Fable 2 ships non-line, online co-op to be added later
by Xav de Matos 
{ Sep 27th 2008 at 12:25AM }
We suppose some people will be upset about it but considering the GSB team expects the co-op to be added soon after release, Microsoft hopes for an update within a week or release, we aren't freaking out yet. However, considering most reviews will take the omission into account we wouldn't be surprised to see Fable 2 take a few dings on the Metacritic front. If that means anything to you, at all.
Gamerscore Blog ends the post by sending over a thank your from developer Lionhead for your understanding and patience. The team at Lionhead are very excited to have you play their grand RPG, so much so that the game went gold before, you know ... it was finished.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
j.howlett @ Sep 27th 2008 12:39AM
ain't that a kick in the head. the same promised feature from the first that got me to get my own xbox is missing at launch from the game i was recently considering getting my own 360 for. pete doesn't disappoint when it comes to disappointing. i still want it.
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 2:17AM
it's patching around launch week and it's called a disappointment? kids these days, i swear...
casey @ Sep 27th 2008 10:58AM
no j.howlett is right, pete always promises this and that, and alwayz find wayz to disappoint
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 12:06PM
he didn't promise that co-op will be available day one did he? so far every single damn thing he's promised he backed up with footage and gameplay. this is a minor inconvenience, not a disappointment.
he learned his lesson from the first Fable to shut his mouth before saying lofty ambitions that he couldn't fullfill. he said the first Fable was terrible compared to this one.
j.howlett @ Sep 27th 2008 12:06PM
kids these days, i swear . . . i'm not one. casey got that my dissatisfaction is with petey.
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 12:13PM
and your dissatisfaction is what exactly? that he talks about co-op and the beauty of it and the possibilities available and then its not available on day one?
it's still going to be there in the launch week, you still have the ability to trade and talk with a friend on day one (in the form of an orb).
i just don't see this as a disappointment, I'm sorry. i call cancellation of co-op a disappointment, not this.
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 2:03PM
besides, offline co-op is still there on day one.
it plays much like the Baldur's Gate, Champions of Norrath, X-Men Legends sort of isometric action RPGs where both characters are on screen at once. so no worries. :)
Arnon @ Sep 27th 2008 2:24PM
You know that Peter has nothing to do with this problem except for the fact his game is mentioned.. this has to do with Microsoft's servers.
Fire Fawkes @ Sep 27th 2008 12:48AM
...Huh...
And here I thought the game was "finished".
Scott @ Sep 27th 2008 12:51AM
They're going to have to get that patched within the first week AND it is going to have to work right or else they are really going to get dinged over it.
brainchild187 @ Sep 27th 2008 1:07AM
I can't believe this.......why would they announce and show online co-op but yet not have it ready by the time the game comes out? WOW........classic Peter I guess =(
Arnon @ Sep 27th 2008 1:11AM
Eh.. it's no biggie. If it's going to be in the game, then I'm happy with that..
Arnon @ Sep 27th 2008 1:17AM
"Although you won't be able to join up with a friend right away online, the Gamerscore post says you'll "still see your friends as glowing orbs as well as chat and trade with them.""
-IGN
Not that bad.
Vcize @ Sep 27th 2008 1:24AM
Pretty funny that Fable 2 and LBP are releasing on the same day, and both doing this same thing (although LBP has the online play, just not online level building yet).
lorddshadow @ Sep 27th 2008 1:37AM
but of course they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. lbp is fun and family friendly while fable 2 is fun and...encourages orgies. basically it means quite a few people are spending $120 on october 21.
BlaznGoldstein (Electric 6 Defense Force) @ Sep 27th 2008 1:33AM
No no no, it's a FEATURE like the Pub Games glitch. The lack of online Co-op is completely intentional! They purposely did this to give gamers time to truly make their worlds unique.... Right?
Gloqwi @ Sep 27th 2008 1:50AM
It's just like LBP not having online creating a level shipping with the game. They probably did this so people would not go straight for the co-op and experience the game for themselves.
Daveps @ Sep 27th 2008 3:07AM
OK, it is a bummer that the title wont have online at launch, but seriously, do we need to even consider this an issue? Yes, Lionhead said the game is finished and there would be online co-op. There is obviously a reason for this. Probably to test servers some more, maybe they didn't like something they saw. Maybe they wanted to let consumers enjoy their own game before delving into anothers world. Personally, I wasn't going to play co-op right away because I want to see the game as it is with out someone yammering in my hear and farting at my wife and kid. The thing is, it's a feature that will be added shortly after launch... I'm hoping. So until then, either play the game alone or don't buy it until the patch comes out. If you choose the latter you may be missing out on a great experience.
guidedbyvoip @ Sep 27th 2008 3:38AM
Does this mean I am a beta-tester now and not a final release gamer?
hot-doggin @ Sep 27th 2008 5:15AM
and the trees will grow in REAL TIME! (update pending).
Seriously, at least the coop will still actually be in the game, eventually.
Thomas Brown @ Sep 27th 2008 8:00AM
Well I`ll be getting it when the patch comes out....Fallout 3 it is.
Arnon @ Sep 27th 2008 8:12AM
So what you're saying is.. is that you were going to play online from the very beginning, when you have nothing to play online for..
I
Arnon @ Sep 27th 2008 8:13AM
I LOVE YOUR LOGIC!
DBoyFlex @ Sep 27th 2008 10:03AM
I get what everybody is saying: build your character up without rushing anything so that way when they release the patch, we have already experienced the game a bit and actually have direction in what we want to do, as opposed to unwrapping the game, finding friends and then aimlessly wandering around talking about how the flowers look pretty. Makes sense to play that way, but...
The game was advertised as coming with online coop. Ok, they were not clear as to when online coop would work, but they made it pretty clear it would be on disk. Since it is not, we are now forced to play offline until the patch comes out. So, the hangups I have are 1. They decieved yet again and 2. They are forcing us to play the way they want us to play i.e. play solo before playing coop online. At least most games make it clear when something is not shipping with the game before they tell you the game is finished and has gone gold. Whats next? Ah, Fable is DONE and went gold the other day. Oh, did we mention that so far the only thing on the disk is the ability to play through the childhood missions? The adult missions will be added via marketplace content for the low low price of an arm, a leg, and your soul, and it will be 20 gigs big, sorry. Now, everybody have fun.
ice~ @ Sep 27th 2008 10:41AM
Does anyone else remember when this happened with Rock Band 1, they promised to release Band World Tour online before January, come January and there's nothing...they eventually said "screw it lets release it with RB2", I really don't want that to happen with Fable 2....
also, i don't know where im gonna pull $240 out of my ass to buy Dead Space, Fable 2, Fallout 3, and Spiderman Web Of Shadows...anyone wanna spot me a hundred?
bbjones @ Sep 27th 2008 11:08AM
im still get it on the day its come out but im not playing till the up-date
cesar @ Sep 27th 2008 11:11AM
this will be another castle crashers.... they will release the patch "as soon as posible"
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 12:28PM
or this will be one of those "we'll have it within the launch week" kind of things.....like they just said they would.
Tah @ Sep 27th 2008 1:02PM
now im not freaking out or even really complaining about it but it is kinda dumb that he didnt say that it wouldnt release with the game. yes your right saying that he never said it would be in the game from day 1, but all he did was make a huge deal about how cool it was that it would be in the game but neglected to let everyone know that you'd have to wait for it to be included. now i dont care too much b/c im too broke to buy the game right away anyway, but we'll see how long it takes to get into the game....my bet is that its going to take longer than they say it will....seems like a rough thing to get implemented into the game that quickly....only time will tell but hopefully its in the game w/i a week like they say
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 1:40PM
it's still going to have offline co-op on day one. my guess is when the game went Gold and was sent off for printing, they encountered an error or glitch and it was too late.
Sid @ Sep 27th 2008 1:11PM
All I'm looking for is single player so I'm glad they didn't push the release date back just to get co-op ready to put on the game disc. Let them take their time and patch the game after we have all had a week or two playing the single player version.
ryan @ Sep 27th 2008 2:02PM
besides, offline co-op is still there on day one.
it plays much like the Baldur's Gate, Champions of Norrath, X-Men Legends sort of isometric action RPGs where both characters are on screen at once. so no worries.
BobTheElephant @ Sep 27th 2008 2:16PM
what about system link? my apt. mate and I are both getting it and I'd think system link would be better than local....does anyone know?
Arnon @ Sep 27th 2008 2:26PM
"Although you won't be able to join up with a friend right away online, the Gamerscore post says you'll "still see your friends as glowing orbs as well as chat and trade with them.""
-IGN
It's not that big of a deal.. the only thing you're missing is saying "OH WOW WE'RE NOOBS FOR PLAYING ONLINE THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF THE GAME!!"
Please don't make me spam this message.
Malleus @ Sep 29th 2008 9:52PM
Call me silly but you guys who think this is going to be sorted within a week are crazy. If this could be sorted in a week then they would have just delayed the game a week and not have taken the PR ding that this will cause trust me....it will be at least a month before you see online co-op. I'm probably going to move my pre-order to Gears 2, then have someone pick this up for me over xmas when its actually finished. I'm tired as a consumer for paying full price for unfinished software personally.
Frerichs0 @ Oct 14th 2008 11:10PM
There might not be a problem after all they said online would not be out for amarica the day it came out but for Euroupe they said it would be out the day it came out so they could be just waiting to get every one a equal chance online.