Alpha Protocol - Summer Release

MTV is another site to attend Sega's recent press event and they claim a Summer release for Alpha Protocol. Here's a quote from Sega Assistant Produce Matthew Hickman on the delay and some improvements:

We had a few reasons for doing it. One: We wanted to position it better, give it a lot of time. The main reason: We really wanted to polish the game up, make it everything Obsidian planned it to be, and give the consumer a very polished game. "We added a couple of other things. Tweaks in lighting here and there, added the inventory comparison screen so you can compare what you're buying to what you have equipped. Just bringing the whole quality level up.

More information.

{sigh} I guess it's time to re-play Mass Effect 2. Or Dragon Age. Or Risen. Or get BioShock 2. Life is so hard these days….

Originally Posted by Zloth
{sigh} I guess it's time to re-play Mass Effect 2. Or Dragon Age. Or Risen. Or get BioShock 2. Life is so hard these days….

I know how you feel. If there hadn't been back to back to back to back to back RPGish releases this past year into present, I might still care about this game.

I'm fine with a bit of a delay, so many great games didn't get the attention they deserved.

I would much rather wait a little longer for a polished game that I can enjoy than another Divinity 2 in a state where I can't even play it.

So take all the time you need guys.

Obsidian never made a polished game - so I'm for any delay to make that happen

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Obsidian never made a polished game - so I'm for any delay to make that happen

Shhh … we're not supposed to say that out loud … that is the stuff we're only supposed to utter under our breath

Isn't Obsidian the place that did KotOR2? That was obviously (GLARINGLY!) unfinished. Extra time to actually finish it is goodness.

Alright, I admit that the use of the word "polish" was perhaps a bit more polite than what is rightfully warranted but we're talking about Black Isle, uhm I mean, Obsidian here, so Shhhh …..

Clearly there are problems with AP because publishers do not usually stand in the way of a release when the developers have stated categorically, its finnished. In fact its usually the opposite and the developer wants a bit more time to polish.

I worry about Obsidian product because they have had a fair amount of cancellations and flase starts. I was looking forward to the tactical alien RPG game they dropped a while ago.

Too bad i was hoping AP would hit the spot ME2 failed to reach - for me anyway.

The Alien thing was a Sega cost cutting measure … but other than that I agree.

By "fair amount", we mean "one", right? The one when Sega lost $238M, closed 110 arcades, sacked 560 workers and canceled 20% of their developments?

It should also be pointed out that Chris Avellone blogged few months ago that most people have moved on from working on AP, graphic improvements have been made and that the bug lists (if you're willing to trust him) were really short (again, this was a couple of months ago).

So it doesn't seem like SEGA is putting lots of resources into the game at the moment for it to be "uber polished" or whatever. I think at the moment they're looking at when to release it, and (hopefully) to start up a PR campaign for the game before it's released. Matthew Rorie of OEI said a while back that SEGA had hired a new PR firm to handle Alpha Protocol.

EDIT: And while I also think Alien being cancelled was partially due to the cutbacks, some sources (yes, vagueness!) have lead me to believe that it wasn't the smoothest development of a game, though not catastrophic.

Well I hope they get the bugs out with the delay. Based on their history, I think hope is all we can do… Strangely they seemed oblivious to many of the NWN 2 bugs, until pointed out by the community. So having a "short bug list" really means nothing. My perception is that their test team resources and/or methodology has been woefully inadequate.

Originally Posted by Starwars
It should also be pointed out that Chris Avellone blogged few months ago that most people have moved on from working on AP, graphic improvements have been made and that the bug lists (if you're willing to trust him) were really short (again, this was a couple of months ago).

So it doesn't seem like SEGA is putting lots of resources into the game at the moment for it to be "uber polished" or whatever. I think at the moment they're looking at when to release it, and (hopefully) to start up a PR campaign for the game before it's released. Matthew Rorie of OEI said a while back that SEGA had hired a new PR firm to handle Alpha Protocol.

EDIT: And while I also think Alien being cancelled was partially due to the cutbacks, some sources (yes, vagueness!) have lead me to believe that it wasn't the smoothest development of a game, though not catastrophic.

You could be right about why they are delaying the release of AP. However i find it strange a corporation delays anything which can add some nice figures to their quarterly bottom line.

If more could be added later that's actually better for the company, then that's actually good management!