Molyneux: Hate Mail Changed Fable II DLC

I guess this rates a spoiler alert, nearly a year after the fact. But the dilemma presented at the end of Fable II so outraged some players that they took to writing good old-fashioned hate mail to Peter Molyneux.

In an interview on the choices the Fable series forces its player to make, Molyneux said Fable II’s ultimate decision was a bridge too far for some. They so resented being forced to choose between sacrificing all their companions – including the beloved dog – or a sizable group of people, that they wrote in, vociferously. Molyneux told GameSetWatch he “did have hate mail from people” who couldn’t sacrifice the greater numbers, and said bye to the dog.

It all “got to such a furor,” Molyneux said, that Fable’s first DLC was changed to allow the dog to return to the game.

You can look at this one of two ways: One, that Molyneux diluted the force of his game’s calling card: choices and their consequences.

Or, two, that this isn’t like filmgoers complaining about a surprise ending. Gamers don’t just passively experience the story, and having no idea they’d be asked to do something this uncomfortable is quite a shock. I’m not sure I’d sent “hate mail,” (I’m not sure how vehement it was, either), but I’m willing to see the gripe’s legitimacy.

In-Depth: Peter Molyneux on the Importance of Choice [GameSetWatch via Destructoid]