In what appears to be another stab to the heart and a growing trend, the Gamerscore Blog has announced that Fable 2 will be without online Co-Op from Day 1.  According to Lionhead the online component wasn't quite ready to go at launch, but the plans are to have a patch out "within the first week of launch."

This news comes hot on the heels of another announcement from Sony in which their AAA title Little Big Planet would be launching without the much anticipated online co-op creation tool.

I gotta say I'm pretty dissapointed by this, and this is a trend I hope that stops quickly.  PC users were plagued for years by the release first/patch later philosphy. 

What a coincidence, I will be missing buying Fable 2 at launch.

Honestly, I play with my better-half so the local co-op is probably what I'd use most. I can see how this might disappoint a lot of people. At least they're figuring it will be ready, "within the first week".

It could be a lot worse.

I am torn on this subject, part of me wants the product to be 100% working at launch, another part of me wants games as soon as possible.

Yet again, I agree with the guy who has possibly the raddest username ever. I really don't want to see this turn into a trend, as Nick said. I'm concerned that they're releasing the game in the incomplete state, first of all, but now it makes me wonder how dodgy the play will be overall too.

I'm still buying it right away, got it preordered and everything, but this does bum me out a bit...

I am just as concerned as Baldy and Bapenquin. I really hope this doesn't continue. Not just for Co-op features, but other sections.

Not everyone has internet. There are still plenty of people who just don't have their console connected to the net BECAUSE they don't pay for the service.

This is very concerning. If this happens to Left 4 Dead, I will NOT buy it release day. I'm buying that game (and would Fable 2) for the Co-op. without it, it's just useless to me.

Would it be redundant for me to say I am also a bit concerned? Or would it be hilariously unnecessary?

Although online co-op wasn't something I was needing in Fable 2, it was still a feature that they announced. Any feature being left out at launch is a dark cloud looming over the picnic that is the release.
Hopefully, this is not going to be made into a habit but now I am cautiously optimistic.

With all the great coop games upcoming, Fable 2 has been pretty low on my list. After all, I can't play everything. The only way I am going to buy Fable 2 is if I hear or read something that makes me absolutely want to play the game. This news makes me want the game even less.

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. Perhaps it's a case of me never trusting Molyneux to release what he promises, perhaps I'm just a Cynic. As consoles edge ever closer to simply becoming glorified PCs, I guarantee this trend will not slow down anytime soon.

is it just me or is it becoming all too common for developers to release crap that isn't finished? Soon they'll start releasing games with single player only, and promise that if it's popular enough, they'll add in multiplayer down the road....for 800 points.

Local Co-op is really what interests me in this game, so I'll likely still get it at release.

Local Co-op is really what interests me in this game, so I'll likely still get it at release.

That really, really sucks. I hope that they delayed because they want it *PERFECT* when it ships. But the whole fun was really going to be able to just jump in when you happened to be in the same part of the world. The replayability of the game better be stellar.

Hmm, I thought I had posted here, but we saw this running on two different systems at PAX. I assumed that was via online co-op, as you could see the floating sphere of the other system.

I also believe that most of the games at PAX were hooked up to the internet, because the Resistance 2 systems were playing with people in the beta online. And EVE Online was indeed online. It's weird, but unfortunate that it won't ship with online co-op, even though the game already went gold.

Local Co-op is really what interests me in this game, so I'll likely still get it at release.

Local Co-op is really what interests me in this game, so I'll likely still get it at release.

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. Perhaps it's a case of me never trusting Molyneux to release what he promises, perhaps I'm just a Cynic. As consoles edge ever closer to simply becoming glorified PCs, I guarantee this trend will not slow down anytime soon.

I am just as concerned as Baldy and Bapenquin. I really hope this doesn't continue. Not just for Co-op features, but other sections.

Not everyone has internet. There are still plenty of people who just don't have their console connected to the net BECAUSE they don't pay for the service.

This is very concerning. If this happens to Left 4 Dead, I will NOT buy it release day. I'm buying that game (and would Fable 2) for the Co-op. without it, it's just useless to me.

What a coincidence, I will be missing buying Fable 2 at launch.

Honestly, I play with my better-half so the local co-op is probably what I'd use most. I can see how this might disappoint a lot of people. At least they're figuring it will be ready, "within the first week".

It could be a lot worse.