Hasta La Gadget!

The Dead Space series has been one of the most popular sets of video games recently. However, the series probably has seen its end. It’s said that Electronic Arts has canceled development of Dead Space 4 due to poor sales of Dead Space 3. Furthermore, even Dead Space 3 was reported to be almost canceled in the middle of development. Update: Turns out this isn’t the case. More info after the jump.

According to VideoGamer, a “source familiar with the unannounced project” says that Dead Space 4 had been in pre-production at Visceral Games, but once Electronic Arts brought in the sales figures for Dead Space 3, the fourth installment in the series ended up being canceled before it could really gain any traction in the development process.

It’s reported that EA executives visited the Visceral Montreal studio last month to inform the staff that the Dead Space 4 project would be canceled, and it’s also rumored that EA shut down that studio shortly afterward. EA has not commented on the situation, nor will it. However, they could make a public announcement at some point.

Sales figures for Dead Space 3 have yet to be announced, but the game’s first-week sales in the UK were down 26.6% compared to Dead Space 2. EA said that Dead Space 3 would need to sell around five million copies in order for the series to continue on, but it seems like Dead Space 3 didn’t meet that goal.

Update: As is the nature of rumors, some of them turn out to be incorrect. Such is the case with this one, with the Dead Space franchise’s PR Manager Jino Talens telling us that the rumors are “patently false.”

[via VideoGamer]

Dead Space 4 reportedly canceled due to poor Dead Space 3 sales [UPDATE] is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NVIDIA never skimps on offering constant driver updates to its various graphics cards, and today the company released beta drivers that are optimized for the many games coming out this month, including SimCity, StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, Resident Evil 6, and Hawken PhysX just to name a few.

Version 314.14 brings optimization for upcoming games, as well as current games that could use a boost. Specifically, the new beta drivers deliver up to a 23% boost in Sniper Elite V2 and a 9% boost in Sleeping Dogs. In SLI mode, other games also get an increase in performance, including a 9% boost in StarCraft II and a 5% boost in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Today’s update comes just a couple weeks after NVIDIA unleashed version 314.07 of its GeForce drivers, which increases performance for a handful of intensive games, such as Crysis 3, Assassin’s Creed III, Civilization V, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Crysis 3 ended up with a 65% boost in performance, which is quite the improvement.

Other games that NVIDIA focused on for these beta drivers are Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Just Cause 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Batman: Arkham City, all of which received 4% to 5% performance boosts. If you already have the GeForce Experience installed, the drivers are available for automatic downloading and installing right now.

NVIDIA GeForce 314.14 beta drivers available now is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Pool is simple if you know your geometry. And physics. And have good hand-eye coordination. And while none of those seem that hard on their own, they can be a little tough to put together. But with a little help from tech, it becomes as easy as just keeping your eyes open. More »

Just yesterday Ubisoft officially announced the next installment in the Assassin’s Creed series, but details were quite scarce; we merely got a look at the box art and that was it. However, a screen capture of a landing page on Ubisoft’s website (which has since been taken down), says that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will be launching on October 29 on “next-gen consoles.”

The game has already been confirmed for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U, so we should now see it arrive for the PlayStation 4 and the rumored Xbox 720. Of course, this isn’t too surprising, as the release date for the game will hit around the same time that the next-gen consoles should launch. However, the screen capture suggest that the game will be releasing on October 29 for next-gen consoles, suggesting that the PS4 and Xbox 720 will be out by then.

The landing page where the release date was leaked is now replaced by a countdown for the Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag “world premiere trailer,” which is set to launch in four days and 12 hours from the time of this writing. At that point, we should know more details about the upcoming installment.

The leaked screenshot also means that pre-orders will be available for the game, and those who pre-order the title will receive a collectible Todd McFarlane poster, a cartoonist who used to draw Spider-Man comics for Marvel. Since the release date was pulled and replaced with the trailer, it seems like Ubisoft will announce the release date for the game early next week when the trailer launches. Stay tuned!

[via Gaming Everything]

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag reportedly launching October 29 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Windows Phone devices may not have caught up to the popularity of iOS and Android just yet, but developers aren’t ignoring the platform by any means. Case in point: Gameloft just released its newest racing game, Asphalt 7: Heat, into the Windows Phone Store, where Windows Phone 8 users can play the game on their Microsoft-driven device.

Gameloft says that Asphalt 7: Heat is the first of 12 games that the developer will be bringing over to the Windows Phone platform, and it’s the “first real-time multiplayer experience optimized to take advantage of the Xbox ecosystem and services.” Windows Phone gamers will be able to grab the game for just $0.99.

With the game’s multiplayer, gamers can take on up to five Xbox friends and even attempt to get their names on the Xbox Leaderboards, and make their way through unique Xbox Achievements. Currently, Asphalt 7: Heat is available for the Nokia Lumia 920, 820, 928, 822, HTC 8C, and Samsung Ativ Odisey. In the coming weeks, the game will be made available for the Nokia Lumia 620, 720, 520, HTC 8S and Huawei Ascend W1.

Gameloft also took the time today to detail the games that they will be bringing to Windows Phone in the near future, Asphalt 7: Heat already being one of them. The other 11 consisting of The Amazing Spider-Man, NOVA 3, The Dark Knight Rises, Order & Chaos Online, Kingdoms and Lords, UNO & Friends, Ice Age Village, Real Football 2013, Six Guns, Shark Dash, and Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour.

Asphalt 7: Heat races its way to Windows Phone is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.