So, Is this game delayed or not?

[Niten_Ryu]

Terrible news if true. Obsidian had nice window of opportunity here as many triple A titles got delayed till next year. Holiday sales alone would have been nice boost to game like Alpha Protocol.

 

Man, what a dry year it has been for new games. I've played most of infinity engine games, NWN2+MotB, Mass Effect, Fallout 1-2 and even SotU again. Bah... I guess it's time for Splinter Cells or Thief series next untill (hopefully) Dragon Age is released.

[Bankai06]

Agreed.

 

It's quite a shame that this had to happen. (If they delay is true), It might of shocked people with its sales, and what not.

 

If its gone back for more polishing then, we'll just see what it brings.

[kirottu]

I don

[coomber]

I think any delay is a good thing. I'm not sure the game is ready to be released from what we have heard, and the marketing has been practically non-existent. I want this game to do well.

[Starwars]

From a personal standpoint, I guess it doesn't bother me that much *if* they spend that time on improving the game. Not like Mysteries of Westgate where the team couldn't do anything during the large delay. And it would be a real shame if OEI has to redo stuff in order to make it fit better with the suits view on how games should be. I really hope that's not the case.

[Morgoth]

There's an other option. Perhaps the game is really (mostly) finished, but Sega doesn't want to release it in the crowded Fall/Q1 2010 window. They're financially confident enough that they can stomach such a delay, so they release it in summer to give it more limelight time.

[Syraxis]

I think any delay is a good thing. I'm not sure the game is ready to be released from what we have heard, and the marketing has been practically non-existent. I want this game to do well.

 

This.

 

My reaction to this matter is , I want to play AP but not to the point where I'm foaming at the mouth. I want it to do well sales wise also.

[Fallingtree]

The fact that this post has basically the same comments repeated over the last two weeks goes to show there's a problem somewhere.

 

Why haven't they responded to their own forums in some fashion? Hello, this is the age of user end content and Twitter. You can't ignore us and expect to sell us stuff. Get on the Cluetrain.

 

I will be angry if this company has delayed the game and not told us, their consumers. You can use a flathead or phillips on Amazon and Gamestop. We're the ones who are going to pay for your game. Let us know, and then the retailers can figure it out on their own, how about that?

[Flouride]

The fact that this post has basically the same comments repeated over the last two weeks goes to show there's a problem somewhere.

 

Why haven't they responded to their own forums in some fashion? Hello, this is the age of user end content and Twitter. You can't ignore us and expect to sell us stuff. Get on the Cluetrain.

 

I will be angry if this company has delayed the game and not told us, their consumers. You can use a flathead or phillips on Amazon and Gamestop. We're the ones who are going to pay for your game. Let us know, and then the retailers can figure it out on their own, how about that?

 

Because Sega has locked Mr. Rorie in a basement tied up and gagged. Aka Sega is playing the waiting game and will announce the delay at some point (or well I presume they will) and Obsidian can't do **** about it as they are only the developer and not the published and don't probably want to piss off the hand that feeds them (on this project).

[Fallingtree]

Because Sega has locked Mr. Rorie in a basement tied up and gagged. Aka Sega is playing the waiting game and will announce the delay at some point (or well I presume they will) and Obsidian can't do **** about it as they are only the developer and not the published and don't probably want to piss off the hand that feeds them (on this project).

 

Yeah, I guess you're right. Obsidian has provided me with way too many hours of top notch entertainment to really resent them. Sega on the other hand seems to have been in the process of going under for a couple decades now. I wish they would hurry up.

[alanschu]

From what I understand, legal shenanigans will ALSO prevent Sega from just coming out and saying "Yo it's delayed."

[Oner]

From what I understand, legal shenanigans will ALSO prevent Sega from just coming out and saying "Yo it's delayed."

Why is that?

[Volourn]

'Not to mention, by releasing AFTER Mass Effect 2, they are putting themselves in a very rough spot, as that is AP's direct competitor in terms of gameplay comparisons."

 

I don't really know if this is really true. BIO, and Obsidian's audience largely overlaps anyways. In fcat, I bet that 90% of people who buy Obsidian games also buy BIO games. So, these people ar elikely to buy both games even if they simultaneously release.

[Tigranes]

Let me just say one thing:

 

How likely is it that you have a game 80-90% finished, that its devs are able to give you extremely detailed information, they're able to show 2 hour playable demos, it has a fairly substantial marketing campaign, and then it gets cancelled by the publisher under the guise of a 8-month delay? It's not inconceivable, but this is absolutely nothign like cancelling a project that nobody's ever seen and has never been officially announced (Aliens: Crucible).

 

If AP is cancelled (or, in fact, is delayed again) then it would be a massive surprise (and a veritable catastrophe). If, in fact, June 2010 is true. I would bet on it being true, yes, but we'll see... it'll also be interesting to see when and how Sega chooses to actually announce the delay.

[lasthearth]

Every time this game gets delayed, the cost of development goes up, and the number of copies that needs to be sold for Sega to make money goes up.

 

It cannot help Obsidian's reputation as a developer that their projects constantly run beyond their original projected deadlines.

[ironcreed]

All good points, Tigranes. While I am not ready to say the game is going to be cancelled just yet, I do happen to already see AP as a catastrophe of sorts. If it is indeed nearly done as you suggest, is it not a giant red flag for this game to be quietly delayed at the last minute for another 8 months after it was already delayed back in Feb.?

 

Besides that, an 8 month delay is not the kind of delay you would normally see for bug fixing and adding extra polish. Especially after all the extra time they have already had. With that, I do not think it is so unreasonable to question if Sega is really going to commit to paying for another 8 months of development overhaul here for what is supposedly a nearly finished product. Not saying such is the case, it just logically seems very unlikely from a business perspective.

 

Something else that I just do not buy is that they are delaying the game merely as a marketing strategy. If such was the case, why were we led to believe up until this point that the game was an Autumn release? Not to mention the heavyweight competition next year and running the risk of looking very outdated in comparison to what else is releasing. I know that most of the heavy hitters are scheduled for Q1 right now, but don't be suprised if more than a couple of them get pushed to Q2 in order to loosen up a packed Q1. No way are all those games going to release together back to back.

 

With the silent treatment and sudden 8 month pushback after it was already delayed at the first of the year, I personally am of the mind that either the game is just a complete and utter mess or that this is a controlled demolition of sorts. Either way, after all the time this game has been in the works, a last minute 8 month delay is not a good sign no matter how you look at it. As normally games that have delays like this end up being DOA....that is if they ever manage to get released in the first place. Just being a realist here.

[Skizo]

http://www.sega.co.uk/alphaprotocol/uk/index.html

 

http://www.sega.co.uk/games/?searchPlatfor...=alpha+protocol

 

http://www.sega.co.uk/games/alpha-protocol/

 

All of them still say "Coming Oct 2009". So until an official saying, i'm not believing otherwise.

[Tigranes]

All good points, Tigranes. While I am not ready to say the game is going to be cancelled just yet, I do happen to already see AP as a catastrophe of sorts. If it is indeed nearly done as you suggest, is it not a giant red flag for this game to be quietly delayed at the last minute for another 8 months after it was already delayed back in Feb.?

 

I would agree, though I am not quite as certain. A second 8-month delay indeed points to major troubles in the production process and/or in the developer-publisher relationship, although this diagnosis may be mitigated by the possibility that the original February date was never very set in stone and was a rough estimate, and delay from it did not really represent a 'real' delay.

 

Something else that I just do not buy is that they are delaying the game merely as a marketing strategy.

 

Of course, but surely nobody is stupid enough to actually believe this. Everyone I've seen here mentioning this has done so in jest.

 

I personally am of the mind that either the game is just a complete and utter mess or that this is a controlled demolition of sorts.

 

A troubled production process is of course worrying, but does that necessarily mean the game will be pants when it does come out? If AP turns out to be great and fun in June 2010, it may not be so good for Obsidian or Sega, but hell, it'll be perfectly fine for us. Nobody's complaining that Starcraft II's been delayed to 2010, for instance, and that game has surely had numerous internal delays that we have not known about. I mean, it is Blizzard, but still...

[Bouncer]

Something else that I just do not buy is that they are delaying the game merely as a marketing strategy.

 

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.

[TheLandstander]

If this game really gets pushed back the 8 months I'm gonna be very upset, as I was pretty stoked about getting this game and then maybe dragon age as my big Holiday game purchases.

[ironcreed]

All good points, Tigranes. While I am not ready to say the game is going to be cancelled just yet, I do happen to already see AP as a catastrophe of sorts. If it is indeed nearly done as you suggest, is it not a giant red flag for this game to be quietly delayed at the last minute for another 8 months after it was already delayed back in Feb.?

 

I would agree, though I am not quite as certain. A second 8-month delay indeed points to major troubles in the production process and/or in the developer-publisher relationship, although this diagnosis may be mitigated by the possibility that the original February date was never very set in stone and was a rough estimate, and delay from it did not really represent a 'real' delay.

 

Something else that I just do not buy is that they are delaying the game merely as a marketing strategy.

 

Of course, but surely nobody is stupid enough to actually believe this. Everyone I've seen here mentioning this has done so in jest.

 

I personally am of the mind that either the game is just a complete and utter mess or that this is a controlled demolition of sorts.

 

A troubled production process is of course worrying, but does that necessarily mean the game will be pants when it does come out? If AP turns out to be great and fun in June 2010, it may not be so good for Obsidian or Sega, but hell, it'll be perfectly fine for us. Nobody's complaining that Starcraft II's been delayed to 2010, for instance, and that game has surely had numerous internal delays that we have not known about. I mean, it is Blizzard, but still...

 

Despite my skepticism now, I still fully intend to follow the game and will of course be hoping for the best. However, after weighing the variables at this point, I still am finding the situation with this game highly suspect and am not expecting it to make very much noise if/when it finally does drop. I cannot help but feel now that the odds are sadly quite stacked against this one.

 

As you said, though, it very well could end up being a better game for us in the end and I truly hope such is the case, despite whatever it's success may end up being. However, looking at how the situation has unfolded with this game over time up until recently when everything pointed to an Autumn release, I am just not convinced that this sudden, last minute and silent 8 month push will be for the betterment of us or Obsidian and Sega. Until then, all we can do is watch and hope for the best. To be continued....

[alanschu]

From what I understand, legal shenanigans will ALSO prevent Sega from just coming out and saying "Yo it's delayed."

Why is that?

 

 

To be honest I'm not 100% sure, but there was sort of a weird flow explained when I inquired about it with respect to Dragon Age's delay.

 

I heard it has something to do with it being a part of a publicly traded company. It was kind of hard to understand, and I didn't bother pressing about it any further since I didn't really care haha.

[AlphaPro]

i wish that whenever a game was cancelled, they would release whatever they have, no matter the amount of bugs or levels uncomplete, for like, $5 dollars on steam just so any games that get canned can still be played by fans. Even though I hope Alpha Protocol is not cancelled, if it is, I wish they would do this.

[AlphaPro]

funny, Rorie's still been updating the twitter, why is he vacant on the forum? Even a 'We cannot comment at this time' message would be good enough

[Gorth]

Maybe he can not make a "we can not comment" comment?