Why We Never Got Dead Space 4

In 2008, Dead Space introduced us to Isaac Clarke, a lowly engineer forced to fight his way off a zombie-infested spaceship. It was an instant hit. Dead Space racked up over two million sales, nabbed a handful of awards, and seemed set as the next big thing in survival horror.

Dead Space 2 arrived in 2011. Dead Space 3 hit in 2013. And then…nothing. While publisher Electronic Arts claims that Dead Space is still "important" to the studio, a sequel still hasn't happened.

[gangsta_red]

Dead Space 3 is the perfect example of a series where the big wigs got too greedy and tried to turn it into what everything else was on the market. Just another run and gun shooter.

So disappointing because the first one was brilliant. Second one was okay but I didn't like the added powers and the third one...well, complete trash. Funny it took EA only 3 games to kill a franchise but Capcom with RE it took a lot more.

[darthv72]

I gave up on the third as it just didnt have the same charm as the first or the second. I should finish it though... then again I have seen the ending on youtube so no biggie. I got other games to play.

[DeadManMMX]

If you play it co op it has some fun tricks to it. Where one co op partner will hallucinate and see things the other can't and you'll have to protect them. I thought it was a good take on the individual psychological horror each person is hit with when they get closer to the marker.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed. Might as well consider a 3rd game never existed.

Like...really folks, 3 is that far from Dead Space 1 and 2.

Dead Space 2 legit felt like the Aliens to Alien, the Resident Evil 1 to 2 etc lol

It still had the survival elements and the horror, on a bigger scale and did a great job of mixing some more action, with classic horror and survival elements.

....then dead space 3 showed up lol

[Kleptic]

@ED, I know we have our disagreements from time to time, but couldn't agree more.

The first was Alien; claustrophobic and purposely limited in certain areas, but elegant in it's mechanics. It never tried to be something it wasn't.

2 was Aliens; more action focused but retained the atmosphere (and had plenty of out right scary situations of it's own; that freaking spider-thing that took over corpses?...gtfo), and continued the story in an extremely balanced and logical way.

I actually never tried 3. I planned on it, but read previews before release showing the direction it was going (and there was a demo at one point i believe) and just really didn't get into it. It would be something i'd play just to see if it's really that bad, but haven't yet.

[Harkins1721]

2nd one had the perfect blend of horror and action. 3rd one was still good but it did lose its charm. It did add things that would be great for a 4th.

[RedPill86]

It didn't. It wasn't meant to be an action game. The second, while a good game, was objectively worse than the first. It simply didn't have the atmosphere right.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed.

[tyasia0]

*cough* *mumble* Mass Effect Andromeda *cough* *mumble*

[WelcomeToTheFamily]

At least Capcom fixed RE with RE7 Biohazard. EA however wont do anything with this series because they like fifa more lol.

[Harkins1721]

@Redpill86 The atmosphere was amazing. They improved so much over the first game. They made sections like the baby section in chapter 6 so fun to play through. And zero gravity was so much better.

[Dark-soul]

Capcom redeemed resident evil with resident 7, briliant game and many people enjoyed it.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed.

I feel Dead Space is a great example of how you run a game into the ground.

Horror titles were just not selling like that, even RE wasn't getting huge 5 or 6 million sales when it was just survival horror outside of the action RE4-6.

I think EA should have just budgeted around the first games sales for it s sequels.

Dead Space is not going to be this huge 6 or 7 million unit sell survival horror series, its just not. Not even RESIDENT EVIL was able to be that in regards to survival horror. The HEIGHT of RE when it was JUST survival horror before its action phase was like 6 million.

If Resident Evil isn't getting those sales and they damn near invented survival horror, Dead Space was just never getting anything like that.

Resident Evil has yet to reach those RE2 sales in regards to a traditional survival horror.

EA if they are going to do Dead Space, I feel need to do an REVII. Budget to the sale you EXPECT TO GET, not the damn sales you want. Dead Space as a survival horror is not moving RE5 numbers folks, we just don't have any evidence to even suggest that.

EA went wrong when they start pumping money into Dead Space expecting HUGE blockbuster COD type sales.

If the budget accordingly and understand they won't be getting exaggerated COD sales, I think a Dead Space 4 can do really, really well.

Its up to EA.

[-Foxtrot]

Dead Space 3 will always p*** me off because they understood the outrage at Capcom for the way Resident Evil went, even calling Dead Space the "Resident Evil" of last gen. However despite this EA still got the studio to make Dead Space into a generic, over the top third person co-op action game which was dumbed down as hell...the SAME GOD DAMN THING Resident Evil 6 did.

They knew and they still did it...

Even small things about it ticked me off. I mean why have a generic soldier grunt character added when they could have used Ellie who was introduced in DS2 and survived. Instead they turned her from a badass into a damsel in distress.

They need to just continue from Dead Space 2 and pretend Dead Space 3 never happened or do a reboot-retelling of the first game so they can take the game in a new direction. I wouldn't mind an expanded, improved version of the first game with Issac being allowed to speak.

[ShadowKnight]

Its time to go back to its roots just like the first game.

[DreadGara]

Why DS 4 not out yet?
Because EA that's why...
Thanks for screwing the franchise EA.

[gantarat]

Developer busy make star wars game.

[crazychris4124]

They should reboot the franchise and go back to its roots. I dont play that many horror games but the 1st game was a lot of fun. Always would turn off the lights and crank up the volume.

[daBUSHwhaka]

Dead Space was a tremendous game from start to finish.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I played through both Dead Space 1& 2, with headphones on and the lights off. Which really added to the atmosphere. I throughly enjoyed both the first and second Dead Space titles, despite the terrible motion sickness the games gave me. Dead Space 3, was a good, but not great game, not particularly scary, nor that strong of a TPS. I did really like crafting weapons in the third game.

[SCW1982]

The first Dead Space is a masterpiece. Dead Space 2 was a good sequel that became to much blockbuster action game but still had creepy moments. Dead Space 3...............we don't discuss Dead Space 3.

[Cy]

I'd like to read this article but they want me to click to a new page after 2 freaking paragraphs and, no, not gonna deal with that clickbait bullshit.

[bitboi]

this...this is why i didn't bother going to page 3...sites need to stop doing crap like that

[quent]

I remember when Dead Space and Silent hill: Homecoming came out in the same week, good times

[opinionated]

It's like all of their games. They get a hit (dead space, skate) then they continue to milk it until its dry. EA rushed and ruined skate 3 and dead space 3. Dead space 1 and skate 1 were masterpiece games, best of the best. They still don't have a clue on what makes their games a hit or why their franchises fizzle out. They just continue to do the same crappy practices (though it's not half as bad as they used to be, admittedly). They were AWFUL by comparison lol.

"Well we didn't sell five million copies on a rushed milkjob so I guess the market doesn't care anymore"
>liquidates studio and shelves IP
>gets bombarded for skate backwards compatibility

They need to let the talented people under their umbrella create shit and get out of their way. Their involvement in a franchise grows the more successful it becomes and they steadily get worse as a symptom. They rip a franchises' soul out and harvest it's organs for a quick buck. EA leaves franchises in a tub full of ice.

[Kaneki-Ken]

What you talking about Skate 3 was a great game but yeah Dead Space 3 and Last two medal of Honor were horrible. Also Let's talk about Ubisoft and Assassin Creed Franchise about how it slowly dying right after Ezio Arc, how the Story haven't gone anywhere after Desmond die. Or What about Activision that Kill all their Ip which Tony Hawk Pro Skater(Lost Tony Hawk License), Spider-Man games, Guitar Hero

[opinionated]

I disagree. Skate 3 was worse than skate 2. It wasn't terrible but it was a rush job, it was the same shit. My point was that if you keep putting out the same game every few years then sales will decline. Skate 3 didn't flop because people lost interest in the franchise, it flopped because it was milked and didn't improve any. I didn't mention other pubs because the article is about EA.

[latinlegend81]

The first is a classic. I remember I loved playing it in the middle of the night with all the lights off. Great times.

[NotanotherReboot]

We need a Resi7 type game for the Dead Space franchise, to bring it back to its survival horror roots

[RedPill86]

Because Dead Space 3 was bad? Dead Space 2 was a bit of a downgrade in terms of atmosphere (talking protagonist didn't help either) but the multiplayer to my surprise was actually half decent. It was horror all the way through those matches. It didn't feel like the standard run around and shoot, it was more fun just playing for the tension.

Either way, DS3 was bad. This is why we didn't get a 4th. They removed everything that was good, added things that made the good things bad. Simple plan for failure. The blinding white setting should have been a dead giveaway. It was going in the wrong direction. Moving in space was the only good idea, and it was never fully capitalized on.

[gantarat]

Dead Space 3 it's not bad game by any means people disappoint that lack of charm that 1&2 have.

[RedPill86]

No. It was a bad game. It did nothing it's genre asks of it, mechanically it was the most buggy, the plot was uninteresting. Bad game. The difference is that I have standards, your thoughts are irrelevant to anyone with a brain.

[PlayableGamez-]

EA got greedy with DS3 and ruined the franchise.

[meganick]

Because, like Capcom and other publishers, EA arbitrarily decided that the survival horror market wasn't big enough despite big sales numbers for said genre.

[Fist4achin]

3 stunk. I also remember that the weapons crafting system was utter garbage. When something is not broken, you don't need to fix it...

[StormLegend]

DS1 was so scary that I almost cried in some parts.

[Stogz]

They say that Dead Space needs an audience of 5 million sold to be worth it. Why does this series need that many sales to continue? They blew up the budget trying to make it this big action game when it needed to slow down and go back to how it started. Way to go EA, ditch another great series so we can get more of the same garbage every year...

[Malice-Flare]

two letters: EA...

[MetroidFREAK21]

I have Dead Space via backwards compatibility, I should start that sometime. And maybe when/if 2 and 3 get announced for that service, I'll try them as well.

[TheColbertinator]

Dead Space had such a good premise. So did Lost Planet and Assassins Creed. Funny how the publishers then decided to fix what was not broken.

[LgbtWarrior]

First was the best, but they need to do a total reboot or a whole new story and just forget that part III ever happened. Dead space three isn't a bad game it's just bland and not horror at all. And they messed up the weapon crafting system. it was completely fine in the first two.

[Zarock]

I think Dead Space 3 was a good game overall. People who didn't enjoy It probably rushed through It like a run and gun shooter which Is wrong. You have to explore, read the notes and listen to the tapes If you want to fully enjoy It.

[Petebloodyonion]

Well, I believe Dead Space 3 suck because we were told it Suck by media who gave it the crappy review.
But honestly go play the game again and it hits all the notes of the previous Deadspace.

1) you do have less ammo compare to Deadspace 2 and are often caught in small room ambush like Deadspace 1

2) You will die a lot! from cold, from the enemy buried in snow, the traps, etc.

3) the game works flawlessly without bugs, crash, big loading, tearing, etc.

4) Exploring space is freaking awesome!
(you will know when you'll get there)

Conclusion:
I don't see a difference between the pace and style of Deadspace 2 and 3 but I guess the Media went the resident 5-6 way where they gave the second game incredible marks and ppl complain about a change of style so they gave the latest game crappy score to make amends.

[_-EDMIX-_]

For Dead Space 4 to work, EA needs to be more conservative on what they think it will sell as suppose to budgeting for some blockbuster.

Look at REVII, sure its not as grand or as expensive or as blockbuster as RE4-6, but it also didn't cost the damn company to go bankrupt either lol

They need to be more conservative on their releases. Square has done it with Tomb Raider ,Sega has BEEN doing it with so many of their titles that they are in zero trouble when it comes to budgeting, EA needs to follow suit with something like Dead Space.

Don't make it to beat COD or Gears Of War, simply budget it to be like Dead Space 1 and 2, I see no reason to spend all this money, on a genre that isn't even known to produce such sales.

I don't want to see Dead Space doing um "RE5" type crap again.

I didn't even waste time with RE6, JUST like I didn't waste time with Dead Space 3.

If they make Dead Space 4 FOR the fans of 1 and 2 and budget accordingly, I feel they can find a middle ground.

All I want is limited ammo, limited health, puzzles, hard enemies that you can cut in half, stasis annnnnnd thats it.

Not asking for RE5-6, not asking for Dead Space 3 or Gears of War in space or anything like that.

If SEGA can make Sonic in 2D with sprites and stop all this stupid crap chasing Mario, if Capcom can refocus RE to not being this costly COD wannabe, I think EA can make Dead Space 4 happen. ie the real Dead Space 3 lol

[gantarat]

Problem Is how ? Issac at this point he is necromorph killing machine don't mention DLC end with earth get attack by moon.

unless their reboot or change character.

[_-EDMIX-_]

That can do that and still be fine.

How is really irrelevant. New character, isolated ship annnnnnnd NECROMORPH!!!

[ifrit_caress]

Dead Space 3 was a cash grab, not a game. People saw it and gave EA the backlash they deserved.

[ninsigma]

Give me dead space VR on psvr with the atmosphere of the first and I'll be happy. I fact it doesn't have to be vr, just give me a decent dead space game!

[DARK WITNESS]

Dead Space 1, till this day was still my favourite "new" IP of the last Gen, even over games like Uncharted, Gears of War.

It was my idea of a perfect game or close to perfect as I could imagine.

Dead Space 2, it was a great game compared to other games, but it was not as good as part 1.

part 3....... lets just leave that alone. It is nothing more then a great example of how a publisher can take a great franchise and run it into the ground with bad ideas.

such a shame.

either go back to the roots of Dead Space 1 or just leave it be.... let it stay a classic forever in my mind.

[Featuring_Dante]

i'm glad its gone. It was more depressing and lifeless than scary, another highlight of awful western gaming design.

[Tzuno]

Because they shifted focus to other directions.

[Bobafret]

I enjoyed 3, I loved the part where you can go to several different derelict ships.

[discobastard]

1 was great
2 was average and turned it off halfway through.

Does anyone else remember the reusing of the levels to pad things out in 2

Such a shame. Great IP with more depth than many and the horror/scfi tilt was excellent. The armour and weapons and upgrade system had so much weight to it. Clunking around in all that gear was a lot of fun in the first game.

I'd welcome a reboot with the right team...

[Phantom68]

I loved DS 1 and 2

[Phantom68]

Imagine DS4 VR

[Rhezin]

"strategic dismemberment" God I miss the gameplay mechanics in those games