EA Changed Dead Space 3 Because 1 And 2 Were Too Scary

Running around in bright icy meadows with a co-op buddy is far less scary than abandoned, monster filled spaceships. The decision to change the direction of the third Dead Space game was based on market research that found the first two too scary.

Speaking to trade site MCV, EA’s marketing head Laura Miele that that although they were “really proud” of the first two Dead Space games, they “received feedback to understand how we can take the game out to even more consumers.”

“We were hearing feedback that they love the thriller game, but it was pretty scary, and the obvious next step was that they wanted to play with someone. So we introduced co-op into the game.”

It sounds like the scary stuff will still be there, but the introduction of a co-op partner should make things much less scary. The horror of Dead Space is still all there,” she said. “It’s still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own.”

“Personally, I would rather go to [a] scary movie with my husband rather than sit at home with the lights out watching one on my own. We’re looking for that to reach out to consumers that perhaps were not open to Dead Space 1 and 2.”

Brilliant.

49 Comments

  1. They already made it less scary and a completely different game, it’s called Dead Space 2.

  2. Of course she’s scared. She’s a girl!

    :-P

  3. It looks like Dead Space will be ruined to some extent now, which is a shame although I don’t think any game in the series will be able to beat the original.

  4. “how we can take the game out to even more consumers” – EXACTLY!

    Not; “keep the same quality gameplay and atmosphere that made it so popular in the first place”.
    Rather; “f*ck the fans right? Who wants to cater for the fans when we can milk this bad boy by injecting testosterone into it, reaching out to Joe Bloggs and letting him just blast his way through the game. It’s all about the money”

    There’s a reason FEAR 3 didn’t have the same quality impact 1 & 2 did, you don’t buy a horror game to act like some fairy needing their hand held throughout! Won’t be getting this.

    • I pretty much going to write the same thing as you, EA will ALWAYS go for money over anything else. They see an opportunity to make maybe a couple of hundred extra thousand then they take it. Yes this is a good business strategy, ofourse it is, but I think they should have a little more interest in the fans. Ea make enough games to cater for those that found Dead Space ‘too scary’ (which I thinks a load of rubbish…) but guess what, thats the whole point of the game to be honest., or atleast one of the main themes. I totally agree with you FRUITOFFREEDOM – EA are f*ckin the fans, and that i’m afraid is a business model that wont get them very far. Dead Space 3 won’t sell half as much.

  5. in my opinion, CO-OP takes a lot form the horror experience in video games, when you feel you have somebody helping you out you don’t panic anymore, I wish they could implement a co-op system that when the second player dies you get separated from each other for good, this way it adds another element of being afraid of loosing you partner.
    I’m playing it on my own the first walk through.

    • How about when playing in co-op with a friend online. In parts of the game where you get separated, you lose communication over the headset until you reistablish comms etc. Would be quite a neat idea, and one I would have though the devs would include. Would also give a fear of isolation until you meet up further down the line.

      • yeah, also a brilliant idea, they can make or break the game depending on how they do CO-OP

  6. but come on!!! DS2 wasn’t near half as scary as DS1 was! and they thought it was too scary? how can a horror game become too scary?!

    hopefully they have kept the scary SP from DS1 and then added something less scary in the CO-OP for those who can’t handle a scary game…
    but ofcourse i understand that they wanna sell more games and reach out to a wider audience but keep the horror from the first game please! that is what made the first game my absolute favourite!

  7. so they’re changing the only thing that made dead space original and worth playing?

    b*stards.

  8. Day one for me – have absolutely loved both previous games. Co-op and the frozen environments just bring something new to the franchise.
    Regardless of how scary it will or won’t be, the controls/graphics/environments/story/speech/guns/in-game HUD/set-pieces have all been of high quality so I’m sure I’ll thoroughly enjoy it. I’d say it’s on par with Uncharted as my favourite franchise this gen.
    And surely people who want it to be more scary can play it solo.

    • Dislikes =P
      I am the opposite of that Youles also all these things you just said….. Try Lost Planet 2. It’s exactly what you have said =P

      • Funny you should say that actually – “Looks a bit like LP2” was the exact feeling i got from seeing a bit of gameplay.

      • You surely can’t deny everything about DS2 is quality, regardless of whether you found it scary or liked the locations. Of what was done with the game, none of it was done badly – technically speaking (sound, lighting, graphics…..). My point being – even if DS3 isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it will be a quality game, even if it’s now a decent action game instead of a decent survival horror game.
        I found LP2 boring and buggy as hell sadly.

      • Yeah, you could see there was still a lot of love with DS2, but it was definitely less scary/creepy & they relied on cheap jump tactics like having necromorphs spawn directly behind you, which just wasn’t clever.

        Problem is that they seem to have added to those issues in the third one by toning down the scares yet again & making it more ‘accessible’.

        I don’t think anyone who was a fan of the first two games requested that the third installment was made ‘more accessible’ & they have done it purely from a profit point of view, which is disheartening.

        To sum up: I loved DS1 to death. I played DS2 but didn’t finish it. I doubt i’ll play DS3 at all.

      • I’m not sure they have toned DS3 down anymore from DS2, she says “It’s still true to its roots and no less scary”. So even if it’s only as scary as DS2, I’ll still enjoy it, and I assume we don’t have to play it co-op.
        Also, I have to admit I don’t recall any enemies spawning from behind me in my 3 playthroughs, only coming out of vents and such.
        Btw – not trying to sound like a Dead Space fanboy here ;)

      • Lol! No worries – I was actually a fanboy until i played the second one & just didn’t get the same feeling from it.

        Enemies definitely spawned behind you though – I recall before i moved onto something else that my playstyle was something along the lines of 360 degree movement whilst slowly trying to push forward, as i got tired of pulling the necromorph spikes out of my back! :D

      • I love LP2 – but I won’t by Dead Space 3 simply because I believe EA are dismantling a great idea in order to make an extra buck.

      • Well, I guess I won’t need to preorder DS3 going by everyone’s views, and I may even struggle for a co-op partner! ;)
        It’s a shame it’s compared so much to DS1, I think DS2 is a great game in it’s own right – and perhaps people might change their mind if they stuck with it, and tried Hardcore – that is tense!

      • i will pre-order it Mr. Y so maybe we can become partners! =D

      • Sound good MJB! ;)

    • yeahh totally agree with the games being my favourite this gen, but i want the horror from the 1st game back! hopefully they have planted that in into the SP!
      but then they must make different story to SP and another for coop and i don’t think they have done that, so i think that SP and coop is going to be equally “scary”!

      hopefully DS3 will surprise!

  9. Dear god. Typical EA, money grabbing profiteers who don’t give a flying feck about the fans or making ‘great’ games, only profitable ones.
    Gutted as like everyone else I loved the first game, thought the second one was worse but still scary. DS3 now sounds awful. I won’t be bothering with it. I’ll protest via my wallet!

  10. Less scary = no 18 certificate = wider audience! Boom, headshot!

    • Fun for all the family!

    • Dead space 4 kinect dance edition ©wolf-of-chaos 2012

Comments are now closed for this post.