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In response to Wired's own 2009 vaporware awards, our pals at BigDownload have complied their own list of software and hardware that woulda, coulda and shoulda seen the light of day this year. Topping the list is the streaming service OnLive, which was slated to release in "winter 2009," following a healthy dose of beta testing. While reception for the service has been mostly positive, OnLive's claims have yet to be tested on a global stage (during E3 2009, OnLive was previewed for select media via a cable modem connection to the service's California-based headquarters).

Other nods go to Gearbox Software's oft-delayed -- we'll believe it when we see it -- Aliens: Colonial Marines, Obsidian's "oh, by the way, it's not coming out today" Alpha Protocol, and Midway's This Is Canceled Vegas. Sadly, Duke Nukem Forever failed to win an award for what would have been a record twelfth-straight year.

Despite seeing some semi-official evidence of an Alpha Protocol delay from Sega's website, and some circumstantial evidence in the fact that it didn't make its original release date, nothing official has been said from anyone at Sega or Obsidian regarding the too-sneaky-for-its-own-good game. Until today!

Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart has come forward to speak 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," Urquhart told CVG.

Sega Europe managing director Alan Pritchard, the first person at Sega to officially acknowledge the Alpha Protocol release date change, added, "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."

While we question Spring 2010's status as "the best commercial release window possible" (given the preponderance of publishers of other games that decided the exact same thing), we're relieved that we can finally stop haranguing that Gamestop salesperson about our pre-ordered Alpha Protocol that still hasn't arrived.

While Sega of America's public relations team still hasn't said one word regarding an increasingly inevitable delay, Sega of America's website has finally declared that Alpha Protocol will not begin its mission until 2010. The site displays the Xbox 360 and PC launches for May 6, 2010, while the PS3 version has been left at "Spring 2010." This is a not-so-slight change from what the publisher's website showed this morning, when the release information stated the espionage RPG was "out now" -- a strange pronouncement for frustrated consumers, venting on developer Obsidian's forums, and retailers we'd spoken to.

Sega's update now fits with what several retailers have suggested about a 2010 release, including GameStop, Walmart, Amazon and GameFly.

With Sega still refusing to respond to inquiries about Alpha Protocol's release date, it seems retailers are doing the talking for 'em: GameFly has changed its release date of "the espionage RPG" from October 27th to TBD. The video game rental site has a long-standing history to "simply post information as it is supplied to [GameFly] by the publishers."

Further requests for clarification from Sega continue to be met by the Sega Wall of Silence™. We have been told by the company's development director that we should expect "an update shortly via PR." And for the record, the official release date for Alpha Protocol is still next Tuesday. Sega?

It appears Sega's Alpha Protocol is going to suffer a delay, the precise length of which remains in question. The last official word we heard from the publisher was that Alpha Protocol was to be released on October 6 (that's next week!), a release date that has seemed unlikely after numerous retailers shifted that date to late October. The latest release date change? Mega-retailer GameStop has shifted its expected launch date for the title to 6/1/2010, with Amazon Canada also showing a 2010 release (Amazon US has not made any change).

Developer Obsidian Entertainment is forwarding all requests for comment to Sega which, in traditional Sega fashion, have been met with the Sega Wall of Silence™. We'll update as soon as somebody decides to say something. Remember, the company line from Sega is that Alpha Protocol is supposed to hit store shelves next week.

Among the truckloads of possibly legit megatons included in the alleged leaked minutes from a meeting between Sega of America and Sony Computer Entertainment America, a number of notable gaffes and oddities can be found. Besides wondering if "characters from [the] Rare or Fable universes" should be included in Sonic Racing, it appears that Sega may be interested in assigning all of its properties a PlayStation Home-room. Oh, and a product evaluator thought Alpha Protocol felt "barely RPG" -- final analysis: make it even more Mass Effect-y.

Additionally, the mention of PS2 games as downloadable content on PSN makes us reminisce all the way back to mid-2006 when the idea first popped up on our radar --- surely, this isn't why Sony removed built-in backwards compatibility? And either the person taking minutes was daydreaming or knows something we don't, as reference is made to "Eidos' Batman" featuring "PS3/PSP interoperability" support -- a Batman or related DC Comics PSP game then? Juicer still, that little mention comes right after talk of a project named "Vanquish" and a possible PSP iteration of the currently shelved Aliens: Colonial Marines that Gearbox Software is working on. Also, Sony is eager to check out that hopefully not-so-crappy Thor game soon (suggestion: make it less Iron Man 2-y).

The cherry on top comes in the form of what we've been calling around the Joystiq water cooler: "Sonic and the Inverted Castle." Found under the "Sonic Anniversary" subhead, the note taker jots down, "SCEA would love PSN exclusive power ups/different game modes (like Castlevania's flip it over/backwards)." Actually, we believe that's Missy Elliott who puts the thing down, flips it and reverses it, thank you very much.

For those of you anxious to WASD your way through Obsidian's Alpha Protocol (y'know, the Espionage RPG), Steam is offering a bonus if you pick up the game through its service. Anyone who pre-orders will get a free copy of Gas Powered Games' (and Sega-published) Space Siege immediately, a $20 title. The freebie should help to assuage Obsidian's gross oversight. C'mon, how could the studio forget to include cyborg space marines?

Download the PC demo for Space Siege right here.

Who needs Mass Effect 2?

I would be upset by Mass Effect 2's 2010 release were it not for Obsidian's upcoming "espionage RPG." The core mechanics of BioWare's space opera are here: shooter controls, experience points, specialized skills and branching dialogue trees with a strong emphasis on player choices. In a world about traitorous spies, these choices will certainly keep you on your toes.

The many developer diaries released by Obsidian certainly took away some of the surprise of seeing Alpha Protocol in action. At the very least, I was relieved to see that the game simply works, and most importantly: looks like a lot of fun. For those that choose to go guns blazing, the many abilities you can acquire make the combat ridiculously fun. Depending on what players spend their experience points on, players will have access to a number of different abilities. Some of the skills I saw: a radar to highlight enemies (and allies), a rapid lock-on ability, bullet-time, and increased stealth -- helpful for when you want to sneak up behind someone and snap their neck.

According to a Twitter update from Obsidian regarding its upcoming stealth-em-up RPG, Alpha Protocol, it's possible to complete the game without killing anyone. The tweet failed to elaborate on why someone would choose to play through a spy-action game without killing anyone (but you can bet there's some kinda reward in store for the apprehensive player) and also whether or not it's possible to clear the game without maiming, disfiguring or severely bruising anyone. Frankly, given the nature of the action-spy business, we don't see how that would be possible.

The "no kill" challenge has been posed before, appearing in other stealth titles like Metal Gear Solid and even the straight action-oriented Mirror's Edge. In fact, it would be kinda strange if Alpha Protocol didn't allow players to finish the game without killing -- it's become a requisite for the genre, after all.

Well, however you decide to tackle Alpha Protocol, at least there's some sex in it for you, right?

Obsidian's Chris Avellone, creative director on the upcoming Alpha Protocol, thinks that human interaction is a very important element in RPG -- especially when it comes to the love shared between two consenting adults. Avellone recently commented to Destructoid that including sex scenes in Alpha Protocol was "an important step, and it's not sex for sex's sake, but it's part of human interaction that makes you more involved in the game world and your characters."

Sometimes the act can come off more out-of-place than appropriate, which our time with Dragon Age: Origins seemed to highlight, but, on the other hand (keep it where we can see it!) the sex scene in Mass Effect was fairly tasteful. Well, unless you're one of the misinformed minds at Fox News.

Alpha Protocol continues its leak of classified information in this latest walkthrough trailer. The video, obtained by super-secret spycam, shows how players will use the safe houses in the game to accessorize their weaponry and character. We learn how to put a silencer on the protagonist's head and change the hair on his gun ... wait, reverse that.

The video also covers the skill tree and some of the special moves available to the character in the espionage RPG releasing October 6.

Sega of America has announced the release date for Obsidian's Alpha Protocol, whatever that is. Oh, it's "The Espionage RPG." How helpful! That game will be out on October 6.

In addition to the date announcement, Sega released the North American box art, which can be found in our gallery. We must warn you, however, before you rush into the gallery, full of hope for a more exciting, distinctive box art image: it's exactly the same as the UK box art seen yesterday, with the "PAL" label changed to "NTSC" and the PEGI rating box changed to an ESRB box. It's still the same Pseudo-Bourne standing up in front of geography class.

So, in case it wasn't made absolutely clear by the box art, here's what Obsidian Entertainment's head-slammin' Alpha Protocol isn't:

• The Overwrought Fantasy RPG
• The Contemplative Neo-Classical RPG
• The Effervescent Dating RPG
• The Number One Best Selling RPG
• An Espionage RPG
• That Other Game About The Secret Agent and Stuff

Joking aside, it's quite likely that we're simply oblivious to the subtitle's significance to the plot -- the one involving a sneaky rocket-propelled grenade that taps your phone and then blows off your ear. See if you can spot it in the developer diary embedded after the break.

In addition to the upcoming Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas, as well as the perpetually delayed/possibly dead Aliens RPG, Obsidian Entertainment is apparently working on a fourth, unannounced title. In an interview with GameBanshee, Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart said, "We have been working on another title for the last four months that we can't talk about yet."

According to the piece, the game is being developed on the company's internal engine, though Urquhart had, more or less, positive things to say about his company's experience with Unreal Engine 3. "Our engine, like Unreal, is a tool and different jobs can be done better with tools that are made for them ... there are things that our engine may never do as well as Unreal, but likewise there are things that our engine will do that will be better than Unreal," Urquhart says of the choice. Considering the rest of the interviews answers, we're fairly certainly that the game's not a new Neverwinter Nights nor Knights of the Old Republic 3. Guesses, friends?