predicted that game controllers needed a revolution -- so to speak -- to accomodate the shift in game design. He said:
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So his true feelings come forth, the real reason why steviep is upset about this acquisition is not because he thinks Microsoft is going to hamper Molyneaux's creativity...but because that creativity will not be coming to his beloved "Revolution".
 
Part of me is upset since he was such a heavy supporter of the Revolution, yes (and was one of the first to get his hands on dev hardware as a result). Whichever game he had in the works for it has likely been scrapped, or will have to be ported to Vista (not a bad deal since I own a great PC). That said, I'm honestly more upset that his studio was swallowed. Generally when studios are bought out by a big conglomerate, the results are mixed or poor - especially in the case of a few of Microsofts most recent acquisitions.

This from last October, before he even started working on whatever he was working on:
Interviewed by G4TV, famous game developer Peter Molyneux has talked more on Revolution. Read his comments inside...

Creative genius behind Lionhead studios and such games as Black and White and Fable, Molyneux has always been a strong supporter of Nintendo's Revolution. Here's what he had to say:

G4: Now Peter, I wanna start off with breaking news. The Nintendo Revolution controller. That was unveiled last week. A few weeks ago, you had this quote about never underestimate Nintendo. So I assume you got to see it ahead of time right?

PM: I mean... :stutters: you know, I've heard rumors about it for a little while, and I can tell you it's a great great product, and that's exactly what I meant by never underestimate Nintendo. You know, this is a Revolution. It's what they, you know, it's not the hardware of the machine, it's not the speed of the machine, it's the fact that that device will enable games to be made unlike no other have ever been.

G4: So you already thinking of ideas? You think you're gonna do a game for it?

PM: Well, I mean, you know, absolutely. It, it's so exciting to actually, for the first time, feel that you can move something in a 3D space. I mean, you gotta remember Jeff, that, the controllers that we're currently using on the other consoles, really have their origin in platform games. They have no sympathy for moving around in a you know, a 3D world, and that's what makes Revolution so exciting. Yeah, I would love to be doing something for it.
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