Retail Radar: UK dates for Fable 2, Ghostbusters

Play.com let slip dates for a bunch of titles, including Fable 2, Ghostbusters, Prototype, Ninja Gaiden II, and The Bourne Conspiracy.

This weekend saw the first major UK independent consumer video game event in years, as Play.com Live took over Wembley Arena to show off upcoming titles, including Rock Band (still not out in the UK!), Killzone 2, Ghostbusters, Far Cry 2, and This is Vegas, to the public.

Everyone at the event (or everyone who could be bothered to stand in line, anyway) got a free goodie bag, which included a Play.com booklet promising 5 percent off all the games at the event. This is where it gets interesting--the booklet also has release dates, which haven't been officially announced yet for a number of high-profile upcoming titles.

Up first is Lionhead's highly anticipated role-playing game Fable 2, which is set some 500 years after the first game and promises to be bigger and better. Fable 2, according to Play.com, will be coming out in the UK on May 30 with a 16+ PEGI rating.

One of the big disappointments of the event was the distinct lack of the rumoured hands-on premiere of Ghostbusters, The Video Game. Although gamers were treated to a huge inflatable marshmallow man and the Ghostbusters car, all that was on show inside was a trailer. However, in the booklet, the game has been dated for September 26, with an age rating of 12.

Other surprises in the book include a date for Prototype, an open-world game from Radical Entertainment, set in New York and starring a shape-shifter called Alex Mercer. This sci-fi action adventure has been given the nod for June 27, although the age rating has yet to be confirmed.

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy is next up. The game is tied into the popular film trilogy starring Matt Damon as elite secret agent Jason Bourne, which in turn is based on the best-selling novels following Bourne's international antics. The Bourne Conspiracy is coming to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. According to Play.com, we can expect this title on June 27, though it appears to not have been age rated yet.

Ninja Gaiden II is next to be given a release date. If one is to believe Play.com, the Tecmo follow-up to the 2004 title will be with us at the end of the month, March 28, to be precise. Unsurprisingly, for a series known for its ultraviolence, it will be rated 18.

Two more games are given release dates--Iron Man (May 30, two weeks after the film is due to hit British cinemas), WALL-E (May 4, more than two months before the movie reaches UK screens), and Lego Batman gets slightly more pinned down to "sometime in September" with an age rating of 3 years old, which will no doubt disappoint those toddlers hoping to play the game.

On another Retail Radar snoop, UK supermarket chain Tesco has recently amended its games listings and finally dated Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Europeans--January 1, 2020.

Please note, while retailer listings frequently jump the gun on publishers' product announcements, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's release date or existence; nor should the absence of a listing be considered as proof that a game isn't coming to a given platform.

147 Comments

  • Smoothy08

    Posted Jun 29, 2008 6:51 pm PT

    May has already been no fable 2 ;(

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted May 25, 2008 4:47 pm PT

    GHOST BUSTERS WOOT!

  • YOu-mE

    Posted Apr 20, 2008 12:14 pm PT

    fable 2 is gonna be cool an d i cant wait for ghostbuster the game because i like the tv show and all that but what really hit me is the release of ninja gaiden 2 because if the first part was amazing and the black version was even more impressive i know this one is gonna be extra cool with dissembling of limbs and still the cutting of heads but the best is the new weapons,new ninpos, the new finishing techniques,and the new fiends and evil ninjas. Team ninja surprise me all the way i know you guys can

  • crunchb3rry

    Posted Apr 12, 2008 7:20 pm PT

    Fable 2 on May 30? Whatever they are smoking has got to be illegal no matter where you live.

  • chalky_2008

    Posted Mar 25, 2008 6:07 am PT

    Bane546 i think you'll have to get it from the US tbh.

    and as a general response.... the fable 2 date that is quoted from play.com is far different from the actual one on the site ''/

    "£39.99 Free Delivery

    RRP: £49.99 | You save: £10.00 (20%)

    Pre-order. | Due for release on 12/12/2008"

    http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-/1012390/Fable-2/Product.html

  • bane546

    Posted Mar 20, 2008 5:03 pm PT

    anyone know a way to get a UK Fable 2 work on a NTSC 360??

  • HALCONAZUL

    Posted Mar 20, 2008 12:27 pm PT

    if Fable 2 will be coming sooner is going to be in summer...

  • riotmaster1

    Posted Mar 20, 2008 10:15 am PT

    hey whitelyon40, what do you mean its unfortunate. we have to put up with getting the best games after you, so one game coming out this end first is quite nice actually.

  • TehUndeadHorror

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 11:39 pm PT

    FABLE!

  • ratchet3

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 5:44 pm PT

    This is def. not coming out in May.

  • Iu_uI

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 3:16 pm PT

    I want them all, dunno about fable never played it :/

  • ThunderStorm101

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 12:07 pm PT

    fable is coming out near christmas not may

  • comfnumb82

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 12:00 pm PT

    all i have to say about fable 2 is it BETTER be longer and provide more options than the first.

  • Serious06

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 11:44 am PT

    i think its a lie

  • cheesemonkey199

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 9:19 am PT

    oh my god, i sooo hope that NG2 comes out this month, because i will be sooooo happppyyyy

  • Crew_SK

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 9:15 am PT

    Maybe due to global warming the leaves will "turn brown" at the end of May. Who knows

  • wars45

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 4:05 am PT

    want far cry 2 and prototype

  • Jahalo

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 11:21 pm PT

    I heard it has always been fall for Fable 2.

  • Currmaster13

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 4:10 pm PT

    DO NOT BE FOOLED!, It's all a hoax everybody, the Lionhead Community website has even said so. Fable 2 will NOT be released on May 30th. he has already said, "When the leaves turn brown," so we can speculate anywhere between october to november.

  • Kraige

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 2:33 pm PT

    Its obviously BS that Ninja Gaiden 2 is coming out this month it was confirmed for June officially already, but I do hope they're right about Fable 2 that should be around the time I finish my current RPG's so would work nicely.

  • themc_7

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 11:21 am PT

    is this info trustworthy? Fable 2 was suppsoed to be in the 3rd quarter of 2008, that's not May 30th

  • shaanic

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 11:08 am PT

    Ghostbusters? Awesome................. now only if I lived in the UK

  • thk123

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 10:45 am PT

    Finally, a REALISTIC release date for Brawl
    For all those people who are taking that release date seriously...do you not think it might possibly maybe be not true?!! :O

  • Crawl_to_China

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 9:44 am PT

    yeah their community site pretty much spells it out.
    http://community.lionhead.com/blogs/lionhead_community/archive/2008/03/18/2877349.aspx
    Lionhead's that is.

  • dragon247uk

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 9:21 am PT

    anyone with half a mind would check lionheads website for the Fable 2 release date.

    http://community.lionhead.com/blogs/lionhead_community/archive/2008/03/18/2877349.aspx

  • batdude247

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 8:19 am PT

    holy shlt, Brawl comes out in 2020 for Europe!! I feel bad for those guys.

  • e1337prodigy

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 8:03 am PT

    lol tesco, you plonkers. By the time its 2020 there will be about 2 other 'next-gen' consoles each with at least one super smash bro game on them.

  • Dill-Man

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 7:39 am PT

    Hope Fable 2 is right, doubt it though

  • TTDog

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 6:40 am PT

    Is that the same Play.com who used to have Resident Evil 5 down for the end of March 2008?

    The chances of these being right are exceptionally slim.

  • MadlilMart

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 6:37 am PT

    Roll on Prototype

  • Da1ShrpSh0trGrl

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 4:30 am PT

    I hope so for FABLE. It will be the first time I get dates for this game and I have been wating so hopefully they are right, no matter where they got their info from. All I care is for this game to release.

  • Stevie1980

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 4:10 am PT

    Alan wake was apparently out march acording to play at one point, its corrected this and its Q3 release is more bieleveable, so play is not the best choice for offical release dates GS(noobs).

  • acidrain1976

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 3:28 am PT

    @Suuji

    I'm with you. I've been putting off a 360 until Fable 2.

  • donped666

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 3:12 am PT

    Will all you idiots with your 'proffesional' opinions stop judging whether or not these release dates are true or not and realise that it really don't matter. So long as these games are confirmed to come out this year it barely matters when. Fable 2 is an amazing looking game and so what if its late, to be frank I think we can thank Peter Molyneux & Play.com for at least giving us a date, as for the other games, the same applies. It don't matter when these games are released, just appreciate that they are coming this year.

  • whitelyon40

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 11:49 pm PT

    Death hater, its a UK release, they get it before we do cause the company is based from there... its unfortunate

  • sonofabear17

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 11:40 pm PT

    I doubt any of these are right expessally NG2.

  • Suuji

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 8:59 pm PT

    when they release Fable 2 i'll buy a 360 right away.

  • tbolt_88

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 8:48 pm PT

    NG2 is supposed to come out in the states in June. No way it would release in the UK in March. That would make no sense at all. And I highly doubt Fable 2 in May.

  • Death-Hater

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 7:52 pm PT

    Fable 2 in May? Impossible... Didn't Peter Molyneux already confirm a Fall release in a live interview a while back? I won't be holding my breathe for a May release. :/

  • hobolovecookies

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 7:25 pm PT

    Man, i hope this is true. Fable 2 in may would be sweet.

  • ghost867

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 7:09 pm PT

    What the hell? Are any of these right?

    Fable 2 in May? Get the hell out of here. That games a definite Fall release, even if it ends up early Fall. I doubt the UK, or any region for that matter, would be getting it at the end of May. That's just ridiculous.

    Ghostbusters in September? That I can believe actually. They've been saying Fall/Q4/Holiday, which just barely falls into the first category. I wouldn't be surprised to see it later in the year, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised by a September release date. Though I doubt the 26th is in any way official.

    Prototype in June? Oh come the **** on. Yet another game planned for the Holiday season. Even it it means going toe to toe with inFamous. There is no way in hell it's going to come out in June.

    The Bourne Conspiracy in June? Wasn't that a planned second half 2008 game? And I guess June 27th just barely fits that bracket, but I still think it's early. Don't know too much about the games release date, but I'd expect it later in the year as well.

    Okay, now out of all the games on this list, this is by far the most ridiculous. Ninja Gaiden II.... before the month is out? Okay, now that's just complete crap. Get the hell out of here with that. This is a Spring game, and again, March 28th just barely makes the Spring, but that is so soon, that they'd have an official release date for it by now. That's just asinine. I mean, there are Japanese developer, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they'd make the foreigner mistake of release NG2 in May (post GTA IV apocalypse), but I'd expect and early June release. This is just stupid. I know, some of these release dates just barely fit the release date, but the assumed date is much, much later.

    But you heard it here first. Super Smash Bros Brawl is coming New Years Day 2020 to the United Kingdom.

  • Lightchaos

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 6:53 pm PT

    can't wait for ninja gaiden II! this is going to be awesome!

  • darkspartan1992

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 6:42 pm PT

    when does soul calibur IV come out

  • grungehead1991

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 5:13 pm PT

    fable 2......oh man

  • cronew1

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 4:45 pm PT

    no way ninja gaiden II comes out in March

  • zux2000

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 4:41 pm PT

    Fable 2 will dominate Like Fable One

  • Diernes

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 4:22 pm PT

    As far as I am concerend this is actually shaping up to be a better year for gaming than 2007

  • havik0666

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 4:05 pm PT

    nice news ^^

  • Currmaster13

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 4:00 pm PT

    ummm, yeah i'm a little skeptical about these dates.

  • x-2tha-z

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 3:38 pm PT

    Play.com always guess release dates. Ninja Gaiden has already been confirmed for a June release. I doubt Fable 2 will be out in May also. I wouldn't take these release dates as genuine or that Play let anything slip. They're just guessing. While the whole Manhunt 2 saga was going on they never removed Manhunt 2 from the site. There was always a release date and when that date came they just put it back a few months.

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