Lionhead release new update on much anticipated Fable Sequel.

Fable 2 News Update & Peter Molyneux Biography

Press Meida release:

“` May 2008: “Fable 2″ is the highly anticipated sequel to the wildly successful original that sold more than 3 million copies, offering even more choices and building on the core gameplay theme of “Fable,” where a player’s every decision continually defines whom they become. “Fable 2″ is an action role-playing game (RPG) that truly allows players to live the life they choose in the newly expanded open world of Albion.

“`Set 500 years after the original, “Fable 2″ will provide gamers with an epic story and innovative real-time gameplay, including a massive amount of freedom and choice to explore a vast collection of dungeons, catacombs and taverns in the world of Albion.

Features: “Fable 2″ features include the following:

• Choices, consequences. The innovative gameplay pioneered in the original “Fable” provided gamers with a never-before-seen level of immersion in a truly interactive world. “Fable 2″ expands upon the scope and depth of the Xbox classic by adding incredible new features and creating a wider, more complex kingdom of limitless choices and consequences. Players will have the option to play as a man or woman, get married, have children, and live a life of their own design – all leading to different consequences.
• A land far, far away. Gamers will revisit the newly expanded world of Albion more than 500 years after the events of the original “Fable,” where they are free to explore the landscape and openly roam the countryside. For the right price, every house, hut, dungeon and castle is for sale. Players can witness how the world grows and changes in response to their decisions in incredible and unique ways as they rediscover Albion as if for the first time.
• Fight with ease. “Fable 2″ pioneers a new combat system designed to allow players to truly master hand weapons such as swords and maces, ranged combat weapons such as crossbows and guns, and an entirely new magic system. These three disciplines, while very accessible, are also amazingly deep, and allow players to mix combat styles and become everything from master swordsman to skilled ranger to evil magic wielder, each using a different single button on the Xbox 360 controller.
• A hero’s best friend. This groundbreaking addition to the game is integral to the theme of unconditional love in “Fable 2.” A player’s canine companion will act as friend, compass and protector. Players must merely feed their pooch and he will love unconditionally, creating a bond that sets up emotion-filled journeys throughout this magical world.
• Experience the world together. For the first time in the “Fable” series, gamers can experience the expansive and immersive world of “Fable 2″ with friends, using the new and exciting Dynamic Co-op Mode, which brings the long-awaited multiplayer function to the world of “Fable 2.”
• Xbox LIVE Arcade minigames earn major gold. Lionhead Studios Ltd. is providing an unparalleled experience to gamers through Xbox LIVE Arcade. Gamers can start earning in-game currency for the “Fable 2″ world later this year, before the game’s release to retail, by downloading and playing an Xbox LIVE Arcade title, which contains three minigames. The Xbox LIVE Arcade title will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade and allow gamers to purchase weapons, armor and more for their hero. This is the first-of-its-kind experience for gamers that can only be found on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

“Acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in 2006, the U.K.-based Lionhead Studios has developed a `unique formula for creating original and innovative games such as the `extremely successful “Black & White” for Windows in 2001, “Fable” for `Xbox in 2004, “Fable: The Lost Chapters” for Windows in 2005, “Black & `White 2″ and “The Movies” in 2005.

NB: The information contained in this fact sheet relates to a pre-release product that may be substantially modified before its first commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the product when it is first commercially released. This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes only, and Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the fact sheet or the information contained in it.

New Fable 2 Screenshots

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Peter Molyneux Biography

April 2008

Peter Molyneux has built a reputation as one of the most well-known names in the video games industry. Over the course of his 20-year career, he has worked on numerous critically-acclaimed games, which cumulatively have sold in excess of 15 million copies including: “Populous” “Black and White” and “Fable.” Renowned as a video gaming pioneer in the UK, Peter’s contributions to the industry are also highly regarded in both the United States and Japan.

Peter’s career in game development began in 1987 with the formation of Bullfrog Productions. The company achieved mainstream success with the release of “Populous,” the first game ever to utilize the “the god game” model, where players control their environments with divine or supernatural powers. “Populous” was a massive worldwide hit and has since sold over 4 million copies. Peter and his team at Bullfrog went on to develop a string of top selling games including “Powermonger,” “Theme Park,” “Magic Carpet” and “Dungeon Keeper.” The company became recognized as one of the UK’s most successful development studios.

In 1997, Peter left Bullfrog Productions to form a new video game development company, Lionhead Studios. The company’s first release, “Black & White,” was voted “Game of Show” at E3 2000 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). “Black & White” was released in April 2001, and sales currently top the two million mark. Additionally, “Black and White” has won numerous awards across the industry including two British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards and three Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy awards for the following: Best PC Game, Best Animation and the Grand Prix Gold Award for Excellence.

In late 2004 Lionhead released its second game “Fable,” exclusively on the Xbox videogame and entertainment system and sales currently top three million copies. Lionhead followed up the success of “Black of White” and “Fable” with the release of “Black & White 2″ and “The Movies.” Lionhead is currently working on “Fable 2,” the highly anticipated sequel to “Fable,” which will be available exclusively on Xbox 360 in the fall of 2008.

Peter is recognized as one of the industry’s premiere speakers on the subject of video game development. He has spoken at the American Museum of the Moving Image, the British Film Institute, ICA (London), the Tate Gallery and the Dortmund Museum of History and Culture. He has also been featured in a multitude of national newspapers and broadcast outlets, including the Financial Times, USA Today and the BBC.

To date, Peter has been awarded four honorary doctorates from well-respected universities across Europe such as, Southampton, and Abertay Dundee recognizing his accomplishments in the field of Computer Science. Extending on his many accolades, in 2003 Peter was also inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, an honor that has been awarded to just six of his contemporaries, with Peter being the first European developer to be recognized. In 2005 Peter was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) honor for his services to the video game’s industry and in 2007 he was knighted by the French government, again, for his contributions to the video game’s industry.