How would asking Ubisoft about a "relevant issue" like recycled game design make it top-notch journalism? People keep defending Molyneux because he's a dreamer, he has child like excitement and just wants to share the joy of making games, that's why he gets things wrong sometimes. They are mistakes not lies.
What if EA or Ubisoft said the same crap Molyneux does? They are just dreamers trying to share their joy of making games, would that be any better? Would that change anyones view on them? If Ubisoft said all the problems behind the latest Assassins Creed were because they got caught up in their child like excitement, how would that go down?
Honestly the difference here is that Ubisoft/EA/Activision is a company in it to turn a profit. They are beholden to share holders. Their main goals are to create entertainment brands that they can milk for money. Want to know why Ubisoft keeps using the same recycled game designs? Because they sell. And the reason these types of interviews don't happen? They would never allow it. I do have respect that Molyneux stuck with the interview and didn't shut it down when he was clearly starting to feel the pressure.
Molyneux on the other hand was financed by the public. He said he didn't want to work with publishers (even though he signed with one a few months after he got funded). He was returning to a genre that he created, that made him famous, and said it would only take 7 months to make the game. Oh, but we should understand he's never released a game on time so it's fine if 7 months turned into 2 years. Things happen.
Molyneux is like a modern day snake oil salesman. He always talks out both sides of his mouth. He even does it in this interview. Just a few days ago he released a video where he basically put all the weight of making Godus on Konrad. From the sounds of that video he is minimally involved with Godus at this point and is instead focusing on The Trail. He says he helps Konrad here and there with direction but mostly comes out saying it's all Konrad's show. But here in the RPS interview it sounds like he's leading the charge on Godus, that he eats, sleeps, and breathes Godus. But doesn't even know when Konrad started to work for him. You know...the guy who's basically in charge of Godus now.
Also I really don't like the whole "Kickstarters shouldn't be angry because they should expect this. Instead we should rage at DLC from big evil corporations!" It's honestly no different at this point. If you buy a AAA game from a big time publisher you should expect shitty DLC and microtransactions. So should I say that you can't be upset about shitty DLC because it should be expected?
What I take away from this whole Molyneux ordeal and the Tim Schafer kickstarter is, as evil as publishers might come off as some of these game developers need them. They need someone holding their feet to the fire, to tell them "No", to set them on a track.
Honestly I actually like hearing Molyneux's thoughts on gaming when he doesn't have something to promote. I've seen some of his stuff on gametrailers or other sites and his comments on other games, studios, or the future of the industry is pretty interesting. I just can't let him off the hook for his "mistakes" any longer. In the words of George W. Bush - "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice.....I'm not gonna get fooled again."
/ramble mode off