Bouncer

Ugh. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe they were expecting a sandbox experience like Fallout - explore, kill random thugs, find better loot, etc.

I don't think the "not RPG enough" is anything to worry about - everything's that been said and shown indicates that the opposite is true. The Sega person who said that sounded like he (she?) only played the first level, which is generally a linear tutorial level in most games. It'd be like playing Eden Prime in Mass Effect and judging the rest of the game on that level alone. Also, publishers do have a LOT of useless people in their employ who don't know much about video games. Sadly, some of these people also have some power to influence decisions. And then they wonder why they flail financially.

Extremely unlikely. It would pretty much mean that Sega hadn't actually played through the game in its entirety until recently. Developers are pretty much required to disclose all content, easter eggs included.

Apparently not! That writer is a moron.

Exactly! I find it difficult that believe that major problems "suddenly" appeared in the last few months. Even the most negative preview simply said it was buggy at the time, and that was several months ago. Given that content creation was almost certainly finalized months ago, what with the game having full VO, these past months were all bug fixing and polish. Unfortunately, even if Sega does speak up, it'll all be publisher language and not have any real explanation. And if this whole deal really is Sega's fault, Obsidian can't exactly call them on it publicly.

I do. If the game were a complete mess, they wouldn't have been promoting it (somewhat) and showing it off in Europe. One of the most common comments I've seen, both in these forums and in previews, is "How come I haven't heard of this game?" There's a very good chance that the game would receive good to great reviews and then utterly tank in sales because the average gamer has no idea of its existence. Likewise, a big retailer isn't going to fill a row of precious shelf space with Alpha Protocol if they think no one's heard of the game. Two or three copies, buried in a corner, is the best bet. Obviously, Sega would like to avoid this. Eight months is still massive delay, though. Even if marketing gets on the ball and starts a successful campaign, AP is just going to look super-dated versus shallower, graphically superior titles.

And I can think of three big publishers that say "When we tell you not to say anything, it's not a suggestion" - EA, Bethesda, and Sony. Personal experience.

Agreed. Everything points to some kind of marketing move. The situation reminds me a little of what happened with Mysteries of Westgate - the damn thing was done, but Atari insisted on sitting on it for what was ultimately pointless reasons. Fortunately, Obsidian's already been paid, so it's not like they're getting financially hurt by all of this.

Yes. Otherwise, Sega will send in a cleaner to take care of the leak.