Microsoft Purchases Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios

[Griking]

REDMOND, Wash. — April 6, 2006 — Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) today announced it has purchased U.K.-based Lionhead Studios, one of the world’s leading and most innovative video game developers and creators of “Fable®,” the hit Xbox® and Windows® franchise.

Lionhead Studios will immediately begin creating content exclusively for the Xbox 360™ and Microsoft® Windows platforms. The companies previously worked together on the popular role-playing games “Fable” for Xbox and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” for Xbox and Windows, which have collectively surpassed the 2 million global unit sales milestone, making “Fable” the best-selling role-playing franchise on the Xbox platform. “Fable” and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” enable players to make decisions that affect their character’s skills, appearances and morality and the world around them.

Link (http://www.lionhead.com/news/mgsacquirelh.html)

[googlefest1]

huh, I thought MS owned them from the begining

[Joker T]

I guess Black and White isn't coming out for DS anymore.

[njiska]

I guess Black and White isn't coming out for DS anymore.

Why not? MS does allow Rare to produce Banjo games for the DS.

[n8littlefield]

Black & White Creatures for the DS and PSP was licensed to Majesco for development. I'm sure that Microsoft wouldn't stop the DS version (Majesco's financial problems, on the other hand might...) but I do wonder if they have authority to halt the PSP game.

This year's E3 is shaping up to be REALLY interesting, as I'm sure that's when we'll find out what Majesco is still doing. I'm atleast hoping the PS2 Jaws game still comes out.

[Joker T]

I guess Black and White isn't coming out for DS anymore.

Why not? MS does allow Rare to produce Banjo games for the DS.

Oh yeah I forgot about that.

[nik]

Wow.

So they just bought fable?

What a deal.. hopefully this'll pressure little petey to make good on his promises.

[diskoboy]

Now let's pray they re-start devlopment on B.C.

Maybe now, for both the regular xbox and now the 360.

[Xizer]

I don't know whether to be thrilled or concerned at this news.

I like Lionhead Studios...but I don't know whether Microsoft will be good for them or not. Microsoft's better than EA, at least.

[Julio III]

I'm unsure on Lionhead really, though nothing, or hardly anything, can match the heydey of Bullfrog. I just don't really see Lionhead as being worth much nowadays. I mean, 2 big releases which should (or maybe would have, sometime) been massive, The Movies and Black And White 2 kindof both dissapeared without much being made out of them. At least Moleneux is still a PC game designer though...

[Rev. Link]

Penny Arcade had a hilarious comic about this a few days ago. Go check it out.

[Frankie23]

"The companies previously worked together on the popular role-playing games “Fable” for Xbox and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” for Xbox and Windows"

Shouldn't that read "game and expansion pack"? I'm still annoyed I bought Fable on launch day, beat it so quickly, and then they had the nerve to release a bigger, cheaper version the next year.

"which have collectively surpassed the 2 million global unit sales milestone, making “Fable” the best-selling role-playing franchise on the Xbox platform."

Which is *especially* impressive considering how much RPG competition there is on the Xbox...

*whistles innocently*

[calthaer]

The golden days of Molyneux's game development talent have left...or perhaps it's simply that he never had the pockets to develop quality like he could have. Maybe now he will.

Warren Spector and / or Richard Garriott could beat him any day of the week, though.

[Ed Oscuro]

I guess Black and White isn't coming out for DS anymore.

Why not? MS does allow Rare to produce Banjo games for the DS.
In my humble opinion, one of these things is worth looking forward to, the other not really.