Molyneux admits Milo is "contentious"
Doesn't think of it as a released product.
Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has admitted that Project Milo, which allows gamers to interact with a virtual young boy using Xbox 360 add-on sensor Kinect, is suffering from associations with paedophilia.
"There's a lot of huge mountains to climb before that [Milo is released] happens, Molyneux told The USA Today.
"The reason for that is it is enormously contentious for us to do a game, a story, an experience, about a boy. You are immediately appealing to all the dark thoughts of humanity.
"I actually love that, the idea of being so contentious that it makes people turn around and say, 'You can't do a story about a boy.' But, for me, doing that in that way is absolutely right.
"After all, for me one of the best films I saw last year was about an old man and a boy scout. It was called Up.
"If I described for you this story, 'It's about an old man and a Boy Scout, strangers meeting and living together and going on adventures, you'd say, 'You can't do that. It's out of the question.'
"What you look for in drama and story is uniqueness and you look for experiences that people haven't had before and I think it's good to get it on a contentious level."
Last month Microsoft mouthpiece Aaron Greenberg told Eurogamer Project Milo's release was in Molyneux's hands.
According to Molyneux, however, it seems increasingly unlikely that Milo will make it onto store shelves.
"I don't think of it as a released product at the moment," he said.
"I still think this is a very, very big tech demo. I don't think of it as something that would be a boxed product on the shelf."
Still, Molyneux reckons Milo will eventually end up in gamers' hands: "I think so, eventually. I do."
What is Project Milo? Watch the video below to find out.