The first reason:

Fable Hits UK Store Shelves

By: César A. Berardini - " Cesar"
Oct. 8th, 2004 03:04 am

Microsoft Game Studios announced today that Fable has been spotted on store shelves in the UK for an estimated retail price of £39.99. Developed by Peter Molyneux' s studio Big Blue Box, in conjunction with Lionhead Studios, Fable allows players to develop a unique character by making choices that determine their character' s skills, reputation and appearance.

Fable has already had an amazing start at retailers across North America and in its first week of release, it broke records, selling through more than 375,000 units.


The second reason:

Kingdom Under Fire Goes Gold in Europe
By: César A. Berardini - " Cesar"
Oct. 8th, 2004 03:51 am


The medieval struggle between the dark legion and human race is upon this world.Phantagram announced today that the award-winning Xbox action-strategy game, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, has gone gold and is set to hit the UK retail shelves on October 29th 2004.

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders has won the following awards in Europe: Elite Award (Official Xbox Magazine, UK), Star Game Award (XboxGamer, UK), Elite Award and Game of the Month Award (Official Xbox Magazine, France), Editor' s Choice Award (Jeux Vidéo Magazine, France), Game of the Month Award (PlayMag, France), Mega Star Award (Joypad, France), and XBG Games Award (Xbox Games, Germany), Hit Game Award (Xbox Zone, Germany).


Set 50 years after the War of Heroes, players assume the role of a general in a fantasy battlefield. Players must fight alongside their troops and use catapults, dragons or any means necessary to crush the Dark Legions and put an end to the terror they' ve unleashed on the sacred Holy Grounds. Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders features up to 100 characters and allows up to 150 units to fight on one screen, boasting breathtaking battles on an epic scale. In third-person perspective, players' characters will progress from basic troops to more specialized and powerful units. Throughout 30 hours of playtime, players can choose to battle as the Humans or Dark Legions in more than 60 different maps. Mission types include all-out war, castle siege, scouting, trapping and more. Gamers can also compete head-to-head or team up with other players in Death match battles via Xbox Live. Players can enhance their missions by downloading new mission packs, weapons and armor while tracking their performance with Xbox Live scoreboards.

Published by Phantagram and distributed in the UK by KOCH Media, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders will be priced at £39.99 GBP.