SCRAWL: "Lionhead's Fable II is taking a platinum in the United Kingdom. When it was released, it was the fastest selling RPG on the Xbox 360 ever released, so the ELSPA is awarding the game with a "platinum status". That means Fable II is within a select group of games that sell over 300K units in the United Kingdom."
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A Lionhead spokesman has told videogaming247.com that a release date for the delayed DLC, Knothole Island is "very close" and that applies to the patch, too.
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Here we are then, the final installment in our Top 50 Games of 2008. It's worth reiterating once again that the list is not intended as a definitive rundown of the 50 best games of the year, but instead reflects votes cast by our staff and contributors based on the games they have played and enjoyed.
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2008 was a big year. There were so many great games released that it's incredibly hard to decide which one deserves to be the Game of the Year… so that's why Ripten is going to make you do it. Have a gander at Ripten's nominees and let them know which game you think deserves top honors. Additionally, they want to spark some debate as they also want to know which of the nominees is least deserving of Game of the Year.

The best commenter (best arguments, most interesting or humorous comments - as decided by Ripten staff) will also be rewarded with a super awesome prize: a free game! Let your voice be heard!

The nominees are:

Left 4 Dead
Metal Gear Solid 4
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Grand Theft Auto IV
Fable II
LittleBigPlanet
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2
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GI.Biz writes: "Fable II was the most socially interactive title in the US in October, new data from Networked Insights has revealed. According to the company the game generated over 8 million interactions across various social media and social interaction sites, making it the most talked about game in that month."
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Destructoid writes: "According to an official announcement on the official Xbox website, Fable II's 'Knothole Island' DLC will not be hitting Xbox Live Marketplace until 'late January 2009' because of 'unexpected technical difficulties.' This marks the second delay of the content that was originally supposed to debut on December 12.

'Knothole Island' will introduce players to a new landmass with several new quests, items, properties, and enemies. The source of the problem could be tied into its nature – the developer of the content, Lionhead, were going to put two different versions out for consumers.

The premium version (800 Microsoft Space Dollars) would allow players full freedom with the content. The regular version (free) would restrict players from the vast majority of the 'Knothole Island' DLC unless they were with a friend who had purchased the content. One could certainly speculate that getting these two different downloads to work together may have been the source of the problem.

Because of the delay of the content, Microsoft has put a hold on their 'Knothole Island Download & Win Sweepstakes' which was intended to put players in a lottery to win decent prizes if they purchased and played the content between December 22 and 23. We were all eagerly awaiting this contest and are severely disturbed that it has been delayed."
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Console Monster writes: "We have just added the new Achievements for Fable 2 on the Xbox 360. The achievements relate to "Knothole Island" – the name of the new downloadable content for Fable 2 released on Monday 22nd December 2008. The content will cost 800 Microsoft Points and will coincide with a patch which allows co-operative play (available to all players).

The list contains 3 new achievements worth 75 GamerScore:

The Collector - 25 GamerScore
Acquire all the mystery items in The Box of Secrets shop, or see another Hero do so.

The Meteorologist - 50 GamerScore
Bring all of Knothole Island's weather problems under control, or help another Hero to do so.

The Bibliophile - 25 GamerScore
Find all the books detailing the history of Knothole Island, or help another Hero to do so..."
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VG247: Lionhead has confirmed today that the Knothole Island downloadable content will be available to download from December 22, and not December 12 as previously published.
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Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has revealed he wasn't overly concerned when he saw his latest title reduced to half its RRP only weeks after the game first hit stores.

UK video game retailer GameStation recently offered Fable II for only £19.57, but Molyneux noted that it's not just his game being reduced this winter.
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Peter Molyneux has hinted that Fable II could be made available as a full digital release on Xbox 360.

The Lionhead Studios boss refused to confirm any concrete plans, but told GamesIndustry.biz: "I think it would be a great thing for this studio to work on."

Pressed on whether there were already plans for the critically-acclaimed RPG to be made available over Microsoft's Live service, Molyneux said: "I can't say anything else on it – I would be killed to death."

Microsoft, which already offers full original Xbox titles for download via its Marketplace service, has never formally revealed intentions to make full retail 360 titles available, but industry watchers have long predicted this could happen later in the console's lifecycle.

Molyneux's enthusiasm for a digital release comes after the success of the original Fable, which was made available for download on 360 earlier this year as part of the Xbox Originals range.

"It did really, really well," he revealed. "It was one of the highest selling, if not the highest selling, [Xbox Originals title]. I didn't track that exactly, but I know a lot of people got very excited about it when it came out."

Fable II released in Europe on October 24 and topped the UK charts after its opening weekend.
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