Dead Space: Extraction Sees Slow Early Start

Electronic Arts has publicly referred to Visceral Games' on-rails Wii shooter Dead Space: Extraction as a "test" -- and NPD sales data for the game's first week suggests it may get low marks. NPD confirmed to Gamasutra that Extraction sold only 9,200 units in the United States in September, representing five full days at retail. The figure was first published by GameSpot. The publisher has said it will partially interpret the game's reception, a followup to the original survival horror game Dead Space on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, as a reflection of whether gamers who own both a Wii and another game platform are willing to play more "mature" content on the Wii. In August, Electronic Arts' European VP Dr. Jens Uwe Intat told GamesIndustry.biz that "Dead Space: Extraction is going to be a very nice test of that hypothesis." "We'll actually see whether we can reach more people with a) a great game and b) interesting content," he said, adding, "If that's not going to work, then obviously the whole proposal from our point of view at least of more mature games on the Wii just does not work." Sega too has waded into the waters of hardcore-targeted Wii games, publishing High Voltage's shooter The Conduit and Platinum Games' brawler MadWorld this year. Neither title approached 100,000 units sold in the U.S. upon release, although Sega indicated it was satisfied with early sales.