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Lionhead's Peter Molyneux

On Fable 2, rubbish ideas and his admiration for MMOs.

EurogamerCan you talk about your role at Lionhead? A lot of people think you are Lionhead.
Peter Molyneux

I know, and that's a problem. I'm trying to make people realise that there's more to Lionhead than just me. We have these video diaries, and I've told people that I can be in them for ten seconds at most, and the people who make them get an extra pat on the back if they don't use me at all. I think one of the things that I would find immensely aggravating outside is that I get the credit for almost everything. So trying to expose people more is one of the things I definitely want to happen.

My actual job is the creative director. What that means is I've got three jobs. My first job is the studio head: it's my responsibility to make sure Lionhead's run in a nice way, and I have a people who make me look fantastically good, a director and production director. My second job is that all the designers ultimately report to me. Fable 2 has a design team of seven designers and I like to think of me as a guide. I don't come up with every idea, but I try to guide people to making the best decisions. At the moment, I'm also responsible for the balance passes of Fable 2, so I'm still intimately involved in the design.

EurogamerYou won't say what you're working on next, but are there specific things you're interested in at the moment, specific problems you want to solve, perhaps?
Peter Molyneux

One thing I can say is that technology is getting more technological and complex, and that upsets me.

The second thing is that I think the games industry has failed us all. When I first listened to Clive Sinclair, he said that this is the big new medium that's going to change the world. That led me to make Populous, which sold four million units. Our market share has not changed an iota since those days: we still make games that sell four million units and we still hail those as universal successes. Very few times a game sells eight million, and we celebrate those as being the biggest thing ever. But the biggest thing ever will entertain hundreds of millions of people.

EurogamerDo you think you might know how to make that?
Peter Molyneux

I think I'm learning how not to make that. People like Nintendo, I have to take my hat off to them because they're doing a lot more for mass entertainment than the techie side have done in a while.

And green.
EurogamerIt seems the success of Nintendo in the casual area has given Microsoft a crisis of faith in their overall strategy. Do you have any insight into the long-term strategy?
Peter Molyneux

Yes. I think Microsoft are fighting very hard to make the revolution that will eventually lead to mass entertainment. It's a shame that somebody's made that first step, but Microsoft's instinct is to be braver and bolder. I can't say anything about the strategy, but if they say they define themselves as making games for gamers, I think they're going to revolutionise what that means. It's fascinating to be part of a company that thinks like that, and that's more than just Xbox.

EurogamerWhere does Lionhead fit in?
Peter Molyneux

Lionhead has a mission statement: to be the most respected developer in the world. Underneath that is a new line: to be the most professionally-run studio in the world. A lot is riding on Fable 2, but I hope people would say we're very professionally run, and we're nice to work with. We don't shout here or throw tantrums, and that's very important to me, and I hope that means we're listened to a bit more deeply.

Fable 2 is due out exclusively for Xbox 360 in October.

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