Alpha Protocol will only live once

By Robert Purchese Published 6 July, 2010

Poor sales equal no sequel, says SEGA.

Unsurprisingly, SEGA won't be green-lighting a sequel to mediocre spy RPG Alpha Protocol.

"Let's speak very commercially," a frank SEGA West president Mike Hayes told CVG. "The game hasn't sold what we've expected, therefore we won't be doing a sequel."

Alpha Protocol was released during a competition-free period on 28th May in Europe (early June in the US). The only role-playing alternatives had been offered months earlier: Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII.

Yet even after a six-month delay, Obsidian's only ever original IP struggled to convince critics. Eurogamer eventually settled on an appropriate 007/10.

SEGA's Mike Hayes believes Alpha Protocol was "a good game" that had a "brilliant" concept. The problem, he insisted, is that RPGs have to score better than other genres to achieve a similar level of success. They're also more expensive to make due to being "naturally big projects".

All of which makes you wonder why it was ever commissioned in the first place.

Obsidian is currently developing Fallout: New Vegas for money-bags Bethesda and Dungeon Siege 3 for money-bags Square Enix.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (71) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • laharl80 #1 2 years ago

    Thank god!
    Horrible, broken p.o.s.

  • Eraysor #2 2 years ago

    I just hope the reason it was a bit meh was because all their effort was going into New Vegas.

  • berelain #3 2 years ago

    Alpha Protocol was a mess, end of. The occasional flash of brilliance was completely overwhelmed by mediocrity everywhere else.

  • ZuluHero #4 2 years ago

    "During a competition-free period"

    In the RPG genre perhaps, but a mere week after RDR...

  • Macdory #5 2 years ago

    I was one of the mugs who actually bought it - however, it is a typical Obsidian game. Great potential, but being released with lots of bugs frustrates too much. In addition, the lack of patching (they are supposedly working on a patch, but there is no release date) just ensures that people who were on the fence after reading teh reviews, etc will have happily forgotten about this title by the time the patch is released (if it is ever released).

    I can quite honestly say that I will not be pre-ordering an Obsidian game ever again.

    Rather than stating that there were not enough sales to justify a sequal, they would do well to learn why there were poor sales ... and instead of releasing bug ridden games, they should ensure that their quality control is higher and build up trust which has been sadily lost.

  • ZuluHero #6 2 years ago

    ^^^and that is my concern for FO:Vegas. I really hope they don't balls it up :(

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #7 2 years ago

    I never realised that SEGA was renowned photojournalist Frank West's middle name.

  • TheTingler #8 2 years ago

    ZuluHero: YES. It wasn't competition-free at all, there were loads of games released in the previous few weeks, including Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Alan Wake!

  • Hunam #9 2 years ago

    I for one welcome this news.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #10 2 years ago

    Not to mention Modnation racers, blur, prince of persia and split second it had plenty of competition

  • beastmaster #11 2 years ago

    It's still a really good concept. I'l buy AP in a few months time. Perhaps someone else may take a bash at it.

  • Calundann #12 2 years ago

    I actually wanted to buy this game despite the poor reviews, but I didn't like the DRM that came with it so I didnt buy it.

  • WladTapas #13 2 years ago

    Bah. It was the most positive surprise of the year for me. I played through it at a brisk pace and will possibly do it again with a different character. I saw only a couple of minor menu bugs (solved by closing and reopening said menu) and it crashed once - pretty good performance for a supposedly bug-ridden PC game. Sure, it wasn't ME2 or RDR, but very few games are, and the flexibility of the story & dialog structure is wonderful.

  • slippysloppy #14 2 years ago

    I still want to get this but am surprised the price hasn't crashed yet, which is what I was waiting for. I'm also concerned that New Vegas that is poor hands if the reviews of Alpha Protocol are anything to go by.

  • laharl80 #15 2 years ago

    If any of you people marking me down are interested, i've just managed to compress one of my turds into a game case.
    I'll take £40 o.n.o

  • andywilkie35 #16 2 years ago

    And who is to blame for this? The tools that review games, the score on Metacritic is about 20% lower than the actual game deserves.

    I never thought I'd be here agreeing with Crofto, but games reviewers don't know much based on this evidence.

  • Dynamize #17 2 years ago

    7/10 is "mediocre" now, huh?
    Really enjoyed AP myself.

  • metalangel #18 2 years ago

    This seems to be Obsidian's lot in life... take an existing game engine and structure, and make a promising but ultimately bug ridden sequel that disappoints everyone. I have a horrible feeling New Vegas will be the same, no doubt with some crippling flaws or exploits relating to the hardcore mode.

  • UncleLou #19 2 years ago

    It's much more of a role-playing game than the big names lately, and the decision-making and consequences are awesome.

    Unfortunately, the missions themselves just never were much fun for me. A "6" with bouts of brilliance.

  • midnight_walker #20 2 years ago

    I really wanted to love AP but the targetting system drove me insane. If they patched that out I would run out and buy it in a heartbeat.

  • Paperghost #21 2 years ago

    thought it was great despite the flaws (and there were quite a few of them!)

    nice dialogue system, a game that changed quite a bit depending on your actions and interactions with others, a lot of replay value if you can get past the horribly generic Saudi levels each time and even some honest to goodness interactive email (hello, ME2?)

    Bit of a shame there won't be another one, but tbh it has so many possible outcomes and endings based on what you do there'd be the "what is canon" hoop jumping for any part 2. plus the lead character was a bit on the weak side - the supporting characters were pretty good, but half the time he'd speak it sounded like a twelve year old doing their best impression of what they *thought* a spy would sound like.

  • midnight_walker #22 2 years ago

    Also, ROFL @ Buy online for £17.99 from Zavvi, or £24.99 download from Get Games.

    THIS is what's wrong with DD, Eurogamer!

  • Miths #23 2 years ago

    I bought and played the PC version for a few hours, but it just felt too clunky and quirky to hold my interest.
    I didn't really notice any obvious bugs though (unless you throw AI behaviour under that category, and at times it certainly felt appropriate to do just that), and maxed out at 1920x1200 the graphics didn't really seem all that bad to me, merely a bit dated.

  • NewbieZilla #24 2 years ago

    I've no intention of buying it so I'll go with Alpha Protocol didn't live.

  • the_mtfr #25 2 years ago

    Sega are fucking idiots anyway, since after the technically impressive and very fun to play Rally Revo 2007 they sacked the whole development studio!!! It was the best arcade game I played in my life.

  • coomber #26 2 years ago

    Disappointed to see this as, despite what you think of the quality, the idea was a good one. I'll definitely get it at some point as a friend of mine who is an RPG junkie can't stop raving about it. Has to be better than the piece of crap that is Final Fantasy XIII.

    Oh, and was anyone else unimpressed by the snide tone of the article? Wasn't necessary, in my opinion.

  • Raiftel #27 2 years ago

    Having just stormed through the game over the course of four days I gotta say I find this news disappointing. Alpha Protocol reminded me a lot of Mass Effect in that once you got past a few graphical issues, some bizarre difficulty spikes (try landing on one of the Pirate Controlled planets in Mass Effect before you've levelled properly and you get brutally curb stomped), and some weird glitches there was a great, story and character driven, slice of gaming gold to be found.

  • paketep #28 2 years ago

    The problem, he insisted, is that RPGs have to score better than other genres to achieve a similar level of success

    No, they don't. But they have to be finished, unlike the bug-ridden game that you pushed out the door.

    Either an ignorant or a liar. Either way, way to go, SEGA.

  • laharl80 #29 2 years ago

    Alpha Protocol is better than FFXIII???
    Mwahahahaha!

  • Haloboy #30 2 years ago

    The fact that AP looked so completely unremarkable always made me avoid it, even after the EG review. My own personal and much loathed hypocrisy goes so far as to ensure I only buy games that were deemed commerical failures once I see it written down in black and white. At least I'm honest!

  • Jonathan_Fakenham #31 2 years ago

    Despite the flaws, this was one of those rare genuinely captivating game experiences. It's a mess, sure, but I kinda loved that mess. It's a pity they won't get a chance at a more polished sequel.
    Edited by Jonathan_Fakenham at 06/07/10 @ 17:09

  • SpaceMonkey77 #32 2 years ago

    No surprise. Could have been so much better. I think with another developer behind it, it could be really good. Next time, Sega, get Bethesda or Bioware on it.

    Indeed, all the many delays also hurt it, and when it came out, it was caught out by bigger better product. I don't want Sega to bunk on such future co-productions like this, but they have to be smarter in what they want to create and who to create games with.

    Anyone and their aunt, knows that Bioware could have knocked Alpha Protocal out of the park, as its Mass Effect influences were plain for all to see. How Bioware could get to do a Sonic rpg for Sega, and not Alpha Protocol is beyond me. Gotta get smarter, Sega.

  • DrDean #33 2 years ago

    I'm confused, so a 7/10 game is now mediocre, or does mediocre and good now mean the same thing according to the scoring policy?

  • Darren #34 2 years ago

    I load up Alpha Protocol every now and then (on PC) and do a mission or two. It's not *that* bad IMO and the upgrade feature and levels packed with collectibles makes it mildly addictive as I keep returning to it. Still could have been much better though (the animation was laughable).

  • Jonathan_Fakenham #35 2 years ago

    Wierd how people are regarding Mass Effect as the genuine polished masterpiece. Did you forget that the original Mass Effect had a lot of wierd stuff and frustrations with it too? I mean, with the copy and paste planet warehouse sub-missions and the awful targeting, I'd say it was a similarly mixed experience as Alpha Protocol.
    Edited by Jonathan_Fakenham at 06/07/10 @ 17:10

  • the_dudefather #36 2 years ago

    really enjoyed it, sure it had problems, but could have benefited from a sequel to iron out those issues (similar to the leap from ME to ME2 for a lot of people).

    All the choices and story branching stuff was really well done, decent incentive to play through again

  • ignatiusjreilly #37 2 years ago

    I'm confused, so a 7/10 game is now mediocre, or does mediocre and good now mean the same thing according to the scoring policy?

    The scoring policy is meaningless. The policy is basically the way everybody agrees that games should be reviewed, while the reailty is basically how every games sites actually reviews.

  • sneetch #38 2 years ago

    I enjoyed it, the AI was sucky but the game was fun despite that and I didn't encounter any bugs (somehow). I hope they produce more games like that (but with enemies capable of... looking up, for example ;) ).

  • karooo #39 2 years ago

    poor sales? who told u to make a poor game ..

  • SpaceMonkey77 #40 2 years ago

    Alpha Protocol is not a bad game, just an average one. Like many, fun can be had with it and that's a good thing.

    Sure, I know of Mass Effect original problems (and ironing them out in ME2), and yeah, I think Sega would be kind of mad, to not build on this IP. Sega at times, seem like they just want to role out their hits and watch the money roll in (yes we all like that, but), than actually give us new IP.

    Sega can also be very bad at building on past IP. Take Chrome Hounds as a good example, an early 360 Live game that had awesome potential, however Sega absolute failed to build on its potential with a sequel. The CH servers being switched off, was a very sad day, with no CH2 in sight.

  • GamesConnoisseur #41 2 years ago

    Mass Effect may be now much further back, sure it's has some bugs, slowdowns and so on. However playing AP last month and recalling the first time I played ME.

    Both were completely different experiences, I agree that AP is not that stinking bad. Sure I did call it's utter crap but after putting in few hours and got used to fugly visuals, there is a good game in there. But I clearly enjoyed the gameplay and story immersions with ME a whole lot different level.

    There are similarities, but that all.

  • Distributor #42 2 years ago

    We all have to admit that it was pretty rubbish

  • Distributor #43 2 years ago

    "During a competition-free period"

    Yes maybe in that genre, but each and every game fights for the same consumer dollars. Dont forget that EG.

  • makeamazing #44 2 years ago

    Yep dont get the statement that there was no competition... lots and lots of games released, or do we only all play one genre each :D Yes some people are more inclined to play a certain type of game, but if you release next to other games that look/sound better, and dont advertise the game very well (I didnt know any details about it until launch week.. no press no marketing).... what do they expect.

  • Evolution #45 2 years ago

    I quite enjoyed it actually.

  • patchbox360 #46 2 years ago

    money that could have been used towards Shenmue 3

  • Farzlepot #47 2 years ago

    This is common of Obsidian, and makes me fear for the quality of Fallout New Vegas. Knights of the Old Republic 2, for example, had the potential to beat the superb first instalment, but fell short. I mean, literally fell short - unfinished in the extreme. For this, they blamed Lucasarts, which is admittedly easy to believe.

    Then we got Neverwinter Nights 2. Not quite as bad as KotOR 2, but not exactly the greatest thing to hit the shelves and similarly riddled with bugs.

    Now Alpha Protocol.

    If they hash up New Vegas as well, a game that is part of a franchise they helped to create in the first place for crying out loud, then I'll have to hunt them down and pull their underwear over their heads.

  • The-Bodybuilder #48 2 years ago

    All of which makes you wonder why it was ever commissioned in the first place.

    Yet the calls for shenmue 3/remake still falls on deaf ears whilst stillborn projects like this get the green light.

  • Felwyn #49 2 years ago

    7 is mediocre? I thought the scale was 1-8 rubbish, 9 rent and 10 fanboy review - what gives?

  • sarcasmoidosis #50 2 years ago

    The problem with RPG's might also be that they must be marketed as such, instead of action kung fu third person shooters.

    Just saying.

  • Silvervein #51 2 years ago

    Problem with AP is expectations of people playing it, which might be tracked back to how it was advertised.
    While AP is at its heart a roleplaying game, it was advertised as action shooter, and people buying it with that mindset were left disappointed, saying that they had much more fun with mass effect.
    That might be quite true, but mass effect puts story on a backseat, being a string of linear third person shooter segments, allowing players to affect story outside the action bits.
    AP is a different beast, and while the action part could use some polish, I really enjoyed the writing and tangible consequences of my actions.

  • Turrican #52 2 years ago

    Picked it up in the recent steam sale at half price, waiting to play it until a patch is hopefully released. Failing that I hope that the community can mod fix the worst problems.

    Anything along the lines of Deus Ex needs to be given a chance in my book, shoddy combat or no :)
    Edited by Turrican at 06/07/10 @ 20:35

  • BlackKraken #53 2 years ago

    Oh well, i guess we'll just have to...

    Live and let die...

    I'll get my coat, although it is a bit warm out.

  • Paperghost #54 2 years ago

    it's a massive shame that this game was actually way ahead of many of the most important aspects of ME, but will never get a chance to build on those small chunks of win.

    seemingly endless ways to get a + or a - rep from a character, instead of "do one mission, they're loyal for life apart from two specific points in the game where one of them might go back to neutral or dislike"? yep.

    situations and whole levels that either change, come into play or don't even get seen depending on a huge list of choices, even being tweaked according to what order you do each hub in? yep.

    add in a more varied dialogue system (for me, anyway), an interactive email setup that also gives rewards / info / rep alterations depending on replies and you have the makings of something crying out to be set straight in a follow up game.

    hell, this is the first title since ME1 where for all the hoohah over "choices" you can make in games now that i had the gutpunch moment of "someone will die based on your next decision". the perks (obtained for doing certain things - or not doing them, or interacting with people in different ways) was cleverly done, and the rep system was so well thought out that you didn't always get the bonus you wanted by having your handler like you - and in addition to perks for the handler hating your guts, that (again) would also determine pieces of the game finale.

    brilliant, brilliant stuff. unfortunately let down by some of the worst minigames i've ever seen and silly design choices (there's a point late in the game where you're thrown into a fistfight with two goons. if you've built up a stealth character who can't fight, you might as well switch off the game there and then)

    thorntons amazing run if holding dual uzis is also worth a mention. not seen a run like that since the original syphon filter.

  • Rafeage #55 2 years ago

    I loved this game to bits, the first game I've completed twice in a row since resident evil 4 on the cube.

    It's a strange mix of ME1, Splinter cell and deus ex.

    Basically if you can look past the (numerous) faults and appreciate a game's story and mechanics it's awesome. If not expect to be disappointed.

    At least AP has given me high hopes for Fallout new Vegas.

  • ccfb #56 2 years ago

    "All of which makes you wonder why it was ever commissioned in the first place. "

    Inappropriate editorialising is what I see here. Comments like that from the games press contribute to the death of the "rpg" format, and then can be recycled as as a woe-is-me editors' blog post about the death of the genre later.

    Pick it up.

  • Turambar #57 2 years ago

    "Yet the calls for shenmue 3/remake still falls on deaf ears whilst stillborn projects like this get the green light."

    Shenmue was just as much a commercial failure as Alpha Protocol.

  • Grogmonkey #58 2 years ago

    It's strange how one year ambitious, but flawed or buggy games can be highly rated and critically lauded, while the next everything that isn't completely polished is derided as 'mediocre'. For reference, see the likes of Boiling Point or ArmA 1 and 2 (even on this very site); games that are inherently broken in many ways, and yet scored fairly well in the press, often praised for their desire to push the boundaries.

    Now, I'm not saying that Alpha Protocol was looking to redefine what it means to be an RPG, but a lot of what it did was head and shoulders over anything (well, most things) that have gone before. It did conversations and character interactions better than Mass Effect or Dragon Age. It presented consequences better than Mass Effect (and probably Dragon Age. Never did get fantastically far through that game...), and also meant them mean something in the long run. There's a lot in Alpha Protocol to be commended, especially by a specialist press who, you would have thought, has a vested interest in encouraging envelope-pushing.

    But anyway, inconsistencies in reviewing standards aside, Alpha Protocol is one of the most interesting, engrossing and entertaining games I've played this year. Looking past the occassional bugs (I only met one obvious, and unfortunately save-game-load-required, bug during my 360 playthrough), I found so much enjoyable stuff in that game. The story was fairly entertaining, the characters were varied and generally well-rounded, there was enough scope of variation in each mission to imagine people could have genuinely different playthroughs, I thought the combat was easily good enough, if not a stellar example, plenty of skill customisation options.

    Maybe I just value (and find entertainment in) evolution of ideas and game mechanics over the number of bugs someone found in the game, or the resolution of textures on display. And I would happily recommend it to anyone who appreciates good design more than stabillity or graphical prowess.

  • dingo75 #59 2 years ago

    Don't forget the patch to remove the DRM as you promised SEGA.

  • Cider-X #60 2 years ago

    I find it hard to believe thet people are so shocked by this decision.

    Alpha Protocol was late, unpolished as hell (texture pop-in when choosing guns/armor comes to mind) and clunky. Sure it had a decent story, a great "consequence" system with cool perks thrown in and passable voice acting.
    What let it down was the actual action and missions. Many of the maps felt like they were designed by amateurs in an unofficial map editor. Never before have I seen such horrible layouts in a game.
    The shooting (rolling of dice) was poor and the stealth was poor, there's no way around it. It was also horribly marketed by Sega (as always) and since the game makes an ABSOLUTELY terrible first impression, all the video quick looks on the internet with game journalists laughing at the buggy and over the top ragdoll effects as they die did not do the game any favors at all.

    Finally, what I think turned so many people off it was the fact that it had been delayed 2 times and it was still so damn clunky. The average gamer is not as forgiving as, say, many posters on this site are. They've been accustomed to sleek presentation and game mechanics this gen, both things totally lacking in Alpha Protocol.
    A shame really, I could go for another adventure with Mr. Thorton but it's not the end of the world.

  • funkmesideways #61 2 years ago

    That's a shame, not bought this game yet myself yet, was waiting until I had more money. I am still definitely going to buy it regardless of reviews, the concept intrigues me.

  • bad09 #62 2 years ago

    I've only just started AP but I think it's excellent.

  • miiiguel #63 2 years ago

    Did you forget that the original Mass Effect had a lot of wierd stuff and frustrations with it too?

    I know you just trying to make a point but, come on... don't compare AP qith Mass Effect, either the 2nd or the 1st.

  • Grayvern #64 2 years ago

    Can't pretend I'm a big fan of it's less than good 3rd person action experience but the RPG bits were great.

    At the same time delays and a lack of advertising hurt sales.

    And stop with all the hate of previous games for no reason. NWN 2 was all around better than NWN only suffering from some optimisation bugs which meant it always ran acceptably but slowly. And Mask of the Betrayer was cruely overlooked because it dared to use a mechanic in an RPG that actually had gameplay impact even though it was in reality akin to the time limit to escape from the first reactor in FF7 ie a reminder but not an annoying imperative. There was also a concrete reason why KOTOR 2's faliures occured, and it was still one of the most interesting comments on star wars's rigid and silly morality in years.

    As to the comments on fallout new vegas, that is apples to crowbars comparison. The bethesda engine they are working with was built with RPG specifics in mind unlike unreal engine 3.

    Edited by Grayvern at 07/07/10 @ 04:26

  • CraigMcG #65 2 years ago

    I loved this game completed it 4 times
    Edited by CraigMcG at 07/07/10 @ 06:46

  • TheApologist #66 2 years ago

    Plenty worse games got sequels that improved slightly dodgy execution of a good concept with great results. So that is a shame.

    I wonder if its sales are about review scores, or because it's a western RPG that isn't trad sci-fi or fantasy.

  • apoc_reg #67 2 years ago

    Boo, was hoping for a second attempt at it to polish it up.

    i like it as it is though

  • Kikizosan #68 2 years ago

    Such a shame. It shared a number of problems that the first Mass Effect had, albeit to a greater degree and with less polish. An Alpha Protocol sequel could have seen those ironed out, much as Mass Effect 2 improved on its predecessor. The RPG genre could do with exploring a wider variety of genres. Here's hoping someone else will take a chance on a spy RPG and do it better...

  • SomaticSense #69 2 years ago

    From main article - "Alpha Protocol was released during a competition-free period on 28th May in Europe "

    Erm, what? Sarcasm?

    That period was easily the busiest period of the year so far when it came to big game releases. Off the top of my head, the last few weeks of May had such games as: Blur, Split/Second, Alan Wake, Lost Planet 2, UFC 2010, Skate 3, and none other than, Red Dead Redemption.

    With regards to Sega. Sticking Alpha Protocol in amongst those releases and then wondering why it it didn't sell very well, is fucking idiocy quite frankly. A lesson that should've been learnt years ago, but still publishers can't make sense of it.
    Edited by SomaticSense at 07/07/10 @ 11:46

  • RexRunti #70 2 years ago

    The problem is Alpha Protocol was never a AAA game. By that I don't mean 10/10 I mean polished, marketed and hyped to buggery. If you compare it to other unpolished games from small developers with a mediocre budget it comes of very favourably.

    Yes there's a lot of things the game got wrong: the opening level is way too long, there aren't enough experience points to do anything but min-max which means people will get pissed off when they can't shoot straight or can't hack a PC, it takes half an hour to bring up a map, using powers is increadably clunky, the AI is poor and the games pretty buggy.

    However it get's a lot of things right too: Once you've spent a lot of points on a particular skill that area is very good and fun, the minigames are a genuine challange but not impossible (assuming you've spent the points), the story is truly exellent with multiple twists (many of which you will miss), your actions have consequence and not just in conversations but how you complete a mission and there are multiple ways to play the game.

  • looy1 #71 1 year ago

    Such a shame, just finished this game (first playthrough) and loved it, despite some flaws. I've also just finished dragon age: origins last week and personally i have to say i had a funner time with alpha protocol. I found the dynamic story far above the this choice/that choice approach in dragon age and really enjoyed the tounge-in-cheek spy thrille story with some genuinely brilliant moments. While hindered by a few bugs and grievences im saddened by the fact that obsidian wont get another chance with this ip as I feel that there is certainly a market for this type of game... now time to start play through 2 .... :)