Three million people played Dead Space

by Justin McElroy { Jul 7th 2009 at 4:30PM }

The sobering second half of that sentence? Only 1.5 million people bought it new. Speaking on the official EA podcast, Glen Schofield, EA studio manager for the Dead Space team, said that while the team had discussed adding co-op, he didn't believe the lack of that feature is what sent the game tape flying back to GameStop after players had solved it.

Schofield explained, "We were up against Fallout, which was a 50-hour game to begin with. So, we didn't look at it and say we have to have online. What we said we've got to be bang for the buck."

So, would you have held on to Dead Space longer if you could have gotten the pee scared out of you with a friend?
[Via Kotaku]

Tags: co-op, dead-space, dlc, ea, used-games, visceral-games

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

Drew @ Jul 7th 2009 4:33PM

I blame Gamestop!
A new game is not supposed to be out of the case in some drawer.

Latin_Trident @ Jul 7th 2009 4:37PM

Not my kind of game. I don't know if many people are in the "scare the crap out of me I'll throw my controller at the screen" category. I definitely don't fall into that category. I'd rather play free online games than that.

Guinea Rabbit @ Jul 7th 2009 4:53PM

I agree. I'm friends with a guy who works at a nearby Gamestop, and he's always careful about putting the games into the cases when you buy them, but even he admits that the same can't be said of the other employees that work there.

MystileArmor @ Jul 7th 2009 4:55PM

My Gamestop always keeps a sealed copy of every game behind the counter, so I always ask for those.

Cash @ Jul 7th 2009 5:34PM

I blame that damn asteroid busting level. I wanted to go back and play Dead Space on the hardest setting, but after two days straight of trying to pass that GD asteroid level, I threw the controller across the room and gave up.

When games stop being fun and turn into a chore, that's when I lose interest.

Saria the Cat @ Jul 7th 2009 5:40PM

@Cash: That asteroid bit was irrelevant to the actual gameplay and was a blatant storyline filler. It pissed me off immensely.

kentuckyfried @ Jul 7th 2009 6:59PM

Getting the shield trophy for that asteroid scene was really tough! I liked that they put this segment in the game to add some variety in gameplay, and didn't think it was filler at all. Just a break from having monsters chasing you around the ship.

Cameron @ Jul 7th 2009 9:29PM

@ asteroid haters: I play this game on the absolute hardest difficulty possible, and I don't upgrade any of my weapons to make it as hard as possible, and I use level 5 instead of 6 suit (the psn storebought ones), I'll explain how to do the asteroid level. The asteroids you need to focus on are the ones in the very middle of the screen - don't worry about the ones off to the side, they usually don't hit the ship and cause damage, plus when you're moving the guns around that much it becomes harder to aim accurately to the ones that really matter - the ones in the middle. I've finished this level with 80 percent energy left, so I think this strategy will help immensely. It should also be noted that difficulty level doesn't make this any harder or easier, its just about your state of focus. its true that some times it will be easier than others, but if you focus on the very tips of the lasers and control them like a mouse on a PC you'll aim a lot more accurately.

The Baron @ Jul 7th 2009 9:36PM

It's weird, a lot of the plot was quite fillery. You spend the first two thirds of the game just running round solving an ever-increasing stack of farcical problems. A lot of this I didn't mind, such as the crashed spaceship or the greenhouses. But the asteroid shooting section did seem a lot more irrelevant than most.

And I find that odd in a game where the main story about Isaac and his girlfriend moved me a lot more than most.

CH3BURASHKA @ Jul 7th 2009 4:35PM

Well, at least those other 1.5 million have the opportunity to buy Dead Space 2 new, if they liked it enough.

DeepFriedSushi @ Jul 7th 2009 10:46PM

the game sold well because of word of mouth and critical acclaim. so sales werent immediate but more drawn out. which probably hurt its new game sales. since people who picked it up later were likely to pickup a used copy.

but had the game been co-op it wouldn't have nearly been as good you lose the tension and atmosphere with a partner. as a result it would have gotten far lower reviews and we're back where we started.

EA just needs to bitching less, game sold well, and was really well received.

CH3BURASHKA @ Jul 7th 2009 11:23PM

Is your name a Artemis Fowl reference???

modelvillage @ Jul 7th 2009 4:35PM

No...it was crap.

WREturns @ Jul 7th 2009 4:41PM

I hate you for not liking Dead Space, modelvillage. I don't want to, but I do.

Moris @ Jul 7th 2009 4:51PM

I loved it, one of the best survival horror games in my opinion :) Didn't expect to get scared anywhere near as much as i did :)

Guinea Rabbit @ Jul 7th 2009 4:55PM

Personally, I'd take Dead Space over Resident Evil 5 anyday. It was everything RE5 should have been, but wasn't.

Neuromancer @ Jul 7th 2009 5:00PM

I'm with WREturns on this one.

Ravnos @ Jul 7th 2009 5:14PM

I'm in between on it. I thought it was a few hours longer than it needed to be. The last chapter in particular kind of dragged, but all in all it was a decent game. I don't think it was very scary, though. It startled me a few times when monsters sprung out of someplace unexpectedly, but good horror is more than just someone leaping out and saying "BOO!"

the Sawyer family @ Jul 7th 2009 5:50PM

i h8 u 4 not liking KZ2, wreturns. i don't want 2, but i do.

alinos @ Jul 8th 2009 8:15AM

i loved dead space as said RE5 was a massive letdown to short and just a bore fest

i dont like KZ2 anymore it was good until the first patch when the changed the controls to a standard shooter and there was nothing to keep me there anymore along with all the people who whined they couldnt get all there medals

Professor Lario @ Jul 7th 2009 4:35PM

I may have enjoyed it more with a friend, but I think my retention rate would have remained unchanged. I only buy games I will want to keep.

copa @ Jul 7th 2009 5:04PM

I love co-op shooters, but I only play through a co-op campaign once, so that would not have caused me to keep the game forever.

Dead Space got really solid reviews, so I was interested in it, but it was not a day-one purchase for me. Six months after it was released, I picked it up on Goozex. Played through it twice (30 hours of gameplay). Felt I had gotten the full experience, so I flipped it back on Goozex.

There's only so much you can do to get people to keep the game, and not share it or sell it. Frankly, I think EA should be pleased to get retail sales of 1.5 million units for a brand new franchise.

Ghen @ Jul 7th 2009 5:05PM

I'm with you on that. If there was co-op it might add a little more replay value, but then it would also make the game go faster and be less scary. So overall about the same time invested.

Drew @ Jul 7th 2009 4:35PM

Also to comment on the topic on hand. I kept Deadspace because i loved the game. I don't know how I'd feel about co-op. I remember taking a survey, kindly provided by the Deadspace folk, asking whether Co-Op or Multiplayer versus would lengthen the replayability. I think Co-Op would do that more than a VS. but even then I think it would ruin the Horror experience.

Hydrophobicfish @ Jul 7th 2009 4:44PM

What about possibly unlocking co-op after beating the game?

Mazrael @ Jul 7th 2009 4:44PM

I still have my copy (real?), It's a great game as it is, I completed it twice.. neither Co-op or MP would have made me play it more. I next to never play MP on any game, and have no one to co-op with most the time.. I like those 1000pt's to myself, which was a real bonus.. I think on the 2nd play, you know what's coming, give or take', and loses some of the scare factor

Eric @ Jul 7th 2009 4:36PM

This game was great I just popped it in again yesterday for a second play though. I hope for a sequel.

emagius @ Jul 7th 2009 4:44PM

I hope for a sequel with decent art/animation direction, fluid controls, and co-op play.

Eric @ Jul 7th 2009 4:49PM

Are you saying the game did not have good art direction or good controls. Because I disagree 100%.

Neuromancer @ Jul 7th 2009 5:05PM

@emagius

How dare you sir.

The Baron @ Jul 7th 2009 10:42PM

I was even quite happy with how it controlled with the mouse and keyboard. A lot of people were complaining that it felt a bit too floaty and sluggish, but i quite liked the Gears of War 'meaty' feel it gave the movement. After all, the guy you control had about three tons of metal glued to his shirt.

The Dark Wayne @ Jul 7th 2009 11:53PM

are you serious? Dead Space had amazing graphics, and the way the human characters looked and expressed emotion on their faces was more believable than any game ever before.

handlas @ Jul 7th 2009 4:39PM

too bad. I bought the game new but Gamestop gave me a used copy of it. Oh GS how I love you... full price for a game that was wrapped and had smudges on the disk and instructions book. Employee even opened the box after I bought it and stuck the receipt inside.
Regardless Dead Space was the best singleplayer game I've played in years. We are getting another one right? Besides Extraction I mean. The game was top notch quality in every single respect.

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 7th 2009 4:40PM

Gotta love the employee check out. Though usuallythey shrink-wrap it too disguise it as a new, sealed game.

Jrinswand @ Jul 7th 2009 4:53PM

StormEagle, GameStop doesn't allow people to check out new games, at least not around these parts. Employees are only allowed to check out used games.

tuaamin13 @ Jul 7th 2009 6:49PM

Not allowed doesn't mean they don't.

kentuckyfried @ Jul 7th 2009 7:21PM

I remember thinking how wrong this seemed years ago when GS employees would spin off an open game as being "new" and reassure me that it was completely good.

Thankfully, they're a little more subtle about it (i read on gamefaqs, going so far as to re-wrap the games in plastic), but I usually check to see if there's any telltale signs of use on the instruction manual or disc if I do buy from gamestop. Then again, maybe the more legit ones in this area have stopped that practice since there's too much visibility now on that practice.

Marlan @ Jul 7th 2009 4:37PM

I guess i'd have enjoyed it more. But i still would have beat in the end just like single player so i don't really see his point.

XBL: Burritoclock PSN:Herbie Hat @ Jul 7th 2009 4:55PM

Every week you keep the game after buying it is another week your copy is not out there for sell. The point is that games are starting to try and find ways to make you hold onto the game (either through good multiplayer, DLC, or whatever) so that it takes longer for used copies to appear in stores so that when some one goes into a game store there is a greater chance they will buy new and the STUDIO will actually make something from their work.

Games like Call of Duty 4 sold a lot better because most people held onto the game for the multiplayer.

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 7th 2009 4:39PM

I never finished it. It got put on the back of the back burner and eventually traded in for bigger titles that came in around the same time. I've thought about picking it up again from time to time but there's too much to look forward to now and I need to save the cash. I loved the time I had with it though.

And I do prefer multiplayer gaming over solo gaming anyday so had there been some sort of online aspect, it would've been nice. The only problem is that no one else I knew bought it and I would've ended up playing with people I don't know and probably never talked.

WREturns @ Jul 7th 2009 4:39PM

Dead Space was the best surprise-this-game-is-awesome! experience I had last year. I will probably buy Extraction just because I want this series to survive and I'll buy Dead Space 2 in a heartbeat.

Neuromancer @ Jul 7th 2009 5:05PM

Yeah me too, I really wish EA Redwood had gone straight to a Dead Space 2 instead of this silly Dante's Inferno...

Jrinswand @ Jul 7th 2009 5:19PM

Hmm... I had no idea that EA Redwood is the company that is making Dante's Inferno. Up until now I thought the game would be a huge pile of shit. It still might be a pile of shit, who knows, but at least EA Redwood has a good track record.

Dravean @ Jul 7th 2009 4:40PM

Heck, yeah! Co-op would have killed in Dead Space! Still have my copy though.

Shmil @ Jul 7th 2009 4:40PM

Theres something about wandering around a destroyed spaceship fighting monsters in the dark by yourself. I think co-op in horror games ruins the horror. I was pissing myself playing dead space (I scare very easily) until I had a friend in the room watching me play. Then we were able to joke and laugh about it and it lost all of its horror. So I think Co-op could've ruined the atmosphere.

Baalzak @ Jul 7th 2009 4:45PM

I completely agree. Co-op would take all of the fright out of it, making it a completely different game altogether. If they want something more like Gears of War, then it could work... but if they're trying to keep the fear in the game, single player is the way to go.

Roks @ Jul 7th 2009 4:58PM

Exactly my thoughts, PLEASE do not have Dead Space 2 suffer the same fate of RE5; tho the latter IS a good game, Dead Space shines because it's ONLY YOU vs. a horde of space monsters in the most immersive sci-fi horror atmospheres ever offered in a videogame. Co-op and multiplayer if ever included should be handled with care and not as the core premise.

BTW I bought Dead Space on 360, finished it on medium and hard and then sold it. Now I just bought it again on PC and I've already finished it on medium and currently running Impossible. The game just never ceases to amaze me.
This is the second time I ever do such a rerun of a game, the first one being the original Resident Evil for the PlayStation.