Xbox 360 | Fable III to sport Natal support, microtransactions?

[UPDATE] British reports have Peter Molyneux confirming 360 RPG will incorporate motion-sensing tech, offer items for a few dollars; Microsoft downplays developers' comments as misinterpreted.

Earlier this month, Peter Molyneux strongly implied that Fable III would have some sort of connectivity to Project Natal, Microsoft's camera-based motion sensor. Now, several reports out of the UK indicate that the Lionhead founder and creative director confirmed Natal support in the upcoming role-playing game during a presentation at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Fable III will let players buy virtual items via microtransactions, according to reports.

While attending Molyneux's annual Video Games Lecture at BAFTA, two UK game journalists used Twitter to chronicle the event. Johnny Minkley, a Eurogamer and BBC1 correspondent, wrote that Molyneux "confirmed Natal support for Fable 3." The tweet confirmed an earlier tweet from Nicholas Lovell, a British game consultant and founder of the GamesBrief blog, who wrote, "Fable 3 will have Natal support. Is that an announcement?"

[UPDATE] Since this article's publication, Microsoft has backtracked on Molyneux's comments. "News claiming Peter Molyneux has confirmed Fable III as a Natal title is inaccurate," a rep told GameSpot. "Peter did imply that Lionhead would be evaluating the integration of Natal with Fable, but that's quite different than confirming its support. As a company we're very excited about Natal and its potential and are absolutely looking at innovative ways to integrate new experiences into future games and existing game franchises where it makes sense, but we have nothing further to announce right now."

In addition to the dual dose of Twitter, Thatvideogameblog was in attendance and divulged more details. Besides Natal support, Fable III will reportedly incorporate microtransactions, allowing players to buy in-game items such as swords for a few dollars of real-world currency in an in-game store. Such item-based microtransactions are already incorporated into Xbox Live in the form of clothes and accessories for XBL avatars. The Fable III store would also apparently offer expansion packs and even game guides and walk-throughs for a small fee.

[UPDATE] On this front, Microsoft was more recalcitrant. "As for the Fable III shop and microtransactions, Peter has talked about the idea but I don't have any information about Fable III specifically," a spokesperson told GameSpot. "As of now, we have not announced any microtransaction support or features for Fable III."

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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/fableiii/news.html?sid=6237594