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Obsidian, Sega comment on Alpha Protocol’s delay

Not too long ago we let you know that Alpha Protocol would be getting a delay with news coming to us from various retailer’s websites. Shortly after we told you that Sega had updated their website to reflect the delay but they hadn’t actually spoken of such a delay, until now.

In an interview with CVG, Obsidian’s Feargus Urquhart comments on the delay:

“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.”

Sega’s Alan Pritchard also comments:

“By pushing Alpha Protocol to Spring 2010, we can ensure that the game will be released in the best commercial release window possible and will also receive the focus this true AAA title deserves.”

So, they don’t want to release it around Modern Warfare 2? That sounds about right.

Aliens RPG officially canceled, other projects still in the pipeline

Obsidian and Sega have officially confirmed rumors that the Aliens RPG project has been canceled. This was done through the company’s official forums where Obsidian wrote simply that it was “no longer working on the game,” adding that the project as a whole is “no longer a product that is in development.”

It can be noted that publisher Sega had claimed that the project was still being worked on as of June 15. However, it has changed its tune now.

"At this point, Sega has no plans to move forward with the Aliens RPG," said a Sega representative. "We plan to continue working with the Aliens franchise and ask fans to be patient and stay tuned for more information about what SEGA has coming out for the Aliens series of games, starting with the upcoming Alien vs. Predator game."

Other titles in the franchise are still going forward as planned. This includes Rebellion’s shooter Aliens vs. Predator which is scheduled for release early next year. And Gearbox’s co-operative shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, which still has no release date.

Alien RPG Still Gestating, To Burst Forth At Undetermined Time

Despite the fact that the Alien and Predator franchises have been plagued by uninspired andpoorly executed films, the true potential of the series have been realized in a handful of exceedingly well-crafted video games. SEGA was stepping up with the noble intent of taking the bad taste of AVP: Requiem out of our mouths with a trio of titles.

Reports from SEGA suggested that Gearbox’s Colonial Marines and Obsidian’s as yet untitled Alien RPG were placed on indefinite hold in February, but it seems that hope might not be so grim. The newest Alien vs Predator game was the only title of the three to be shown at E3 this year, but reportedly that’s only because it’s the first title to be released and more news regarding the other two games will be forthcoming.

This is definitely some good news for Alien fans as Colonial Marines looked like a stunning game and the prospect of an Alien game that isn’t an FPS is quite exciting.

Bethesda Announces New Fallout

Now that Fallout 3 has proved that acquiring the Fallout IP was a good move, they seem to be putting more fuel on the post-apocalyptic fire. They’re considering legal action to get the rights to a Fallout MMO back from Interplay, though Bethesda doesn’t have much experience themselves in creating an MMO. They’ve just announced the existence of Fallout: New Vegas.

As is usual for an initial announcement they’re short on details, but fans of the series who weren’t as happy about Bethesda’s version will be a little more interested when they hear that Obsidian Entertainment (a studio founded by members of Interplay’s Black Isle Studios) are doing the actual developing for the game. When asked about what engine it’d be using, the spokesperson said that you could ‘make educated guesses’ so we’ll probably be seeing another first person perspective game. It’s set for the same consoles, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 and set to release in 2010.

Alpha Protocol Delayed

Seeing as how February has come and gone without Alpha Protocol being released, it can easily be deduced that the game had been delayed. It wasn’t until today that it was confirmed by publisher Sega, though, who noted that the game will now be released this October on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

The action-RPG will have players step into the shoes of a modern-day spy. Sega added that players can be "smooth like James Bond, cold and precise like Jason Bourne, or just plain explosively kick-ass like Jack Bauer."

The game was said to be affected by layoffs at developer Obsidian, which had its Aliens RPG project cancelled.

Ex-Obsidian Staffer: Aliens RPG Cancelled

Rumors that Sega has canned Obsidian’s long-in-development Aliens RPG has been confirmed by former Obsidian designer David Kondor. This comes from his LinkedIn profile that lists him as a “designer for canceled third-person action Aliens RPG” at Obsidian from April 2008 to February 2009.

The game was announced back in 2006, but very few updates from the studio were given since. Rumors of its cancellation surfaced earlier this month. Sega is said to also be reviewing other Aliens games in the pipeline.

Sega and Obsidian are yet to officially address the rumors.