So, Is this game delayed or not?

[uzivatel]

Aliens few years in development wasn

[Maria Caliban]

Yeah I know, but an *additional* 8 months? What on earth could bring that on? I mean, the game has been previewed and shown off quite a lot. And I think like one or two previews mentioned fear of bugs. But I mean, there have been a whole bunch of positive previews, and some *very* positive ones. The game have been mentioned as most anticipated game in a few places.

 

Dragon Age ws delayed from Feb to Nov, and it's hard to deny how much better it looks, as well as the 50 odd more quests they were able to ship the game with.

 

Delaying it twice for 8 months each time...

 

I wish the developers would actually talk to us.

[Morgoth]

Yeah I know, but an *additional* 8 months? What on earth could bring that on? I mean, the game has been previewed and shown off quite a lot. And I think like one or two previews mentioned fear of bugs. But I mean, there have been a whole bunch of positive previews, and some *very* positive ones. The game have been mentioned as most anticipated game in a few places.

 

Dragon Age ws delayed from Feb to Nov, and it's hard to deny how much better it looks, as well as the 50 odd more quests they were able to ship the game with.

That's different. DA was delayed because of the simultaneous release of the console versions. The PC version was already done in March.

 

AP looks good. I don't get why people say it looks outdated. I doubt that's the reason for the delay.

[Maria Caliban]

I personally don't understand people who say "Oh this game is delayed I won't buy it anymore, I'll get this".

 

I'll point out that no one has said this. One guy said that he was canceling his pre-order but still intended to get this. A few have said the graphics might not be a nice compared to other 2010 releases.

 

Personally, I don

Edited September 26, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Klemer]

It ain't a big surprise what with the strange quiet that had descended in September regarding AP - and equally, I think that does mean that the game is seeing quite a bit of trouble in development. That may or may not be 'dumbing down' or other changes to meet Sega's demands; to say it is probable is putting too much significance into the leaked SCEA info. It might simply be that the game is, when it's all done and looked at, just not good enough and needs major reworking or re-addition of a major feature or area; i.e. what was a bug/polish job from Feb '09 to Oct '09 has evolved into some major surgeries into key gameplay features or missions. Similar to what happened after Ferret left for NWN2, you'd imagine that the initial shakeups with the story left ripple effects of instability down the line. All speculation, of course. But it's very unlikely that this new delay (if true) is an indicator of good progress.

 

That said, I personally don't understand people who say "Oh this game is delayed I won't buy it anymore, I'll get this". I mean, I can't criticise them because it's their call, but from my personal pov, is my own personal preferences (the desire to play the game i want to play) so low on the priority list? If I want to play Alpha Protocol I'll play Alpha Protocol. Games aren't that expensive, if I end up using the $ on Dragon Age or Conviction now I'll end up buying AP sometime when it comes out. I won't have time to play it in June 2010? Are you kidding me, who plans that far ahead to say with certainty you won't have some spare time to play games? On a related note, the wagging of paper notes about cancelling preorders and picking the game out of bargain bins are all fine, too, since it's a legitimate decision we can all make and a legitimate show of displeasure about the state of affairs, but you have to wonder when it gets rather carnivalesque.

 

Anyway, if the delay is true, I expect official confirmation would come sometime in early-mid October, very quietly, and it'll do Obsidian all the more harm for coming so sneakily close to the release date. If they want to fan the flames of hype again later on they'll need to show that there's a lot more to the game - peopl ehave already seen Moscow, people have already heard of 'extensive C&C' and 'play a modern spy' (which are, in fact, the only two major soundbites that AP can provide games press right now).

 

 

Oh how I agree with you but, at the same note, let me shamefully say, I was one of the few who at the time pre-ordered DNF.

[Humodour]

I've pretty much lost all interest in Obsidian as a game company (same for Bioware). They're not Black Isle.

 

I feel kind of sad to be saying that, but with Aliens dead, lots of mixed vibes about Alpha Protocol's direction (if it has one), and a Fallout game that looks like it'll simply mimic Bethesda instead of returning to Fallout's roots, I see little to get me excited. Meanwhile, NWN2 (haven't played MotB) and KOTOR2 were mediocre. *sigh*

 

At least I've got Blizzard and Valve left.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Krezack

[Nepenthe]

Instead of quoting, I'll just give a big 'Here here!' to Tigranes's post.

 

Pity if the game gets postponed, as I was really looking forward to playing it, but I don't judge games by production cycles but by the end result.

[Kevin Lynch]

If true (and it would appear that it is), AP just goes back on the watch list for games coming down the pipe. Now everything has cleared the way for DA:O as the ONLY PC game of 2009 that I'll be buying as a new release. Crazy.

[Morgoth]

Hey, June 2010 sounds suspiciously "We have to postpone it to October 2010, for bugfixing".

[Humodour]

yay! An 8-month Pushback!

 

Seriously, I understand the game needs to be polished, and needs to have good reviews from the publisher, but if I were Rorie id say screw SEGA and either A) Release the game, as is, without a publisher (are you allowed to do that?) or B ) Find some small no-name company to publish the game just so you have a publisher.

 

Thats my advice, and right now, I estimate low sales.

 

Um, a) Rorie is just the PR monkey, and b) it's called a legally binding contract.

[Hell Kitty]

If I

[Killian Kalthorne]

What the frak?!?! June of 2010?!?!?! No game is worth that much of a wait. I guess I will cancel my pre-order and move that money to Dragon Age. I won't set up another pre-order for Alpha until it goes gold. If it goes gold.

[Syraxis]

Considering the competition AP would be against this season, I can't really criticize the move. For all we know it's probably the smartest thing Sega has done for AP since well.... ever.

[cb.spike]

Considering the competition AP would be against this season, I can't really criticize the move. For all we know it's probably the smartest thing Sega has done for AP since well.... ever.

 

I don

Edited September 26, 2009 by cb.spike

[ironcreed]

Considering the competition AP would be against this season, I can't really criticize the move. For all we know it's probably the smartest thing Sega has done for AP since well.... ever.

 

Look how packed Q1 2010 is right now. I would be willing to bet that there will be more delays on the way in order to loosen things up. In which case, Q2 of 2010 may be quite the dumb move in my opinion. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that AP was supposed to have released back in Feb, remember?

 

Now after building up hype with everything pointing to an October release, they suddenly decide at the last minute that going silent and pushing the game back another 8 months would be a wise strategy? Sorry, I can't buy that. The only explanation I can see is that the game is just technically a mess....no matter how appealing the overall concepts and ideas at work may be on the surface.

[Morgoth]

Q1 =! June. Splinter Cell comes out in February, and ME2 sometimes in March I guess. So there's enough free space for AP to breath.

[uzivatel]

Considering the competition AP would be against this season, I can't really criticize the move. For all we know it's probably the smartest thing Sega has done for AP since well.... ever.

Which competition are we talking about? Risen? Dragon Age: Origins? MagnaCarta II? (ok, not this one, but I am seriously running out of 2009 RPGs)

[Syraxis]

Now after building up hype with everything pointing to an October release, they suddenly decide at the last minute that going silent and pushing the game back another 8 months would be a wise strategy?

 

What hype? AP has had little publicity since it was announced, no one really knows about it.

 

The only explanation I can see is that the game is just technically a mess....no matter how appealing the overall concepts and ideas at work may be on the surface.

 

This seems very likely.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Syraxis

[ironcreed]

Now after building up hype with everything pointing to an October release, they suddenly decide at the last minute that going silent and pushing the game back another 8 months would be a wise strategy?

 

What hype? AP has had little publicity since it was announced, no one really knows about it.

 

Sure they do, it was just being overshadowed by bigger blips on the radar for most. In any event, the game was due out back in Feb. Since that point, everything was indeed pointing to an October release. Then around the first of August all went pretty much silent....now this.

[ExcelBeyond]

OK, I don't get this move at all. A lot of people are throwing around 'competition' in these next 3 months as a reason why. WHAT COMPETITION? 3 months ago if you would have told me that I would have bought that, when Bioshock 2, Splinter Cell, Bayonetta, Red Dead Redemption, Mafia 2, Dark Void, Lost Planet 2 etc we're all slated to hit this holiday season. Now, all that's left is Uncharted 2, Forza 3, Halo ODST, Assassin's Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2. Those are the only high profile releases coming out the rest of this year, and 3 of them are exclusives.

 

Meanwhile, the first half of 2009 is a cluster**** of HUGE releases. God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, Final Fantasy XIII, Splinter Cell, Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Bad Company 2, Aliens VS Predator 3, Lost Planet 2 and some big budget new games like Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno, Heavy Rain, etc. 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.

 

This is just a terrible move all around.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

Yeah, I don't think the "lack of competition" excuse is valid at such a distant date because it's unclear what will release next summer.

[Bos_hybrid]

OK, I don't get this move at all. A lot of people are throwing around 'competition' in these next 3 months as a reason why. WHAT COMPETITION? 3 months ago if you would have told me that I would have bought that, when Bioshock 2, Splinter Cell, Bayonetta, Red Dead Redemption, Mafia 2, Dark Void, Lost Planet 2 etc we're all slated to hit this holiday season. Now, all that's left is Uncharted 2, Forza 3, Halo ODST, Assassin's Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2. Those are the only high profile releases coming out the rest of this year, and 3 of them are exclusives.

 

Dragon Age: Origins, Risen and Divinity 2: Ego Draconis 3 RPG's released close to AP. But personally, I don't think that is the reason, I think something is seriously wrong with AP, it's the only valid reason they would delay it for another eight months.

[Leferd]

This is bad news for Obsidian. But the competition is pretty tough as it stands.

 

Dragon Age, Il 2: Birds of Prey, Forza 3, and in the next couple months: ME 2 and Gran Turismo 5.

 

Hopefully, Obsidian will still get continued funding from Sega until release.

[I want teh kotor 3]

Epic fail. But yeah, I imagine its seriously screwed up at this point if they're willing to miss an almost empty season for a abso-friggin-lutely full one.

[Oner]

Why should anything be screwed? If we go by the leaked SCEA stuff, SEGA could've panicked and told Obs to change stuff, which takes time. Most previewers liked it, so it's not like the game is unplayable or something.