EA Denies Report That They Canned Dead Space Series

[Siren]

EA is denying a report that went public over the weekend claiming that the money hungry publisher of the survival horror series Dead Space not only ceased production on Dead Space 4, but also canned the whole entire series due to sluggish sales of Dead Space 3.The report being pushed around the internet began on online gaming news website, VideoGamer.com where they claimed a credible source spoke directly to them stating that Dead Space 4 was in pre-production with Visceral Games' Montreal. However, plans changed after EA made a visit to the small studio this past February and it was announced that pre-production on Dead Space 4 was to be stopped. To further complicate matters, EA closed Visceral Games' Montreal later in February on February 21st due to "restructuring".

EA's Peter Moore fired back at this report on GamesIndustry, calling the report "shoddy website journalism".

"Standard, shoddy website journalism recipe, born out of a desperate need to increase click-thru rates to support advertising revenue. Fabricate a story using an 'unnamed source,' post it first thing in the morning, add the letters 'EA' to the story (oh, and link it to micro-transactions - always a fan favourite) and then stand back and enjoy the vitriol which you turn into revenue. Rinse and repeat...

My comments were fairly and squarely aimed at Videogamer. My issue is not the rejection of community feedback (we get that in bucketloads all day long and we learn from it in real time), rather it was the fabrication of a story in order to generate controversy and ultimately readership."

VideoGamer.com is standing by their source and their report stating that EA had prior knowledge of their report going live and that EA UK even asked for them to wait an extra day before posting the report so that they could come up with a proper response with EA here stateside. EA released the usual "we do not comment on rumor or speculation". However, once the report went live, EA changed their minds and sent a message to GameSpot saying that the report was "patently false". According to Eurogamer, VideoGamer checked with EA UK to see what had happened and as it would turn out EA's Coporate Communications Teams sent the "patently false" statements out upon media request.

VideoGamer.com has released their own statement since the backlash.

"VideoGamer.com would never publish information from a source whose identity could not be verified, or that we do not believe to be accurate. We carried out internal checks to verify the validity of the comments made by our source - and while we have a duty of care to protect their identity - we stand by the comments made in the original story.

We would also like to reiterate that we ran the story in good faith, taking the necessary steps with both EA and our source to ensure that the story was as accurate, fair, and well-represented as possible.

We find it perplexing as to why EA changed its stance on its decision not to comment on rumours and speculation, especially given the opportunities that the publisher had to clarify the situation before and after VideoGamer.com published the story. We firmly deny any accusations of fabrication on our part."

Interestingly enough, despite EA calling the report false there has yet to be one confirmed response that the Dead Space series has not been cancelled.

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[Dateranoth]

Seems EA is on edge of late. Hard to say if the rumor is true or not, but I do find it odd to refuse to comment on rumors while commenting on a rumor. Lol

[Siren]

One thing that I don't understand beside that, lol is why they just can't say the series is not cancelled   <------Right there, that would end it.  

[Dateranoth]

My best guess would be that they just don't know. If sales were bad they may wait to see if they might pick up, or do the market research to see if a fourth game is worth the investment.

[PeeKnuckle]

My guess is because the first two weeks of a release are the most important to the dev and publisher. That is why they're working around the clock and promising a free game.

[Dateranoth]

I'm sure they are busy, and that stress is probably why they made the comments they did about Dead Space. However, I'd be willing to bet they could reclaim any shortfall in projected profits by releasing 3 on steam.

[PeeKnuckle]

I really think they're mostly concerned with fixing SimCity and it's two week release projections. What happens after that two weeks will be interesting, though. Both for SimCity and Dead Space.

[CHINESE BABOON]

The problem with EA and Activision is that they create successful games series (Call of Duty, Dead Space, Rock Band, Guitar Hero), and instead of waiting a few years in between releases to create a new and fresh product, they kill the series by turning it into a money cow where they release a new edition of the game every year or so, completely killing the quality and the demand for the game in the process. Sure, in the short run to maximize profits pumping out sequels may impress shareholders, but in the long run they and consumers would benefit if they took more time between releases.

[Kevnvek]

The problem with EA and Activision is that they create successful games series (Call of Duty, Dead Space, Rock Band, Guitar Hero), and instead of waiting a few years in between releases to create a new and fresh product, they kill the series by turning it into a money cow where they release a new edition of the game every year or so, completely killing the quality and the demand for the game in the process. Sure, in the short run to maximize profits pumping out sequels may impress shareholders, but in the long run they and consumers would benefit if they took more time between releases.

 

This exactly, and its not just those two companies, its the gaming industry in general.  I'd rather wait an extra year or so for quality than get a new release forced out each year.  There are plenty of other games to play in the meantime.  Look at Rockstar, they make fantastic games and (handheld games aside) all of their major releases are about two years apart, not one.  It helps to have different substudios developing games for them too.  But then you get companies like Ubisoft making a new Assassin's Creed every year (and I still love the series), and its going to keep going down in quality.  AC was good, ACII was amazing, and Brotherhood/Revelations felt unnecessary in the overall scheme of things.  The reason ACIII turned out great was because it had been under development for a long time already (development started shortly after ACII).  There are better examples of quality going downhill though.  I've seen so many games ruined by trying to meet deadlines.  I loathe it when I hear about how a game turned out poorly in some aspect to meet a deadline.  You can't rush creativity.

[MrsBadExample]

A friend of mine is currently working on a game that's going to be released soon - and it's basically being rushed because they want it released in conjunction with the TV show / movie. (can't remember which)

So they're working 12 - 14 hour days, usually 6 - 7 days a week, and I can bet you anything both quality is slipping, and features are going to be missed. Companies that impose these ridiculous deadlines need to be smacked upside the head. If it's not done, it's not done. Stop releasing stuff before it's ready. It's like presenting me a half cooked steak, you can bet your sweet bippy I'm sending it back.

 

I do love some sequels, but when you start getting into games where it's surpassing 2 or 3, I believe it gets ridiculous. You need to let a series die. It's like letting a show continue on too long, and having fans get sick of it. Assassin's Creed was good, but it just seems to be getting stupider, honestly. Now when I hear about it, my reaction isn't "Yay! AC!" it's "ANOTHER one!?"

 

Same with Dead Space. They need to stop chugging out these cash cows, take some time, and develop a decent goddamned game.