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[Shauni]

I do agree that the interviews overall tone was too hard, to antagonistic. I don't care who it is your interviewing (outside maybe, I don't know, murderers or something) you don't start your interview by asking the interviewee if he's a pathological liar. Anyone who defends that is just...I don't know, not socially or professionally inept at all.

Having said that, I don't really feel sorry for Peter here. He's made an entire career of overpromising, misleading statements, and this whole recent thing with KS seems pretty shady. At some point, someone is going to come to you and ask just what the fuck is going on. It kind of amazes me that he's managed to avoid this for as long as he has (probably due to games journalism being "soft" or maybe a relatively good eye for who to do interviews with in general). The best you can hope for in that case is that the person who finds you is professional and with ask the hard questions in the softest way. But, unfortunately, he got someone who was not, and did not. Not that I agree with the way Walker went about that or anything, but anyone who doesn't think this has been a long time coming is either way too easy on Molyneux, or really hasn't been following his career.

 

[allftw]

I have nothing but hatred for Molyneux but yeah this interview was unprofessional and quite embarrassing to read.

Edit: I gotta say though it is still better than most of the promotional material that gaming sites try to pass off as interviews.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Peter Molyneux has been conning people out of money for going on 15 years now. There isn't any hard hitting journalism left on this angle. There is no mystery left, no curiosity as to why things didn't work out. It has literally boiled down to straight up asking Molyneux if he's just bullshitting everyone.

Don't blame one outlet of "games journalism" for holding a pathological con artist's feet to the fire. RPS didn't need to find out the "hard facts" for the case. It is blatantly obvious. Molyneux yet again over sold his game and mismanaged his company. It is yet another example in a string of KickStarters where a developer took advantage of their circumstance.

 

[Spookie]

Probably could have been handled more tactfully but the questions needed asking. While I understand people questioning the tone, but to defend Peter fully saying it is unnecessary is kidding themselves. He should have been held to task some time ago.

 

[MHWilliams]

As a media person, I just want people to realize something.

This interview is an extraordinary circumstance. The best I can figure is Molyneux has no PR person anymore, there was no PR person present, or they felt being completely open was the way to go.

Most PR people would've packed up shop after the first question, which is why you don't get interviews like this that often. Having 15 minutes with a dev and burning the entire thing on a righteous anger feelgood first question doesn't tend to help anyone.

With that as a given, it's probable that Walker could've gotten the same information and mea culpa out of Molyneux without being as adversarial. But it's Walker's interview and he went as far as he felt he needed to.

It was an interesting read, especially Molyneux' open answers.

 

[Mr Git]

Exactly this.

Ironically it takes zero investigation to find out the only person who labelled this a trial was the OP of this thread, not RPS.

 

[Sephzilla]

I do agree that the interviews overall tone was too hard, to antagonistic. I don't care who it is your interviewing (outside maybe, I don't know, murderers or something) you don't start your interview by asking the interviewee if he's a pathological liar. Anyone who defends that is just...I don't know, not socially or professionally inept at all.

Molyneux could barley even keep his shit straight during that interview. I think calling him a liar is worth defending because its evidently true. If you don't want to be called a liar, stop being a liar.

 

[harSon]

That seemed more Nancy Grace than legitimate worthwhile journalism

 

[Flavius]

Slaking some ridiculous bloodlust. What a poor, completely unprofessional interview.

That isn't hard-hitting, investigative journalism friends.

 

[Swarna]

Shout outs to RPS for not sucking his dick like every other interviewer.

Guy sweet-talks his way out of every interview. He still manages to a bit of that here, though. Interesting read.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Peter Molyneux has been conning people out of money for going on 15 years now. There isn't any hard hitting journalism left on this angle. There is no mystery left, no curiosity as to why things didn't work out. It has literally boiled down to straight up asking Molyneux if he's just bullshitting everyone.

Don't blame one outlet of "games journalism" for holding a pathological con artist's feet to the fire. RPS didn't need to find out the "hard facts" for the case. It is blatantly obvious. Molyneux yet again over sold his game and mismanaged his company. It is yet another example in a string of KickStarters where a developer took advantage of their circumstance.

How so?

 

[m_dorian]

I think that PM is the only responsible for this. Because all he did the past years was overpromising and underdelivering. And jumped from one project to another without blinking an eye betraying the loyalty and faith numerous gaming fans showed him, along with their money.
Maybe Walker was a little harsh but i feel no sympathy for PM. None at all.

 

[Toxi]

We probably would have gotten some better answers if, you know, Molyneux hadn't been contradicting himself.

 

[Archaix]

I think here is a big misunderstanding. He is not a liar he is a pathological liar. He just cannot help it.

Hell, I'd at least respect people if they said you should back off because Peter Molyneux clearly needs help and has serious mental issues. I don't believe that's true either, he's just a piece of shit, but at least it's an opinion I can respect and which may have merit unlike "he's just ambitious" which is as much of a lie as anything Molyneux has said himself. Well, okay, he has said that exact lie himself.

 

[Freeman]

Why is it acceptable to keep calling him a pathological liar? As if he was the only one overpraising. I wonder if it was someone else being threaded like this?

People take a risk in KS and can't handle the outcome, try learning something from it.

Hell, I'd at least respect people if they said you should back off because Peter Molyneux clearly needs help and has serious mental issues. I don't believe that's true either, he's just a piece of shit, but at least it's an opinion I can respect and which may have merit unlike "he's just ambitious" which is as much of a lie as anything Molyneux has said himself. Well, okay, he has said that exact lie himself.

Calling him a piece of shit over this? You are the one who seem to have a problem.

 

[jschreier]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

How so?

In that interview he details how they mismanaged their KS, their funding, and how he didn't even know if he had proper employees/handlers to follow through with their public relations stunts.

 

[echoshifting]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

Because this thread is about the interview and two wrongs don't make a right?

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

Just a few kickstarters off the top of my head...

Unsung Story got $660k. They've been silent for almost 3 months now. I don't think they've shown a screenshot in the year since they got funded.

Spaceventures got $539k. They're 2 years past their deadline now with no firm release date set.

Hero-U got $409k. They're over 2 years past their deadline now with no firm release date set.

Project Phoenix got $1 million. The prototype video looked drastically different than their concept & is generally agreed to be quite terrible.

These are all projects that got a lot of money from Kickstarter, that have famous or semi-famous developers attached to them, and that have delivered far less than Godus has. And yet, now Molyneux is public enemy number one 'cause his Kickstarter has only created a so-so beta while lots of other developers who have taken large amounts of money and overpromised and underdelivered are left alone. It's ridiculous. Hold everyone accountable but at the same time realize that game development is a tricky business and things don't always go according to plans.

John Walker from RPS said "But the rules change when it's the players' money being messed with." If that's the case, then the people in charge of the various disastrous game launches that we've seen lately should be getting grilled far worse than Molyneux. The amount of money that Godus has made from KS & from Early Access is miniscule compared to something like the Halo Collection or latest Assassin's Creed.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

This interview sounds as if John Walker was a gaffer that didn't like KS projects like Mighty No. 9.


D:

 

[aeolist]

Why is it acceptable to keep calling him a pathological liar? As if he was the only one overpraising. I wonder if it was someone else being threaded like this?

People take a risk in KS and can't handle the outcome, try learning something from it.

he's the only one i can think of who has done it for over a decade, consistently and repeatedly even after being called out on it and personally acknowledging it.

i think the guy is trying to be genuine and works really hard, but the realities of the situations he creates for himself defeat him every time and he's not able to stop overpromising. it's his own fault and he needs to stop but clearly can't, so people need to stop giving him a podium altogether for his own sake.

 

[Mengy]

Lets be super clear.

Asking for good gaming journalism does not mean asking for an antagonistic press.

This is the other extreme of what you are talking about.

You want an impartial press that is able to call it like they see it. This is tantamount to watching MSNBC or Fox News because you agree with the bias they are slinging at the TV so it trigger a rush of serotonin to your brain and makes you happy.

It's not journalism. It's a sensationalistic hit piece because someone had an axe to grind and came out swinging.

I agree with what you are saying, but Peter has built this to a crescendo. At some point water boils, and someone had to take Peter to task on his misleading behavior over the past many years. I'm honestly a huge fan of Peter's work but his behavior has been horrible and he deserved every bit of this.

If RPS had done this to Markus Persson or David Braben then yeah I'd agree it would be out of line. In Peter's case, it's well deserved IMHO. And again I'm saying this as a bigtime fan of his work.

 

[hamchan]

Just a few kickstarters off the top of my head...

Unsung Story got $660k. They've been silent for almost 3 months now. I don't think they've shown a screenshot in the year since they got funded.

Spaceventures got $539k. They're 2 years past their deadline now with no firm release date set.

Hero-U got $409k. They're over 2 years past their deadline now with no firm release date set.

Project Phoenix got $1 million. The prototype video looked drastically different than their concept & is generally agreed to be quite terrible.

These are all projects that got a lot of money from Kickstarter, that have famous or semi-famous developers attached to them, and that have delivered far less than Godus has. And yet, now Molyneux is public enemy number one 'cause his Kickstarter has only created a so-so beta while lots of other developers who have taken large amounts of money and overpromised and underdelivered are left alone. It's ridiculous. Hold everyone accountable but at the same time realize that game development is a tricky business and things don't always go according to plans.

John Walker from RPS said "But the rules change when it's the players' money being messed with." If that's the case, then the people in charge of the various disastrous game launches that we've seen lately should be getting grilled far worse than Molyneux. The amount of money that Godus has made from KS & from Early Access is miniscule compared to something like the Halo Collection or latest Assassin's Creed.

If the people running those kickstarters want to give interviews to RPS and be grilled then I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige.....

 

[chrominance]

I don't have a problem with John Walker going after Peter Molyneux hard, or the general concept of using Molyneux's own words against him. The only reason why I think the tone was detrimental is because it makes the interview somewhat suspect. Not only does Walker sound like he has an agenda, however laudable it might be, but it also puts Molyneux on the defensive needlessly.

If Molyneux starts making emotional appeals about being forced out of the industry and Walker's just asking hard questions, it means something different than Molyneux getting defensive because Walker has a bit of an axe to grind. And while I wouldn't necessarily put it past Molyneux to falsely imply that Walker's getting emotional with his questions, I find it highly unlikely that he would do so, knowingly or otherwise.

 

[Flavius]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

You have the same problem that Walker does. This isn't about you, and making some bullshit comparison between two shitty practices doesn't elevate one or the other.

 

[iMax]

Suggest you all watch this again.

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

Couldn't agree more. I've never encountered an industry where "journalists" are just PR puppets as much as this one.

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

As harsh as it was I thonk it's been long overdue and maybe he will realisre that he can't just say what he wants and then fail to deliver.

 

[Interfectum]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

I think there's a happy medium to be found. Personally I don't like seeing someone, even Molyneux, treated with such disrespect and contempt.

 

[Archaix]

Why is it acceptable to keep calling him a pathological liar? As if he was the only one overpraising. I wonder if it was someone else being threaded like this?

People take a risk in KS and can't handle the outcome, try learning something from it.



Calling him a piece of shit over this? You are the one who seem to have a problem.

I have a huge problem with this liar who keeps taking people's money and those that defend him. I have a problem with somebody who runs a scheme disguised as a contest and delivers nothing of the reward he promised. I have problems with people who try to garner sympathy by claiming they are being unfairly treated when the treatment for the first time in their lives is actually beginning to approach fair.

So, yes, I have a problem with Peter Molyneux. He is a bad person and I wish he'd actually go away.

It was also silly as hell and arguably too confrontational to start the interview with "Are you a pathological liar?" but I just can't find it in myself to give a damn about Peter Molyneux.

 

[komplanen]

I agree with Molyneux in that he needs to stop talking to the press but I'd extend that to gamers as well. Just keep it hush and make a game from start to finish before moving on to the next game.

He talked up Godus and well before it's completed he moves out to a new project he's now talking up.

He needs to reset this spiral of bullshit regardless of how intentional it is.

 

[someguyinahat]

Man, what an interview. The interviewer really could have dialled it back a notch and stayed more professional, but he asked a lot of questions that needed to be asked. What's most telling is the point where Molyneux was arguing the date when Konrad joined 22cans, before simply asking him and then saying "I made a mistake. That wasn't a lie."

He's right. Molyneux isn't a liar, he's a bullshitter. Liars know the truth and choose to say the opposite. Bullshitters don't know and don't care what the truth is and just say anything without knowing whether it's true or not because it serves their purposes. In a lot of cases, though, bullshitting can be just as bad as lying.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

I doubt that's true. One is a publisher hiding things from a customer. The other is being a cunt to someone for no good reason. They are not really the same are they.

 

[Cato the Censor]

Wow. It seems that when you lie for years and years and years...

...sooner or later, people will ask you if you are a liar.

In a not very nice way.

Who could have seen this coming.

 

[RockTurtle]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

you trying to derail the thread brah?

and people complain about that all the time. why don't you go look at IGN threads with previews for games like COD or HALO or Mass Effect.

 

[Toxi]

Why is it acceptable to keep calling him a pathological liar?

Because he is a pathological liar and admits to it?

I don't think Peter Molyneux is malicious like some people in the thread. He's a millionaire, he doesn't need money and he makes games because he enjoys doing his job. However, he needs to be reminded that there are consequences to his silliness, especially when he does it to the customers who still supported him after all this time. Lowballing the kickstarter to get people to fund it was not a good practice. Promising a reward without thinking of following through with it was not a good practice.

I hope that he doesn't take this interview too harshly, but I also hope this motivates him to look back at what he did and realize what went wrong.

 

[todahawk]

I have a hard time understanding why more people complain about a possibly-unprofessional interview than they do about the hype campaigns and PR-dictated preview blowouts that drive so much of video game coverage even today.

My thoughts exactly. I'd rather deal with an over-zealous press than a press in the publisher's back pocket.

 

[Sorian]

Why is it acceptable to keep calling him a pathological liar? As if he was the only one overpraising. I wonder if it was someone else being threaded like this?

People take a risk in KS and can't handle the outcome, try learning something from it.



Calling him a piece of shit over this? You are the one who seem to have a problem.

Taking a risk in KS? Are you fucking kidding me? Have you followed his career at all? Every single game he's released in the last what 10 or 15 years has been sold on him completely overhyping features that were half baked or just out right missing. Get out of here with this garbage. This KS campaign is not an isolated incident. This was a long time coming and the interviewer didn't go hard enough in my opinion.

 

[Wereroku]

I doubt that's true. One is a publisher hiding things from a customer. The other is being a cunt to someone for no good reason. They are not really the same are they.

The fact that the guy lied throughout this interview and others ones if pretty good justification to be an asshole.

 

[Alienous]

Suggest you all watch this again.

But it's ok. Fable: Journey too, because Kinect is a joke now.

He's far too comfortable lying to people. Project Milo and its lies are so fucking blatant.

 

[Baron_Calamity]

Wow, the developer publisher community really doesn't like this. On facebook and twitter several of them are having meltdowns. I'm not exactly sure why either. They feel its an attack on their entire career.

 

[Freeman]

he's the only one i can think of who has done it for over a decade, consistently and repeatedly even after being called out on it and personally acknowledging it.

i think the guy is trying to be genuine and works really hard, but the realities of the situations he creates for himself defeat him every time and he's not able to stop overpromising. it's his own fault and he needs to stop but clearly can't, so people need to stop giving him a podium altogether for his own sake.

If you think he is or was the only one consistently over-promising, you have not been paying attention.

I'm still waiting Bioware to acknowledge that they lied while promoting ME3, the press never cared, nor they ever will.

 

[aeolist]

My thoughts exactly. I'd rather deal with an over-zealous press than a press in the publisher's back pocket.

this is a false dichotomy. we can have a games press that holds peoples' feet to the fire without being aggressive assholes about it.

 

[Blood Diamonds]

lmao bring up the #gamergate shit again let's see if it's not a complete joke this time around

 

[Draconian]

The first question devalues the entire interview. The interviewer comes off as someone who has an axe to grind and Molyneux's on the defensive for the rest of it. What's the point? People are really lauding this amateurish approach as a great interview technique? I'd expect this kind of interview if a Gaffer were conducting it.

If this is what's considered good gaming journalism, then the field is hopeless.

 

[KiefbladeMaster]

If you mean great piece of journalism that really questioned someone that needed to have it asked than yes. I respect PM for some of the games he has done but he has mislead people in almost every single game he has ever released.

Don't believe you can really use the word questioned on this -- more like interrogated -- he came in with the disposition that Molyneux was guilty of practically everything, and only continues to lambaste him throughout the 'interview', to the point of barely letting him speak and even speaking over him in some cases.

And yet most of those games were released, still, to critical acclaim. That doesn't do any good, though, as the hate machine is already in full effect -- as evidenced by this thread and what I'm seeing on twitter.

 

[iMax]

Wow, the developer publisher community really doesn't like this. On facebook and twitter several of them are having meltdowns. I'm not exactly sure why either. They feel its an attack on their entire career.

Who in particular? Haven't seen any yet.

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

I doubt that's true. One is a publisher hiding things from a customer. The other is being a cunt to someone for no good reason. They are not really the same are they.

It's about time someone confronted him about the way he runs his projects. The mess he's left Godus is embarrassing and then there's the Curiosity winner who has seen nothing. All je does is apologise and say how good his next game will be. Enough is enough.

 

[aeolist]

If you think he is or was the only one consistently over-promising, you have not been paying attention.

give me some specific examples of individuals who have done it for as long and as badly as molyneux. i am genuinely curious.

 

[Desaan]

Of course he's an A grade bullshitter. How else do you think he's been doing this for 30+ years whilst making fuck all of any note, except a shit ton of money. Still riding the wave of Populous 25 years later.

 

[AngelhunterUK]

I am still reading that. It's such a brutal interview.

Yeah it is pretty brutal but at this point, you really have to think that it's quite justified.