I think you need to consider why they are fretting about it.
Is it because of their own issues with female protagonists, or is it because of realistic concerns of gamers issues with female protagonists? While either way it's sad, where we should put the blame differs greatly based on the answer to the above.
If it's the latter, it's hard to fault Sony execs. They have to make decisions based on sales expectations. They are a publicly traded company.
Yeah, that is what I was trying to get at. The situation can be sad, but it might not be a bad reflection on Sony, if market research has shown this (and continued to show this). It could be an issue with society. *shrugs*
When these games cost so much to invest in, and it's such an insane risk, then yeah, you need to be scared as a company, if you are seeing some very troubling signs. Now, I would be down on Sony if they: didn't give this game a full marketing budget they would for a game with a male lead (thus not giving it a chance). If they were taking steps to create a self-fulfilling prophecy and not giving it a chance, and then turning around and going SEE -- female leads don't sell well. Then yeah, I would be pissed at Sony.