Everything was under delivered since the early 90s by Peter. I think het just gets off from the attention. Considering most of the projects were a financial success nonetheless, he probably saw this as a reason to keep doing it.
This really bit him in the end though with godus. A failed god game where he went to kickstarter for money. I guess releasing an under promised game when you ask for money before making it, promising all sorts of things and never delivering it is not really good PR.
I’d argue that Molyneux from the 80s and 90s was a great game designer. Populous, Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper were all critically praised at launch and sold well, and in all the sources I’ve seen he’s credited as the main designer on those game. This was mostly pre-internet, so if he was over promising features in those games that hype wouldn’t typically reach the game-buying public.
The rise of Internet game journalism is what really fueled the self-destruction of his legacy. Black and White was the first Molyneux game where I can recall seeing tons of prelaunch hype, with many of the hyped features absent from the finished product. Game journalists have consistently given Molyneux a platform, initially because of his early hits but later because he’s reliable clickbait. They don’t care that he’s full of shit, they know it’ll drive engagement, and negative engagement is just as good as positive for their bottom line.
Even with all the over promising and under delivering he’s done since 2000, there are still plenty of people who love the Fable and Black and White series. I think if the man had ever learned to keep his mouth shut before features were locked, he might have a markedly different legacy. But he just couldn’t do that, so now I keep a Polaroid of him pinned on my corkboard with “don’t believe his lies” written on the bottom in permanent marker.
Even Fable? That was the game, even moreso then black and white, that really cemented his legacy as a bullshitter. It didn’t just under deliver, it had zero resemblance to the game he described in his hype releases. If that guy told me the sun would rise in the east tomorrow, I would have serious doubts.