First, let's get the bad news out of the way.  Sega's official Alpha Protocol'sl website has been updated, confirming all the rumors surrounding the game's questionable release date.  The game is not coming out this year.  However, it looks like Sony fans may be in a bit of luck - the site lists the PS3 version of the game hitting in Spring 2010, while the XBox 360 and PC version counterparts won't be hitting until May. 

Could Sony be pursuing some sort of timed exclusivity deal for the game?  It's no secret that the title has drawn numerous comparsions to the 360 exclusive Mass Effect, which Sony fans have been clamoring for ever since developer BioWare was bought out by EA last year.  According to the leaked Sega memo, Sony expressed a lot of interest in the title during their meeting over the summer, encouraging Sega to make it play more similarly to Mass Effect.  Sony also wasn't shy about offering Sega marketing support in return for exclusivity deals.

We've since contacted Sega for the official word.

UPDATE: At the time of the original posting of this article, Sega's Alpha Protocol website read:

Alpha Protocol
available on
PLAYSTATION®3 - Spring, 2010
PC - 05/06/2010
Xbox 360® - 05/06/2010

It has since been updated to read as Spring, 2010 for all 3 platforms.