With the release of Fable 2 imminent, I look back to the release of the original Fable and I wonder if any game can live up to that level of hype. The original Fable’s list of intended features was something legendary to put all other games to shame.

While the original Fable was a great game, it was not the life changing experience that a lot of gamers were expected. Part of the immense hype surrounding the game was due Peter Molyneux’s interviews in which he described exciting game features that never made it into Fable in the end.

Now, its four years later and Fable 2 has had a distinct lack of hype. I think Lionhead has made a smart move in not giving players an over-powering set of expectations by stirring up a lot of hype about the game. I hope that players can see the game for what it is, and not what was promised.

Fable is not the only game that has been berated for not living up to player expectations that were heightened due to hype. The latest game to suffer this fate has been Spore, with years of development and over-circulated gameplay videos. Not to mention the long list of MMORPGs that have been made out to be “WoW killers”, starting with Vanguard.

All in all, I think there is a certain amount of hype that no game can live up to. I encourage developers to market their games, but to always realize that there are limits to the product that they can deliver.

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