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Peter Molyneux: Xbox One Backlash Unfair, Online Inevitable

Posted by: , 17:12 AEST, Fri August 16, 2013

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Gaming pioneer says gamers have unfairly treated Microsoft over Xbox One's DRM scheme, and that the future of gaming lies online
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The founder of Lionhead Studios, and former Microsoft employee Peter Molyneux has labeled the backlash against Microsoft's Xbox One DRM as "very unfair". Molyneux, the creative spark behind classic games like Populous, Theme Park, Black & White, and more recently, the Fable series, also says that the future of gaming lies in the same direction that Microsoft tried to take gamers with the Xbox One: online.

In an exclusive interview with Techradar, Molyneux said gamers have largely misunderstood Microsoft's intentions behind the doomed Xbox One licensing scheme, and failed to see the bold vision behind the controversial changes.

"I know Microsoft, I know they were only doing things because they thought they were long-reaching and long-thinking. But the world we live in now is that we have to realise, especially if you're a big corporation, if you make one step wrong, the world will leap on you, and unfairly, very unfairly, they will judge you," Molyneux told Techradar.

And despite Microsoft's unprecedented reversal, Molyneux says that gamers are still unfairly treating Microsoft. "Microsoft did the reversal and we should have all turned round and said 'fantastic, you've really listened to what we're said'. But you have to over-correct to get back on line," said Molyneux.

The reason Molyneux has come to the defense of Microsoft is largely because he believes that the future of gaming, and almost everything else, is going to be online. Although he adds that merely being online isn't enough for games, that the benefits of online gaming needs to be exploited and explained.

"Whether as consumers we like it or not, just like every form of technology interaction, there's an inevitability of online. We know that online is so much a part of our existence now that we're going to be in a world very soon where we have to be online all the time.

You've got to give consumers the real benefit of why being online is a great thing for them. Why it's great for gaming, why it's great for their pockets and why it's great for the experiences they're having," added Molyneux.


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