When Peter Molyneux Calls Your Tech a Joke, it's Time to Rethink Your Tech

8CN: Peter Molyneux, former head of Lionhead Studios, current head of 22Cans, creator of games such as Black & White, Fable, and the upcoming Godus, recently spoke about the Xbox One's Kinect in an interview with Edge Magazine, calling the device "a joke." When Molyneux says that about something, you might want to take note, and here's why.

[vishmarx]

When you start listening to molyneux,you should get your brain checked.
jesus can come down and he wont be impressed.

[snipab8t]

So true. Molyneux talks so much game like he is the second coming of Jesus, yet his Fable games he praised so much of before release continually disappointed (especially 3 imo). Honestly wouldn't trust his opinion no matter what he said.

[Geoff900]

He praised Kinect when Milo was something... Just goes to show how quickly some people change their tune when it suits them.

[Magicite]

Ive played all 3 fable parts, but while first was truly amazing for its time, next were just shallow.

[Xavy]

That dude is a Joke!

[dcbronco]

Maybe the headline should have been, Molyneux finally admits he's out of new ideas.

[miyamoto]

This joke of a person was the genius behind this joke project called Project Natal aka Kinect. He knows he made a joke product.

[Az1mov]

Molyneux is slowly becoming the chuck Norris kinda living joke of the gaming world.

[VforVideogames]

LOL chuck Norris even the name is funny lol

[Blaze929]

"When Molyneux says that about something, you might want to take note, and here's why."

lol, no. just no.

[beerzombie]

Hes a joke and that's a fact.

[Sarcasm]

The point is, when a joke is calling you a joke, they are all jokes.

[vishmarx]

JOKECEPTION!

[3-4-5]

Anybody can say anything.

How many can back it up ?

When was the last time he backed up what he talked about ?

the late 1990's ?

[D-riders]

Silly comment your talking about the guy who was a huge advocate for kinect

[OpieWinston]

I don't know why anyone takes this mans word for anything? The amount of lies he's fed people about previous Fable games.

His credibility LITERALLY is in the shitter. And he's the one who was like "Where's the Dog?" when they announced Fable Legends.

He's got the attitude of a child and is one of the most overrated washed up has beens in the industry.

[PS4isKing_82]

A joke calling something else a joke.

[Gazondaily]

Joke-ception.

Bada bada bdaum badush.....

[christocolus]

Lmao..that was funny.

[ElementX]

Molyneux is always hyping his games and then afterward he calls them a failure because they didn't turn out right. I really can't believe anything he says anymore.

[Godmars290]

He had - and still does apparently - a horrible habit of saying anything during an interview just to sound interesting. Has literally confessed to it likely because he had nothing else to say.

Yet the man not only continues to be interviewed but taken seriously! WTF?!

[rainslacker]

Overall I do agree with you, although at times I feel he is misquoted or misrepresented. I never discount his past successes, but I think he takes that success and seems to think that everything he will ever create will be a masterpiece. When it turns out to not be a masterpiece, he tends to seem depressed and overly-apologetic, instead of focusing on the good parts of his work.

I also believe he's very passionate about what he does, and that he's very knowledgeable about the inner workings of the industry. Being a creative mind, those kinds of things tend to lead to a rather eccentric personality, which is what we tend to see.

I believe he was on IGN's reveal show, and during that show he was probably one of the more sane and rational panelists. During that one, while he didn't outright discount MS, it was kind of obvious he was like "WTF". One of the comments he made that really stood out was something along the lines of "MS never outright lies about the stuff they talk about. They really believe in what they are promoting. So they do believe that what they are offering is going to work as described, and be useful and wanted by the customer".(not a direct quote).

Otherwise, in relation to this particular quote, what he says is not unlike what a lot of people are saying. When it comes to things like this, people should form their own opinion. MS obviously has a vision for the Kinect, and they need to communicate that vision better, or better yet put that vision to use.

[Dirtnapstor]

They weren't/are not as popular as "they should have been", and then cries about it...literally.

[tehpees3]

You took the words out my mouth. Molyneux is the last person with a right to call out anything. Funnily enough the thing he calls a joke is the same thing he is guilty of hyping. It was him that presented the concept of Milo.

[Alsybub]

I was going to say the same.

[Grave]

He hasn't seen my setup.

[Tedakin]

I like my Kinect. There I said it.

[king_george]

I dont own it yet but i have had the chance to try it out and i gotta say its a pretty cool little device especially if you have a couple friends over. Its actually pretty cool to use when everyone has been drinking or in my case, smoking lol

[vikingland1]

Wasn't he one of the guy's that was pushing for kinect? Remember that milo video.

[Geoff900]

He sure did, he praised Kinect when it suited him.

[vikingland1]

Now I'm not saying I don't like kinect. I'm just pointing out that he flip flops alot.

[Angeljuice]

That's just a case of being excited for the possibilities of a new tech, then being disappointed when you try to work with it and it doesn't deliver what you want.
It's perfectly normal to do that, kind of like when you tell a friend how great a new game is going to be before it's released then being disappointed when it turns out naff.

[rainslacker]

I think that's sort of his point. Kinect didn't live up to what it was supposed to be. Kinect 2.0, while more advanced, still doesn't live up to the promises made with the first. It's become a joke because no meaningful implementation has come from it in regards to advancing new forms of gaming.

Milo was a pipe dream to begin with, but I have no doubt that he wanted to make something like that work. It was a software implementation that had potential to filter through to new forms of interactivity. Those implementations never really materialized and Kinect's use has become marginalized in the creation of games, thus becoming more of a joke.

[Hicken]

Yep, he sure was.

And now he isn't, because he, like so many of us gamers, sees it for the gimmick it is.

As the old saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[Geoff900]

I know, I was agreeing with you.

[vikingland1]

Oops my mistake lol.

[baldulf]

True, Molyneux is an expert on being a walking joke.

[TitanUp]

a bit odd that he would ever comment on kinect anyways.

[candy_mafia]

So basically when he hyped Milo & Kate...and sang like a bird when hyping 'Fable-Kinect' he was lying about the tech being amazing?

Dang, MS either paid him tons of money to front Kinect, or Mr Molyneux is a charlatan ;/

[MasterD919]

It's quite easy to go off the deep-end on someone else's success when you have none, eh Petey?

[Angeljuice]

He's had a great deal of success in his career, your comment is stupid.

[MasterD919]

Keyword...HAD.

And you sir are an idiot for standing up for this flip-flopping has-been. He made a game SOLELY for Kinect and it failed miserably, so he's being an a-hole about it. Not to mention Fable 3 and that Milo thing....what exactly has he achieved besides the success of Fable 1? Black & White was a long time ago and I can't think of anything else he's had a hand-in since then that was critically acclaimed. Keep drinking that Kool-aid buddy.

[Angeljuice]

He single-handedly invented the 'God sim' genre and has had a longer and more influential career than virtually any other developer out there. It went wrong when he got into bed with Microsoft (that in itself speaks volumes).

This site is full of clueless band-wagon jumping Muppets who are utterly ignorant of the history of videogames outside of Nintendo.

Read the comments here, it's like a school playground. Someone bad mouths a developer and all the kids jump in and have their say (which is nearly always exactly the same as the last comment).

Ignorant zombie sheep!

[il-JumperMT]

Do i need to remind you when he sang Kinect is best thing ever?

[hello12]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Son...

Rubbish, the x box 1 has reduced price in lot of stores in the UK and America now.

Sony charges almost 60 pounds for its new camera and its not even close to the tech of Kinect.

I don't even need to put on headset or considering buying one for my x box 1, as Kinect allows me to chat back and forward with my friends. Its a great device.

[MasterCornholio]

There's so much demand for Sonys camera that retailers decided to increase its price. Proved how badly people want the PS4 camera. I wouldn't be surprised if more Playstation eyes got sold than Xbox Ones which come bundled with a camera.

What a difference leaving it as an option makes. Gives the perception to the buyer that the console is cheaper and then later on when they buy a camera they almost spend the same amount as the Xbox Ones price.

Interesting isn't it?

[hello12]

I see your point, but you forget the x box 1 OS is build around the Kinect Device, the Sony camera isn't.

You remove Kinect you have no voice controls for navigating the system. Microsoft could have made it optional, but they preferred, everyone experience the same thing on day one. I think it was the right choice.

I don't need to buy a new headset either this has saved me money. I hear everyone speaking clearly through my Kinect, i just talk, and they hear me perfectly.

Kinect for 100 Euros more i think its worth it. When i go to stream, next year, when i have a better internet connection, least i know i don't have to go i buy a camera for it.

MasterCornholio@

Through the headset without Kinect? I haven't tried as i don't own an x box 1 headset. Maybe someone can confirm this? I says it doubtful, but i can't be sure.

More power doesn't mean the experiences are better. X box 1 has better features so in the end both systems will balance each other out, i think.

I prefer the OS on x box 1, Sony fans likely don't care about that. The online experience i think is better on x box 1, as Microsoft provides dedicated servers for games they own.

Will the PS4 have better looking games going forward. Its a wait and see, because directx12 and cloud computing may help boost the x box 1 over time.

[MasterCornholio]

Dang can't edit my comment but I realised that what I said about sony selling more cameras than Microsoft selling Xbox Ones is probably not true. I'm still impressed with how the camera is selling though.

Just wanted to clear that up.

"You remove Kinect you have no voice controls for navigating the system. "

Thats new to me because I thought you could still do voice commands with the headset.

"Kinect for 100 Euros more i think its worth it."

For me thats an extremely tough decision. 100$ less and you can buy a console with superior hardware. For 100$ more you gain a camera but lose some power. In my opinion since most games I play are multiplats I decided to get a PS4. I can buy the camera for 60$ more while it isn't as advanced as Kinect its still works for streaming.

[Baka-akaB]

@KNWS

The way the ps4 can deal with basic and advanced voice commands through the pad speaker , or the provided crap headset or any compatible headset with mics , and evne if the experience is a bit better on xb1 , kinda show me that Kinect wasnt necessary at all for voice commands .

Now of course Kinect provide more than voice commands .

Anyway you are obviously coloring the story here , "Sony" isnt chargeing more for the camera than usual , it's retailers benefitting from a supply issues meeting strong demand . Wich they always do regardless of brands .

And cool you dont need to buy an headset for the xb1 if you dont feel like it . But neither consoles do actually , since both provide default ways to voice chat and command . You arent saving money anymore than a ps4 owner there .

"The online experience i think is better on x box 1, as Microsoft provides dedicated servers for games they own. "

Think , believe or actually know ? There hasnt been a single multiplatform games behaving better online on either consoles so far , obviously it will be hard to compare exclusives , and dedicated servers are nothing new . This isnt the ps3 vs 360 early days anymore , but you guys mostly use that as the sole basis of that argument .

[Baszs]

@vishmarx 'Amen to that son..' Peter Molyneux is bit of a sore loser these days.
i got a feeling that this man was responsible for all the bad aspects of the fable games.
Always wanted to innovate and try to get gamers emotional using weird gameplay mechanics and completely forgetting story (wich done right could get an gamer emotional)

And for the linked article news site, that wants many clicks by recycling story material.
That is what i call a joke!

It's so funny to see that there are so many jokes these days on N4g.

[cfc78]

Molyneux should be more worried about his hair than kinect it seem's to be failing day by day can't really say the same for kinect it has a decent enough fan base.

[RE_L_MAYER]

this fing guy and cliffy b piss me off

[TheTowelBoy]

MOLYNEUX. SHUT. UP.

[incendy35]

One thing me and Kinect have in common? We ignore what Peter Molyneux has to say.

[gamer7804]

Who approves this stuff... Peter M has mad himself irrelevant.

[InklingGirl]

Really? I recall the man praising Kinect when he showed off Milo years back.

I love the Fable series but the man needs to shut up and realize he's no Miyamoto or Kojima.

[mhunterjr]

Wait a second, I thought Peter molynuex was considered a joke around here.... Now he's the guy who you consult for tech decisions?...

Let's not forget he was all for the original kinect. Something tells me he's just on the bash ms bandwagon...

[Xavy]

BIG JOKE HE IS.

[ONI5]

Months from now he'll be saying the exact opposite.

[user9597082]

Right. Let's listen to the guy who's never wrong. Especially when it comes to how awesome the next Fable game is gonna be!

Spend less time talking and more time trying to make a good game for once

[Anon1974]

I'm so sick of hearing people rag on this guy with no clue regarding his tremendous contributions to gaming over the decades. So many act like Fable (first two were brilliant games, by the way) were the only thing he's ever done.

Molyneux is guilty of being enthusiastic about his work and for shooting for the moon with his games. There isn't a damn thing wrong with that, especially when you look at his track record and realize he's delivered far, far more times than not.

Media sites love taking bits from his interviews and blowing them out of proportion but whenever they do, I always go back, read the entire interview and more often than not find I'm in agreement with the guy.

Like the article states "I would label Molyneux as optimistic to a fault. I truly believe that he has a passion for games and gets so excited for what he and his team are doing that he ends up sharing details and planned features before he really should."

It's sickens me that so many gamers are just so bloody cynical that they think this is a bad thing. Considering this is the man who single handily defined whole gaming genres over his decades contributing to the medium, people should be listening to what he says. The gaming world would be a much better place if more developers dreamed as big as Molyneux.

I highly encourage all to read up on the man and what he's done for gaming. If you think he's just that guy promised too much making Fable, you need to do some research.

http://www.giantbomb.com/pe...

[Baka-akaB]

I wouldnt dare to dispute his legendary gaming past , but of course most of it is unknown for a big segment of current gamers . Sure it's irrelevant and he remains a legend with a whole genre he even created .

Still this doesnt give him sainthood nor does erase the fact that part of the recent decade , he's been inconsistant , chewing more than he should and could , but worst of all a multi recidivist liar , sometimes self admitted and repentant.

Within or outside context , he's still now mouthing off a bit about a device he helped sell to a lot of people .

Some didnt care for those sports and deemed casual titles , they were lured by specifically Milo & Kate , and the promises from him and other people of course , for a good "core" gaming experience . Of course it's on them to , for giving into something so astract and unproven ... but he still was a big part of the PR machine that sold the thing on 360 .

[Anon1974]

You see, I disagree. Even look what he produced this past decade. Fable was an absolute classic and garnered many industry awards and game of the year titles. Fable 2, despite it's ending received critical acclaim, still moved 4 million copies and won numerous game of the year awards. Fable 3 outsold Fable 2 and still was received wide critical acclaim. So far, how is this inconsistent?

The Movies was a bit of a niche title (all business sims are) but still managed a metacritic score of 84, something fewer than 10% of games released achieve. Fable - The Journey he had nothing to do with and Milo was a tech demo that was never released. Again, show me where he's been inconsistent here.

Then 22 cans formed. They've had one release that wasn't a game but more of a social experiment and Godus is currently in Beta. Again, point me to Molyneux being inconsistent in the quality of the titles released.

As for him being a liar, come on. The guy talked about features that didn't ultimately make it into the game. And that's what I mean when I talk about the cynicism that pervades the internet and any discussion regarding this dev. Of course not ever feature is going to make it into the finished product. So that means a dev can't talk about his vision for a game while working on the title or else be called a liar later? Give me a break.

"...he's still now mouthing off a bit about a device he helped sell..."

Did you read the whole interview, or just this quote taken out of context? He shared a story about how Kinect has trouble understanding voice commands in his household and how he and his son think it's funny to sit around and say random things to the Kinect. Suddenly, the media takes it as "DEV calls Kinect a JOKE!" Well, that's not what he's saying, is it now? He shared a personal experience and his thoughts on MS choosing to bundle Kinect with the Xbox One.

That's mouthing off? You're taking his comments out of context, which is what everyone does because that's what the gaming media loves to do with this guy and suddenly he's the joke and not a legendary, prolific and consistent contributor to gaming's evolution.

Again, I encourage everyone to read deeper. When you see a Molyneux quote taken out of context...find the original interview and read it. See how often his words are twisted.

[silvacrest]

Molyneux unchained is more interesting the Molyneux lying about milo

[OutcastMosquito]

Funny, his reaction to kinect is how I see the Fable series.

[Anon1974]

Funny, because most see the Fable series for what it is...an excellent and now classic take on the RPG genre that's deserved the millions it's sold and every one of the awards it's garnered over the years.

[SliceOfTruth888]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

He sure does hate the Kinect

[Baka-akaB]

Whatever side you place yourself in the kinect argument , Monyleux has become the joke , a while ago .

[Anon1974]

I couldn't disagree more. Molyneux is deserving of gamers respect and if you don't think so it's because you're simply ignorant to his greater contributions to the industry or you simply buy ever single quote taken out of context as it's portrayed by an increasing tabloid-like game media.

As a developer myself, Peter Molyneux is someone I've always respected and admired, and will continue to do so no matter how often his quotes are taken out of context. I wish I had a 10th of the vision this guy possesses and has acted on in his 30 years making video games and advancing our medium.

[candy_mafia]

If folks are so confident they made the right choice regarding Xbox One/Kinect, then why the need to justify it here?

Who is Peter Molyneux to make people have to justify enjoying the Kinect experience?

We have an Xbox One in our house along with PS4, and nobody, but nobody can ever make us regret our purchasing decisions no matter what they say.

It's just one guys opinion, relax folks :)

[mochachino]

I bet MS made him all these empty promises about Kinects abilities so he made a fool of himself with Milo thinking it would be possible then the truth smacked him in the face and them through egg all over it so now he's bitter about buying into that ever existing MS "wait and see"/ "potential" PR scam.

[BladerunnerZX]

Peter Molyneux has an overinflated ego and talks shit all the time.

I have an Xbox One and the Kinect works great especially for recording gameplay and twitch.

Its not perfect but it works very good 90% of the time.

[ziggurcat]

to be fair, though... lolyneux is an idiot, so you have to take anything he says with a massive grain of salt.

[Keregan]

Lol Molyneux doesn't has credibility whatsoever. The guy is sucking every bit of attention he can get since he did nothing revelant for the past 7 8 years.

[TripC50]

Try Xbox Fitness.

[lfc_4eva]

So he says its sh*t, but does he actually say why?

[Qwagy UK]

He's simply saying kinect should be an optional purchase to which I agree, bin kinect lower the price!

[Goku781]

Finally free to speak his mind, but alittle too late now.

[jackdaniels]

Peter Molyneux has been a joke for the last 10 years - an insignificant man desperately trying to stay in the public eye by jumping on the bash xbox band wagon. Also agree with a lot of guys on here saying how disappointing his fable games were, crap!

[Trekster_Gamer]

I'll be the first to say Kinect is not perfect, I also however thoroughly enjoy the Kinect experience on both my xbox 360 and now on Xbox One.

[purp13m0nk3y]

He was praising Kinect when it WAS revolutionary, and when it WAS cutting edge. And it was when first released.

I agree with him completely. 200 Million dollars and 4yrs to bring us Kinect 2.0, which is no different than the original Kenect!! That is a joke!

Don't get me wrong. On paper Kinect 2.0 is very impressive tech. The problem is that there is no practical use for it yet, or will there be in the near future.

What the hell MS was doing for the last 4yrs, spending 200 Million and not a single piece of Killer Kinect software to show for it? WTF!

Would you not have the hardware and software being developed in unison, so when the hardware releases you have some sweet software to go with it? Just me but Epic Fail MS.

Oh and yes I know there is the whole Kinect control for the console, UI, browser, ect. But that doesn't count as proper software support. Those features are just very basic stuff that is far from ground breaking or unique. And honestly, they do not work as well as they should and do not do the Kinect hardware justice at all.

All you people are quick to tear Molyneux a new one, saying he's a "Joke" and such. At lease he has the balls to call it as he sees it. He is a very intelligent man with many years experience in the gaming industry, and many HUGE successes under his belt. Can any of you say the same?

Bottom line. Kinect is an amazing piece of tech, that is completely wasted on the current uses that MS have for it. It bloats the cost of the system. It has zero game/app support apart from the rudimentary launch features, and MS have zero plans for any interesting uses for it in the near future.

It should have always been a "optional extra". Just typical MS BS, TELLING gamers what they want, rather than ASKING them in they want it.

[FITgamer]

...Or just continue to laugh like most of do when speaks.

[Mr_Luke]

I've heard M$ fanboys talking about Molyneux as if he was a god of videogames. Now he says "something" against kinect and suddenly he's an idiot?
Well, i didn't like Molyneux games (for many reasons) besides Black&White, but i've never bad mouthed him only because he was on the M$ side.
Fanboys are the idiots, not him. And if they get mad only because he gave his opinion about a stupid camera... that's just sad.
Maybe it was M$ that promised all those sci-fi things and almost all of them weren't true. Eh, blind fanboys are blind.

[supercpu]

i would like to point out Peter Molyneux you have to say specific kinect commands and not random stuff so funny ....

this is just more flame bait so sad .

[Strange_Days]

Never trust a man that constantly wears polar neck sweaters!!!