StingingVelvet: I meant baffles more as in "why is Microsoft suddenly supporting the PC again? Why are they releasing this day and date when all their previous ports have been a year or more later? Why not port Fable 2 to coincide with Fable 3 on Xbox?"
Well, part of the reason may be that Fable III's multiplayer is seemingly cross-platform (a Lionhead job posting for the PC version had tasks including "ensure the PC and the Xbox 360 builds can interoperate”). MMOs have always been strongest on the PC, and they may be betting that Fable III's pseudo-MMO features and accessible gameplay will appeal to this audience. If they plan to launch a full-on Fable MMO later on that would certainly be on the PC, so giving PC players some Fable games early is a great way of getting them familiar with a series they might not otherwise have access to.
As for skipping Fable II, if the PC version of Fable III is going to launch simultaneously with the 360--which seems to be the case judging by the badge on the cover (IIRC all previous games with this had both versions out at the same time)--there isn't enough time between now and then to get a PC version on the market without it detracting from the sequel's sales (especially with a Dragon Age sequel arriving around February 2011).
It also seems like Microsoft is going to move back to making PC releases in general. This has been rumoured for Alan Wake and Halo: Reach, two other big exclusives which, like Fable, had their previous instalments only on the 360. While those two are just rumours, they have also recently released the Game Room and Games on Demand features for the PC--previously all new Live features were only on the 360.
If so this is a curious change of pace, because
a Microsoft executive once stated that "If we launch a game that is on 360 and PC simultaneously, we basically shoot ourselves in the foot by allowing the German market to choose to play the PC version ... If we launched a Halo game on PC and 360 in Germany simultaneously, 80 per cent of sales would be on the PC". It's possible that they now are content enough with the 360's market position to release PC games again.
EDIT: another possibility is that they are wagering that doing this will hurt the PS3 more than it does the 360; while having Fable and the like on the PC gives PC gamers one less reason to get a 360 it also gives them one less reason to get a PS3--especially if playing these gets them interested in the 360 library in general and the games that haven't made the jump to the PC yet. It also opens up the possibility of bringing older first-party 360 games to the PC (like how we got Halo 2 several years late).
Regardless of their motives--which we may never know for sure--I'm very happy with the direction Microsoft seems to be taking.
klaymen: wat? 55 Euros?
BWAHAHAHAHAHA, this joke made my day. Oh wait, that is not a joke.....
Look on the bright side: at least they aren't charging console-level prices for the PC version like Activision and Ubisoft have doing been of late--better yet, buy those games via Steam or Direct2Drive.eu and pay even more!