IGN INTERVIEW: PETER MOLYNEAUX ON FABLE 2

IGN has a short interview with Peter Molyneaux, head of Lionhead Studios and the creative mind behind the upcoming Xbox 360 title Fable 2. Now, as many of you may know, Molyneaux has made a habit of making claims during the development process that his games just flat-out didn’t live up to, and that has led to many angry gamers. Well, it seems Peter finally gets it, as he made the following statement and then stuck to it throughout the interview “”I learned my lesson in terms of the press not to blow my mouth off every time I think of an idea.” – Peter Molyneaux Let’s see how long Peter can stick to that. Can you tell I’ve been burned by a few of his games in the past? – Click here to check out the article.

NAMCO BANDAI CANCELS FRAME CITY KILLER

Gamespot is reporting that Namco Bandai has cancelled their upcoming Xbox 360 game Frame City Killer. The game, which had been delayed several times already, was an action game where you took the part of a secret agent battling a terrorist organization in the year 2047 and was slated to use the much heralded Unreal Engine 3. According to Gamespot, Namco Bandai made the following statement;

“We are sorry to say that we have decided that Frame City–the Xbox 360 game which our company had planned for a spring 2006 release–will not be released, Our apologies to everyone who was looking forward to the game’s release.” – Namco Bandai Press Release (As per Gamespot)

Namco Bandai did follow up the statement with a reassurance that they would still develop for the Xbox 360 and that they currently have a RPG in the works for the Platform. Check out the Gamespot article here.

REMINDER: VERIZON MILLION POINT GIVEAWAY BEGINS AT 6PM EST

Just a quick reminder that the Xbox Live/Verizon Million Point Giveaway is scheduled to begin this evening at 6pm EST (3pm PST), so if you want your free marketplace points, be sure to head over to the Verizon’s E3 2006 Xbox Live Gold Free Week site at that time. You have been warned! This information is based on the schedule listed at the Verizon E3 2006 Xbox Live Gold Free Week site and could change without notice, so don’t blame me if they mess it up.

SAM AND MAX TRAILER NOW AVAILABLE

The first teaser trailer for Telltale’s Sam & Max game is now available. Maybe it’s me, but Max just doesn’t sound right… here’s to hoping they fix that. Head on over to the official Sam & Max game website to see it.

KAZ HIRAI DEFENDS PLAYSTATION 3 PRICE

CNN Money has an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America president Kaz Hirai. The article focuses on the high price of the Playstation 3 and the two different versions of the system, The view Hirai took of the PS3 and what the big picture is was this;

“I think when you look at what we put into the box – Cell, Blu-Ray, backwards compatibility, the ability to go online – I think it’s a very compelling package for consumers, the totality of what we bring to the table makes it a good value for consumers.” - Kaz Hirai

“What we’re presenting to consumers is future-proofed. It’s not going to fall by the wayside.” – Kaz Hirai

The most disturbing part of the article came when Hirai had no answer for the most serious concern regarding the lack of HDMI output on the lower end Playstation 3.

“The lack of an HDMI output could have future ramifications on the system, though. Some observers have questioned whether Blu-Ray movies will be playable on the PS3 once motion picture companies enable copy protection on the discs.

Hirai said it was “too early to speculate at this point” about such problems.” – CNN Money Article

Too early to speculate? they ship in roughly six months, they’re pushing the fact that the system plays Blu-Ray movies as a major selling point, and yet they can’t guarantee the lower-end model will even be able to play Blu-Ray movies sometime after release?!

That’s a serious oversight and one hell of a ballsy statement to make. How exactly is something “future proofed” if you can’t even speak about the viability of a major function of the console which is based on a technology you control?

Read the CNN Money article here and shake your head along with me.