So, yes, does it count as lying to your customers (as in, doing something that's widely considered a sin in every industry except apparently the gaming one) if you talk about what is going to be in game (but actually isn't) in various interviews upto release date?
I mean, in the past (Fable 1&2, Black and White 1&2) Peter usually shut up about six months before release. (When the game is pretty much set in stone and you know what features are cut.) He didn't for Fable 3. He kept blabbing on about mechanics that would be in game but essentially weren't.
After the rest of Lionhead's releases, I was wary of everything PM said (as with any game, really, never trust early interviews since they're what they HOPE to achieve, not what they have achieved) but as he got closer and closer to release, I started thinking, "Hell, this might actually be a feature complete game release by Lionhead! That's a turn up for the books and that's awesome!"
And then it's came out and people have complained about removed features.
I mean, it's blatantly obvious that, in later interviews, Molyneux KNEW these features weren't going to make it into game and yet he carried on claiming they would be. This means, of course, that he was essentially outright lying to his consumer base about the quality, scope and depth of his product, something that would get him hung, drawn and quartered in any other market sector.
So, the question is, does this actually constitute lying to your consumer base or merely stirring up hype / something along those lines?
I mean, in the past (Fable 1&2, Black and White 1&2) Peter usually shut up about six months before release. (When the game is pretty much set in stone and you know what features are cut.) He didn't for Fable 3. He kept blabbing on about mechanics that would be in game but essentially weren't.
After the rest of Lionhead's releases, I was wary of everything PM said (as with any game, really, never trust early interviews since they're what they HOPE to achieve, not what they have achieved) but as he got closer and closer to release, I started thinking, "Hell, this might actually be a feature complete game release by Lionhead! That's a turn up for the books and that's awesome!"
And then it's came out and people have complained about removed features.
I mean, it's blatantly obvious that, in later interviews, Molyneux KNEW these features weren't going to make it into game and yet he carried on claiming they would be. This means, of course, that he was essentially outright lying to his consumer base about the quality, scope and depth of his product, something that would get him hung, drawn and quartered in any other market sector.
So, the question is, does this actually constitute lying to your consumer base or merely stirring up hype / something along those lines?
