Alpha Protocol ‘officially’ pushed to 2010

Here’s a bit of a non shocker - SEGA of America and SEGA Europe Ltd. officially announced that Alpha Protocol, Obsidian Entertainment’s much anticipated and first original RPG (an espionage thriller) will be moving to a spring 2010 release date for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC. Didn’t we already know this and was there any doubt about that fact? Online retailers pushed the date into 2010 awhile ago. Anyway, here’s Obsidian sounding absolutely delighted about the delay - shouldn’t the tone be a little bit somber?

“We’re very happy that SEGA has made the decision to hold back the shipment of the game in order to give it the best chance at becoming the publishing success that we at Obsidian and our partners at SEGA are striving for.“

“We’ve worked in conjunction with Obsidian Entertainment in making the decision to move Alpha Protocol’s ship date to spring 2010 to ensure that we have the best game possible at launch,” said Masanao Maeda, President and COO, SEGA of America.”

And there you have it and it’s official: no Alpha Protocol in 2009.

GamersGate Deals August 25 – 30

GamersGate has passed along its details on its upcoming promotions and releases for August 25 - 30, 2007. The Publisher Special of the Week is Buka entertainment, which means consumers can pick up any Buka title in the GamersGate catalog for 50 - 75 percent off the normal price. the digital distribution platform is also offering pre-order deals on Alpha Protocol and Football Manager 2010; those who pre-order Football Manager 2010 will get Outrun Coast 2 Coast free and ordering Alpha Protocol will get you a free copy of Space Siege.

Finally, the “over the weekend” (August 27 – 30) specials include 50 percent off Grand Age: Rome, 40 percent off Gothic and 30 percent off AI War: Fleet Command.

To see a complete listing of new additions check out GamersGate.com or follow GamersGate on twitter at @gamersgate.

Official: Aliens RPG cancelled

While it has never been officially confirmed it was pretty obvious to anyone following the Aliens themed RPG’s development that the game project was in serious trouble - if not completely stalled. According to a report on Big Download, it has been confirmed that Aliens RPG has been cancelled. The game was being developed by Obsidian Entertainment for publisher Sega.

In a forum post over at Obsidian Entertainment’s official website, a moderator posted the following statement:

“Unfortunately, it is true that we are no longer working on the game, and we wanted to finally announce that officially to everyone who has been following its development.”

Sega also confirmed it with GameSpot, saying “At this point, Sega has no plans to move forward with the Aliens RPG.”

Obsidian still has plenty of interesting projects in the works including the espionage themed action-RPG Alpha Protocol and the Fallout: New Vegas game. A third unannounced title is reportedly in development as well.

Sega reveals E3 Expo line-up

SEGA of America today revealed its lin-up of titles to be showed off at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 2009) next week. SEGA will feature seven titles across six different platforms, including familiar franchises and new games, for the Xbox 360, the Wii, PS3, Windows PC, and the Nintendo DS. SEGA will showcase their games at booth #2001 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Sega plans to show off the latest builds of Aliens vs. Predator (Xbox 360, PS3, Windows PC), Obsidian Entertainment’s Alpha Protocol (Xbox 360,PS3, Windows PC), Platinum Games’ BAYONETTA (Xbox 360,PS3), Pyro Studios’ Planet 51 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS), High Voltage Software’s The Conduit (Wii), Ilion Studio’s ‘ Planet 51 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS) and Sega’s Vancouver 2010 and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

Details on all these games - if you don’t know, after the break:

Read the rest of this entry »

Obsidian: We Are Doing Fine

No need to panic if you are a fan of Obsidian, the company that is more well known for finishing BioWare’s lunch than anything else. The company that brought you Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights 2 (see what i’m saying here?) tells Big Download that the company is in fine shape, despite rumors to the contrary. These rumors began when it was revealed that Sega had killed the Aliens RPG the company was working on. But the company founded by key members of the wonderful Black Isle Studios (Planescape Torment and Icewind Dale) ia not a one trick pony; they are still working on the promising spy RPG Alpha Protocol and a couple of other undisclosed projects.

Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian sums it up nicely here: “We are doing fine.”

We’re certainly glad to hear that and i’m looking forward to whatever projects they are toiling away on. For the record I love Neverwinter Nights 2 and KOTOR II..

Sega’s Games Convention Plans

SEGA Europe and SEGA Germany are getting ready for Games Convention 2008, in Leipzig, Germany next week and today announced some of the things they have planned for public and industry consumption.

The new Samba De Amigo game will make its public debut next week, along with two Sonic games: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the DS and Sonic Unleashed. SEGA will also showcase Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Beijing 2008, Dinosaur King, and Space Siege.

Industry types will want to visit Sega’s booth in the Business Center (Hall 1, Booth I31), where the company will provide access to developers from Japan (Platinum Games), the UK (Headstrong Games, The Creative Assembly), and Australia (The Creative Assembly Australia), who will show off their latest games.

Games to be shown in the business area include Total War, Alpha Protocol, Platinum Games’ and Bayonetta, Madworld, Golden Axe, Valkyria Chronicles, and Stormrise – an all new strategy game designed for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.