One idea that he feels didn’t quite pan out was the in-world leveling. “I thought the idea of leveling outside the GUI, but leveling in the environment and the world was actually quite a good one, but I’m not sure,” the designer told Gamasutra.

“The real dream of that leveling process was that, as you went through each gate, there would be these tough choices for the player. Which chest should I open? This one or that one? The feeling that you’re going through the game at your own pace, but having to make these tough choices, was never actually realized.”

The blame for that is put on the development process itself: “The process, the way that we designed, and the way that we crafted — meant that the game came together very late. That is one of the things that we’re changing; that is just such an old school way of working.”

Due to there being “so little time to balance and refine,” Molyneux adds, “what could have been a great mechanic turned out to be a good idea.”

“I don’t think that good ideas are a reason to do something; I think it has to feed into the overall experience to be a great idea. I liked the idea of not pressing the pause key and going to some abstracted GUI; I think that worked reasonably well.”

Still, “we didn’t have the time to craft that into what that dream was.”

“Lionhead — especially me — has never created projects in less than two years. This was the first time we ever did that.”

The studio now has a “a very, very different process of designing” though.

“We’ve spent a long time thinking about that and doing our research on how you can have a creatively-led production process and how you can take the complete randomness out of the way that a lot of ideas are developed and evolved.”

Here’s hoping such mishaps won’t be presenting themselves in the future then.

Lionhead is currently working on another Fable title, Fable: The Journey, with Kinect in mind.

Weighing in at 1.85GB, the sampler gives a taste of the revolution to be had in the full thing. It’s been a long time coming, too; Fable III‘s been out for Xbox 360 since last October. The PC version launched more recently, in mid-May.

Despite this, Fable III developer Lionhead admittedly states that piracy is not the biggest threat anymore. While it will continue to affect the industry, the sales of pre-owned or second-hand copies might have a bigger and more significantly negative impact in the long run.

“It’s just a depressing situation we’re in that people don’t think it’s worth spending money on computer games,” said Fable III combat designer Mike West. “What they’re doing is making sure there are fewer games coming out in the future and more people out of work, which is a terrible thing. Unless you sit down and meet a pirate face to face and have a conversation about what it does, I don’t think anything will stop them.”

Continued West, “For us it’s probably a no-lose even with piracy as it is. But, as I say, second-hand sales cost us more in the long-run than piracy these days.”

The most popular counter-measure to pre-owned sales is no doubt EA’s Online Pass. Whether people like it or not is a whole different matter, but it has been proven effective. Given that not one penny goes to the developer when retailers sell second-hand games, we can’t blame them.

Microsoft has listed, then removed, mention of a demo for the PC version of Fable III on Major Nelson’s “Coming Soon” post.

“I’ve been informed that a Fable 3 PC demo is no longer scheduled,” read the post, before it was pulled.

Fable III for PC arrives May 17 in North America and later in the week in Europe.

It will, according to the blog of Xbox Live’s director of programming Larry Hryb, which marks May 17, that’s Tuesday, as the day a sampling will become available. Not too much of a wait then.

PC owners will have a choice when it comes to acquiring the PC version of Fable III, which becomes available for Windows next month. Those opting to download from Steam will receive the Rebel’s Weapon and Tattoo pack, which includes four exclusive weapons and five exclusive tattoos that players can use to make their character look too legit to quit.

Players who pre-order from Game for Windows Marketplace will get Fable: Lost Chapters for free, so choose wisely.

Fable III for PC will of course also be available via the traditional retail outlets starting on May 17 in North America.

This May Lionhead Studio’s Fable III will finally see release on the PC. If you’re planning to pick it up for that platform, you’ll want to know if your system can run it.

Now, thankfully, the system requirements have been announced. They are below.

Minimum requirements:

• Operating System: XP 32 SP3, Vista 32/64 , Win 7 32/64
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz or AMD Athlon X2 4000+
• Memory: 2GB
• Hard Drive Space: 12 GB of free space
• Graphics Hardware: NVidia 7600GT or ATI HD 2600 Pro
• DirectX: 9.0c onward
• Network: Internet or LAN connection required for multiplayer

Recommended system requirements:

• Operating System: Win 7
• CPU: Intel Pentium 2.9Ghz Core 2 Duo or higher
• Memory: 4GB
• Hard Drive Space: 12 GB of free space
• Graphics Hardware: Nvidia 260GTX 896MB or ATI 5770 1GB or higher
• DirectX: 9.0c onward
• Network: Internet or LAN connection required for multiplayer

Time to dust off that copy of Fable III; Lionhead’s action-RPG is soon to receive a healthy batch of DLC.

Titled Traitor’s Keep, the pack offers three new levels for players to venture through. It’s simply described to revolve around a mysterious prisoner, and comes with an additional 250 points worth of achievements. The pack launches on March 1 for 540 MS points.

Good news for anyone holding out on the PC version too as a release date has been announced. The game graces Windows on May 17 with full 3D support and an exclusive hardcore difficulty mode.

Pretty good time to a be a Fable fan, then.

Liohead’s issued a patch to their somewhat buggy RPG Fable III, it alerts via its official site.

A quick 5MB download, the update fixes numerous bugs, crashes, and brings general performance improvements. Grab the full details below, though “some changes are unintentionally omitted,” so there may be more in the patch than meets the eye.

Lionhead also points out that “the title update will be retroactive” where possible, “meaning if you’ve already experienced the issue in your game it will now be resolved.” However: “This is not applicable to all solutions.”

It’s not mentioned how many, or if any, of the fixes came from the reporting page the studio set up a month ago.

Major Fixes
Sanctuary: Fixed numerous issues whereby Jasper would stop talking or whereby the world map would become unusable
Quests: Tabletop: The Hobbes may not spawn in the last area causing the player to be unable to progress
Quest: Tabletop: Online multiplayer: Player host is unable to vault off platform to Hobbe area
Quest: Tabletop: Player can become stuck behind some rocks
Quest: Tabletop: After defeating the hollowmen in the room with the lever the player is unable to progress
Quest: The Masquerade: Player can become trapped in Reaver’s mansion.
Quest: The Masquerade: Player can fall out of the world
Quest: GNOMES PART 1: Player can break script
Live: The players fall out of the world (FOOTW) when transitioning from Shifting Sands to The Veiled Path
Crash: Mourningwood guards audio
Crash: During the quest “Peace, Love and Homicide”

Minor Fixes
General improvements to performance and frame rate

World: Online multiplayer: Fast Travel area does not extend from end of level the “The Hole” to go to Mistpeak Valley
World: Player can fall out of environment in Mistpeak Valley while in combat
World: After proposing marriage, Bowerstone Castle cannot be selected as family home.
World: If client repairs a house, the house goes from renting out to living in
World: Player can become stuck during Castle Battle after vaulting over sandbags near burning cart
World: Bowerstone Industrial: Player can fall off the world
World: a fix for existing or future FOOTW situations
World: Online multiplayer: No Particle Effects on Host Screen after Marrying another Player

Live: Orbs do not always show up
Live: Online multiplayer: Fixed an issue with sliding host in the sanctuary
Live: Fixed several issues relating to gifting and receiving gifts in local and online coop

Quest: Tabletop: Breadcrumb not leading to Demonic Chickens
Saves: Fixed a few issues that could cause a corrupt save game slot
World: Driftwood: Hero can become stuck inside of tree
World: Shooting a crate creates a duplicate crate
World: Black chicken in castle gardens flies straight up into the air for several seconds when kicked
Speech: Japanese: Reaver is missing VO in one quest

With Fable III out and about, the whereabouts of the missing PC version have come up; it was announced to have been delayed in early August, though no new date or release window was ever given. The title hasn’t been quietly axed though, Lionhead has assured.

Delivering the bit via its Twitter account, the studio tells fans that the RPG is “still in development here at Lionhead so PC GAMERS don’t panic.”

When it will see the light of day on the other hand is another matter; “We’ll announce details when we’re ready to do so.”

The Xbox 360 version launched last month.

The first bits of downloadable goods for Fable III have been announced, and there’s a few.

First up is The Understone Quest Pack that’ll be available for 400 Microsoft Points. The add-on consists of three new quests: “The Voice” allows players to decide the fate of Understone, “Shooting Range” brings in-game prizes, and “The Wheel of Misfortune” offers arena-based challenges.

In addition, there’s the Exclusive Hair Pack (160 MS Points), which offers different hair styles to choose from, and the 5 Star Dog Potion (80 MS Points) that gives players’ canine companions “the full 5-star ability for digging, diving and tracking down hidden chests.”

Finally, there’s the Reaver Industries Hero Outfit (160 MS Points) and a colorful Dye Pack (80 MS Points).

All the add-ons will arrive simultaneously on November 23rd.

Right now, there is only one thing more effective than a locked door keeping me inside a room: Fable III. So far, so awesome, but no game is perfect. Especially one with a previous history of bugs errors and glitches.

Lionhead have anticipated any technical troubles with their new release and have gone to the extent of setting up a web page where disgruntled players can let the team know of any bugs they encounter. The development team will get every single report and will work on the problems for future patches.

On the Lionhead blog, Sam Van Tilburgh said: “Please be aware we are monitoring this on a daily basis and the test, development and community teams meet on a regular basis to try and repro issues that come up, so the development team can fix it for the next update we’ll release.”

With the newest title in the popular series, Fable III has already got into number one in the UK charts this week. Not bad for a game famous for its technical flaws.

Last Friday’s release Fable III has had a good start in the UK; spawning at the #1 spot on the all-formats sales chart, the Lionhead RPG managed to out-do its 2008 predecessor’s week-one launch by 6,000 units while becoming the 4th biggest Xbox 360 launch of 2010 (13th biggest ever).

It pushed back last week’s #1 newcomer Fallout: New Vegas, which now holds place #3, right behind the surging FIFA 11.

LucasArts’ newcomer Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II debuts at #5, while the newly-released console versions of The Sims 3 catapult the title back to the Top 10.

Rock Band 3 made its entry at #26.

Top 10 follows.

01. Fable III
02. FIFA 11
03. Fallout: New Vegas
04. Just Dance 2
05. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
06. Medal of Honor
07. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011
08. Professor Layton and the Lost Future
09. The Sims 3
10. PES 2011

It’s no secret that co-op over Xbox Live in Fable II was an ugly mess. So it comes as no surprise that on the eve of the North American launch of Fable III, developer Lionhead wants to reassure fans that Xbox Live co-op this time around is nowhere near as wanged.

Check out the video above of two Lionhead developers showing off co-op over Xbox Live. They choose to get married, and, well, just check it out.

Fable III is out tomorrow in North America and on Friday in Europe.

Players of Fable III: Kingmaker have littered Europe with over one million virtual flags, Microsoft’s announced.

The activity the free download has seen since it launched earlier in the month “can only be described as a virtual land grab of epic proportion,” it’s declared in the announcement; the game has seen 60,000 participants who’ve earned over 64 million pieces of gold.

Much like Fable II‘s Pub Games, the earnings will be transferable to Fable III as it arrives next week — North America next Tuesday, Europe on Friday — allowing players to get off to a speedier start in overthrowing Albion’s leadership. Or “invest in a nice new bed for you and your spouse to… share…,” as Microsoft suggests.

A Windows Phone 7 version of Kingmaker will be released “later this holiday” as well.

Looks like the Lionhead boss has trained up an army of mini-Molynuex’s; the latest Fable III trailer above has the development team personally giving you their pitch on the game. They’re here to explain why their latest project is something to look out for, complete with clips of the game. Even Peter Molyneux himself chips in a few, exciting words.

Hopefully the team’s really sold you then, because if you pick up the game new there’ll be some free DLC in it for you. A code inside new boxes will unlock Raise Dead and Slow Time potions, outfits including Scot Male and Female Hero, the Highlander Tattoo Set, and the Red Setter skin for your dog.

Plenty of reason to look forward the 26th in the US then, or 29th if you live in Europe.

Fable III is changing up the pace in the game’s US television trailer debut, set to ‘Young Dead Men’ by The Black Angels. Gone are the cutesy chicken chasing and blabbering narration over actual gameplay. Those have been replaced with the darker CGI side of a revolution, with hard fought battles, backroom deals, and betrayal at the heart of things. This is all done in the name of overthrowing the tyrannical king, our hero’s brother.

Fable III is still on track to arrive in the US on October 26th and in Europe on the 29th.

For all the latest video content, visit our Trailers & Videos section.

Sumthing Else Music Works has become synonymous with original soundtracks for games. They did it with Alan Wake and Halo: Reach and have been involved with many, many others. Next up? The Lionhead Studios-developed RPG, Fable III.

“From fairy tale to drama, action and adventure to horror, the lush, varied orchestrations combine to keep the magic of the Fable musical traditionalive,” says BAFTA nominated series composer Russell Shaw, Head of Music and Composer at Lionhead Studios. “Drawing on music styles from around the world, the Fable III soundtrack enhances the richness and diversity fans have come to expect from the Fable universe.”

The original soundtrack for Fable III will coincidentally release alongside the game on October 26th (NA), perfectly timed to get all hyped about it. And, even more so if you live in Europe and have to wait until the 29th.

Lionhead’s ‘cute outside of Fable III experience’ appears to have been revealed; an advertisement discovered in UK’s Xbox World magazine is pushing a companion game for the upcoming RPG, noting it’s in the works for “smartphones.”

Earlier in the year, creative man Peter Molyneux teased “a really cute, very very cute ‘outside of Fable III‘” project. This is it, then.

The game’s titled Fable III: Kingmaker and, like Fable II‘s Pub Games, allows players to earn some coin that can then be transferred to Fable III. The virtual dough can be earned by placing virtual flags all over the UK. “For every flag you plant, and every power up you claim,” the ad reads, “you shall earn gold coins, which you shall then be able to transfer into the Fable III game on your Xbox 360!”

Whether something similar will be available outside UK is unclear, though the game’s teaser site does offer several regional options.

No concrete dates yet but, according to the teaser site, “The battle begins this October,” suggesting it may become available as soon as this Friday.

Sitting down to watch the above video diary for Fable III, I thought I was about to be subjected to a load of B-list actors to make up a mediocre cast. It turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong; the game hosts the vocal talents of Simon Pegg, Micheal Fassbender, and even Sir Ben Kinglsey to name a few.

It’s well worth watching these guys and more talk about their roles in the game; Fable III may be one of the first ever games to have star appeal on the level of Hollywood on its side.You can pick it up next month.

For all the latest video content, visit our Trailers & Videos section.

The Fable III list of Xbox 360 achievements has been released and there is some crazy stuff on there. Sure, there are rewards for normal things like rescuing the princess and becoming the ruler of Albion, but you can also earn achievements by cross dressing, looking like a hippie, or performing as a 5-star lute player.

Perhaps most amusing is the Henry VIII achievement, which requires the player to become ruler of Albion, then marry six times and kill two of the spouses. Although historically accurate, this is one achievement that could be viewed as disturbing. It also has the potential to be a lot of fun.

You’ll be able to start experiencing the spouse slaughtering fun when Fable III is released on or around October 26.

Lionhead Studios’ Fable III isn’t due out until this October (it’s already in “shipping phase” though), but the development house is already pimping the title with great ferocity.

Today Lionhead posted an unboxing video with an employee taking the lid off the Collector’s Edition of the game. Yes, all you must do is see below to watch a blue-shirted, spectacle-wearing men crack into Fable III!

I dig the look of the CE. I might actually put it on my bookshelf, just to see if someone tried to pick it up and read it!

Lionhead Studios’ third installment in the adored Fable franchise isn’t due out until October 26 (and sometime later for PC), but the game is already in “shipping phase.”

The Fable III news comes via Lionhead’s Gameplay/Engine programmer Keith Judge, who recently tweeted the following: “One nice bit of information the shipping phase of a software project throws up is which systems need an overhaul. Lots of post #Fable3 ideas.”

Yeah, Fable III hasn’t gone gold just yet, but it seems it’s getting close!

Who’s excited for the latest Albion adventure? It comes out four days before my birthday, so, umm, yeah. Birthday present?

For more on Fable III, check out TVGB’s previous coverage of the action RPG.

You know a videogame is popular when real-life books are written about their digital worlds. Newsflash: the Fable franchise is popular.

On October 5, The Balverine Order (via) will hit bookshelves. The tome is penned by Peter David, an old scribe of comic books and videogame adaptations, Halo: Helljumper being one of his recent works. I know what you’re thinking – who has time to read when there are games to be played? Well, those who buy the book will also get a code for a special weapon for their Fable III hero. It’s like your librarian always told you – reading is important!

Fable III will be the first game in the franchise to let players become a king or queen of Albion. With such a mighty duty, comes a similarly mighty controller.

Enter the Fable III Limited Edition controller. Designed by Lionhead artists to resemble the crown we saw in the game’s first trailer, the controller (image below) is, in my opinion, pretty ugly.

The controller hits retail October 5, well ahead of Fable III‘s October 26 release date, priced at $59.99. That much for a wireless controller? Yeah, but it comes with a token to download an in-game tattoo for your character. So there’s that.

Five quick shots from Lionhead’s Fable III this afternoon. The collection even comes with a title: Combat and Levelling Up. Guess what they depict?

It’s near universally accepted that pre-order bonuses stink. Want a keychain? How about a sticker collection? Or maybe some dumb in-game content? I didn’t think so. Thankfully, at least one game designer thinks similarly.

Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios’ creative designer, recently told USA Today that he’s bored with such uninspired pre-order bonuses.

“I’m kind of bored with pre-ordering stuff and getting a little bit more content that doesn’t make any difference at all to anything. So what?,” he told the paper. ”The industry takes an enormous indication behind pre-orders, I thought there must be a design thing we can do around that.”

Oh, he must mean the recently launched Fable III Villager Maker. I must agree with the man though. Creating my own quest-giving NPC and seeing him in the game this October will be pretty neat.

Being such a huge supporter of Microsoft’s motion tech, you’d think Peter Molyneux would be a bit more eager to cram Kinect into his next release; Fable III. Sadly, the next installment in the action RPG franchise will not support it… at launch.

It was going to, but according to the Lionhead boss, the bits of the game that would use the tech weren’t up to scratch. That doesn’t mean they won’t be showing up post-launch, however.

Fable II wasn’t that great. Yeah, I said it. I mean, it had some admirable goals – creating a fully realized, living, breathing fantasy world that is shaped over time by your every decision. But the morality was pretty basic and the graphics were dated. But if this Fable III opening cinematic — which offers a clever (and hilarious) exploration of the game’s world — is any indication of how the game itself will shape up, then there’s reason to be optimistic.

For all the latest video content, visit our Trailers & Videos section.

The PC version of Fable III has slipped, Lionhead’s informed IGN.

The Xbox 360 and PC versions of the RPG are now “on different schedules,” the company has said in a statement, adding that the studio’s putting the focus on “building experiences optimized for each platform.”

No new date is being given  for now, but news are promised “soon.”

The 360 version is still being readied for October 26.

The return to Albion will be fraught with adventure, peril, rebellion, etc. Another surprise will be waiting for those who put forth their pre-orders, though. The ability to construct a villager from the ground up, and bring it to life. Well maybe not completely the ground up, but there are over 2,000 different combinations available with control over everything from appearance to personality and backstory.

Creation is free to try by going to the Fable III website and giving it a go. If you would like to have your villager arrive and greet you in the game, however, all you need is an activation code acquired from pre-order. When this is done you’ll have a meeting to look forward to on the game’s release. Along with their greeting and existence throughout your journeys, your villager will also give you a “fortune” of 1,000 gold and a special quest.

Feeling in the sharing mood? Your villager is even willing to be shown off on Twitter, Facebook, or just hang out on your desktop after you’ve finished your hard work.

Fable III is available for pre-order in two variants. The basic game for £44.99 ($59.99) and the Limited Collector’s Edition for Xbox 360 coming in at £59.99 ($79.99). The latter is chocked full of everything you’d expect a “Limited Collector’s Edition” to be chocked full of including: downloadable content, an exclusive quest, dog breed, outfit, playing cards, a Guild Seal Coin and more. All of which will be wrapped up in a book format for your viewing pleasure.

If you were looking for a quick rundown on how to create a villager of your very own, Lionhead is one step ahead and provided their own handy little video.

Microsoft has sent out a few new screenshots from Lionhead’s latest, Fable III. To celebrate today’s kick off of Comic-Con 2010, of course.

Fable III will be a chatty fellow; the RPG will have 47 hours worth of dialogue, Lionhead audio producer George Backer has revealed at the Develop Conference in Brighton. That’s 460,000 words.

Trotting around the gameworld and hearing the same chatter from the AI shouldn’t pose much of a problem either. The 32 different types of AI come with a vocabulary of 2,000 different sentences. Each.

According to Backer, the impressive amount of dialogue will be put to good use, too; the game has a cast of 80, including confirmed names John Cleese and Jonathan Ross.

The game’s out later in the year, on both the 360 and PC.

A new gameplay video has been released for Lionhead’s upcoming Fable III, and it’s sure to have PETA activists in an uproar. The clip features a hero (or villain, as your preference may be) rescuing a small girl from a pack of savage wolves by single-handedly murdering the lot of them in decidedly spectacular fashion.

The idea with the video was to showcase Fable III‘s revamped “dramatic” combat, which features dynamic real-time camera movement as well as new finisher moves to inflict upon your foes.

If you like what you see above, the full game hits in its entirety on October 26th. And in downloadable chunks later on.

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Fable III will be released as downloadable chapters over Xbox Live “soon” after the game’s retail release this October, developer Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has revealed.

“We break it down in chapters. We give away the first chapter entirely free, the first hour,” he’s explained to gi.biz.

“When you reach a certain point in the game it says ‘thank you for playing the pilot of Fable III, do you want to spend an extra 2-5 or whatever dollars to buy the next episode, or buy the whole lot?’ Press ‘yes’ and you will immediately continue playing.”

Last September’s episodic release of Fable II — available as five episodes, first free, the rest $10 a piece — was “hugely successful,” Molyneux said earlier this year. With “a much higher than a normal conversion rate,” 1.6 million downloads and $15 million in contribution margins, the designer has deemed the experiment a “massively, massively successful” undertaking.

Such an approach is also far preferable to releasing a demo, Molyneux feels, as he expressed in no uncertain terms around Fable II‘s episodic release: “I hate demos. I think demos are the death knell of experiences. Over the years I’ve done demos and they’ve either completely ruined the game, given too much to the player, or they’ve confused people”. More on that here.

It appears Microsoft is once more placing bets on the PC gaming market.

According to an internal Q&A document acquired by Kotaku, the company is asking itself simple yet tough questions; how does the recently announced PC version of Fable III signal a reinvestment in PC gaming, and “how is this different from the previous times you’ve announced a reinvestment in PC gaming and not quite come through with a robust offering?”

Their answer: “In terms of revenue, Windows is far and away the largest gaming platform in the world, so it’s an incredibly important part of Microsoft’s business. From core games like Fable III to casual, social and Facebook titles, more gaming happens on Windows than anywhere else.”

“Windows 7 is a world-class gaming platform, and you can bet Microsoft has a vested interest in using it as a platform for amazing first party content.”

So it’s a big ‘hooah!’ with little details for the time being. Fable III‘s holiday 2010 release is said to be “a great first step” though, and more news on the matter is promised for later this summer.

Here’s the trailer to go with that Fable III release date from earlier.

It’s full of “Albion needs a revolution” portent and pomp, as you would expect from our favourite British hyper-upper. We’re looking forward to getting stuck into this one.

Remember, it’s out on Oct. 26, exclusive to Xbox 360.

Another bit to come out of Microsoft’s E3 presser was the release date for Fable III.

Following a rundown of the game’s features and just ahead of airing new trailer which hopefully will be made available soon, Lionhead main man Peter Molyneux slipped a date; October 26. That’s for both Xbox 360 and the recently confirmed PC version then, most likely.

Whether that’s a worldwide date or just the US one is unclear for now though.

Lionhead has released a single new screenshot from Fable III through their Facebook presence, introducing a new character; the Captain.

Apparently a bit of a smokaholic, the lad whose name shall remain a mystery is described as “a pretty angry man”. I’m not quite sure what importance his wet boots hold, but he’s said to have them.

I’m also not clear on how Peter Molyneux’s philosophies on game design fit in here, but we’ll make the switch anyway.

Talking to Gamasutra, the Lionhead creative lead explained how moving away from the previous games’ more complex nature has in fact added to the gameplay of Fable III.

“Taking a lot away from Fable III actually adds a lot to it,” he says. “We unified that combat system and actually made it much more accessible for the more casual side of Fable III players, and made it much more interesting for the core players because they could start combining magic together and switching between guns and swords, because they were the same.”

“That meant that, even though it was simpler, it was actually more complex and sophisticated.”

Past hints, suggestions and slip-ups are today fact; Fable III is coming to PC.

The PC version will be available at both retail and as a download through Games for Windows — Live, for $49.99/£39.99.

How the two versions might connect, as Molyneux’s hinted in the past, was not revealed, though the news did come with a second announcement: the Xbox 360′s Limited Collector’s Edition.

As seen from the images and full descriptions below, for an additional £10/$20, there are both physical and digital goods to be had.

The game’s out this holiday.

• A new quest: Uncover the mystery of the haunted forests of Silverpines and earn the legendary sword, Wolfsbane, deadly against wolves and balverines.
• Exclusive location: Unlock a new region, ideal for settling down with a family and discovering new treasures.
• “Fable III” playing cards: Created by Lionhead, these cards depict every type of character in “Fable III,” including Heroes, royals, rebels and villains from across Albion and beyond.
• Guild Seal Coin: The coin features a Good side (blue) and Evil side (red) to assist players in making critical decisions that will impact the fate of the world forever.
• A new dog breed: Renowned for its loyalty, the Boxer is a brave canine companion worthy of greatest Queens and Kings.
• One unique outfit: Unearth one male and female outfit from the mysterious, faraway land of Aurora, a new destination in your “Fable III” adventures.

Fable III is coming to PCs, it’s been suggested once more. This time by Microsoft itself.

Instead of the “Only on Xbox 360″ stamp that boxes of exclusive titles carry, a pack shot of the Xbox 360 version of Fable III (as seen below) has been found to state “Only on Xbox 360 and Windows”.

Not the first time the existence of a PC version has slipped, either.

Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has previously hinted at a PC version of the new game quite heavily, saying on a few occasions that he’d “love to see the Fable franchise on the PC” and, “We still haven’t really talked about, ‘[Are] there any other platforms for Fable which we should be talking about now?’”

A past job listing didn’t do Microsoft’s PR staff any favors either; a while ago Lionhead was looking to recruit someone who would ‘convert and maintain the network code of the Xbox 360 version of Fable III to the PC and enable the Xbox 360 version and the PC version to play together’.

Still no facts on the ground, though an E3 announcement next month is looking quite likely.

Okay, one of the devs at Lionhead loves pokemon. I mean his desk is full of the little critters. See if you can spot them during this episode of Inside Lionhead while Peter Molyneux brings his legendary hype babble to your ears. He reveals a few more snippets of info about how Fable III will change your entire life.

Turn your attention back to the point of the video when John Cleese comes in though. The legendary comedy actor plays the role of your butler named Jasper, which should fit in quite nicely with his Basil Fawlty vibe. If you don’t know who the Monty Python member is then you’re in luck; the video helpfully displays his twitter address.

Cleese apparently has more lines than anyone else in the script, but don’t worry; he won’t mention the war.

Not that Fable II‘s familiar blend of swashbuckling and sorcery wasn’t fun, but hands down the best part of the game was the incorporation of a four-legged friend. Everyone knows babies and animals will steal the spotlight every time, including Lionhead Studios, who will be including much more of the latter in Fable III. Though there’s been no mention specifically of the return of your beloved canine companion, the third installment will have a veritable menagerie of other furry friends.

“The lack of animals in the Fable franchise is always something that has bothered me,” shared Lead Artist John McCormack with Beauty of Games.  “[For Fable III] we’ve built bats, crows, rabbits, ducks, robins, vultures, lizards, rats, butterflies, moths, insect swarms, dogs, fireflies, geese and we even started on a cow.”

That’s nice and all, but they better bring back the dog. It would be great if they threw wide the proverbial barn doors and allowed players to choose between several different animal companions depending on their style of play – horses for speed, falcons for stealth, panthers for strength and maybe even a couple of ferrets for comic relief – but at the very least they better bring back the dog. He helped find buried treasure, attacked enemies, performed tricks and not once went number two on the living-room carpet. Not once.

Seriously Molyneux, bring back the dog.

Lionhead’s released a single new screenshot from this year’s Fable III today which, going by the accompanying message, is coming along quite well these days.

“In the last couple of weeks our Fable III game has changed immensely,” reads a message posted alongside the image on the developer’s Facebook page, “graphics have been upgraded, new features have been fine-tuned and lots of new voices, clothes and weapons – and more – went in.”

The possibly upsetting “damn good adventure” is out later in the year, with episodic DLC to follow.

Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux finds the things that make Project Natal unique challenging.

Speaking in a video chat with Inside Xbox UK, the designer explains: “For me, Natal is challenging because it’s so different. It’s very, very different to any input other mechanism the world has even seen before because there isn’t any buttons and that’s both its strength and its big challenge. So when you’ve got a game like Fable, there is an enormous number of things we can do with Natal.”

Natal’s implementation in Fable III, he further explains, has a reason behind it; the motion controls are not going to be there as a sideshow with little connection to the core game itself.

“..I wanted for you to feel like you were part of the world,” he says. “I didn’t want you to go off and play some mini-game totally outside the world of Fable. I wanted you to feel like Natal was integrated into the world, if you like. It enhances the world, if you like. It’s going to be integrated in so it has a purpose, and it gives you something, and there’s a reason to do it.”

Lionhead currently has at least two Natal-enabled products in the shop; Fable III and the “dramatic” Milo project.

Peter Molyneux, not known for going the conservative route with his thoughts on Lionhead’s projects, is staying true to form, saying that Fable III will have the “greatest cast that any computer game has ever had.” With Monty Python alum John Cleese voicing the player’s butler, Stephen Fry returning as Reaver, and Jonathon Ross, who let slip the game’s existence, in an unknown role, the cast does seem impressive.

Yet, according to Molyneux, it’s not just having the big names in the game that is such a big deal, but how they work within the context of the game itself.

“How we’re using these characters is very much dependent on how you play the game,” Molyneux says. “This is not like traditional dialogue – we went into a studio with John Cleese and I think he’d never done anything like this ever before, because we had to say ‘if the player is like this, how are you going to react’.”

“It was a very interesting process.”

Well, not quite. But according to Peter Molyneux, achieving the equivalent is possible.

In an interview with Inside Xbox, the Lionhead boss explained the not-quite-an-RPG‘s overhauled fighting mechanics, “We’ve got three buttons; one for swords, one for guns and one for magic. Each one of those buttons if you tap it, you get a very quick attack. If you hold it, you build up, and infinitely build up, a more powerful attack. And we don’t cap that so if you hold the button down for two hours you’re going to get, you know, a thermonuclear explosion of an attack.”

He’s talking about the actual power of the attack of course, we best not count on being able to be a walking, talking mushroom cloud generator.

But, “that’s true for guns, swords and magic.”

If nothing else, Peter Molyneux has a great imagination. To glean the idea for post-launch episodic DLC in Fable III by thinking it would be “brilliant to be walking through Charles Dickens’ London. It was such a dark place and very episodic,” makes us wonder just what else is tumbling around up there.

“We’ll give you the first big episodes, and you’ll be able to download new episodes, which is analogous to the way Dickens wrote,” Molyneux continues. “Some of the shops in Albion are linked to the internet and every so often populated by stuff from Lionhead. You don’t have to go out to some horrible dashboard and download the Armageddon Pack 5.”

Molyneux also touched on how Natal would play a role in Fable III, hitting shelves later this year. While we will still need a controller to play, the interaction with the motion control device will take place “where it’s cute, funny, engaging. You don’t need it but it does enable an enhanced Fable III.”

This year’s Fable may also be in development for the PC, Peter Molyneux leads us to believe; During his Fable III panel at GDC this week, the Lionhead boss suddenly turned cagey when asked if the action-adventure-focused RPG would see release on the PC.

Not to anger Microsoft’s “PR police people … with sniper rifles,” he chose his words carefully. “I can say, mystically, that I love the PC. I love what’s happening to the PC, and I would love to see the Fable franchise on the PC.”

He also left a rather heavy hint of a non-Xbox 360 release in a recent interview with GameSpot, “We still haven’t really talked about, ‘[Are] there any other platforms for Fable which we should be talking about now?’”

A job listing for a now-filled position at Lionhead also suggests a PC release, and more. “The role involves converting and maintaining the network code of the Xbox 360 version of Fable III to the PC, and enabling the Xbox 360 version and the PC version to play together,” read the ad for a network programmer.

All in all, it’s rumor and speculation for now. But should a PC release happen, as Molyneux said at his Fable panel, he’d want to make sure it’s “a truly amazing experience on the PC and that, you know, it’s brilliant.”

Interesting and teasing quotes isn’t the only thing Fable studio Lionhead has divulged while at the Game Developers Conference this week. As appropriate with such events, the developer has shot our another batch of new screenshots from their 2010 effort, Fable III, as well.