Reports are surfacing that EA may be looking to recoup some of their losses on Wii rail-shooter Dead Space: Extraction by releasing it on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade as a possible pre-order incentive for Dead Space 2. The information came in the form of a survey from EA, which also hinted at the possibility of another downloadable game in the Dead Space universe called Planet Cracker, a "resource strategy game where players will manage a CEC Mining operation."

According to the survey, Planet Cracker may unlock in-game content, ala Pub Games, and tie in more directly to the upcoming sequel. While I'm all for cool pre-order gifts, I never touched Pub Games when I got it, and would likely not play a game where I had to micro-manage a mining operation, no matter what the in-game items were that it unlocked. Now, Dead Space: Extraction, which was a fun game with a great story, I would totally play through again. Even if it costs money, I'd likely download it for the HD, achievements, and simple co-op. I'm not really a huge fan of rail-shooters with a controller, but this would likely not come out until later in the year when Natal and the Arc were available, giving DS:E the possible distinction of being one of the first downloadable games for the 360/PS3 to use motion controls.

This is all hypothetical right now, so there's no reason to get my hopes up, but I'm all for more people getting an opportunity to play Extraction. Hopefully something good comes out of this survey, and gamers are given something to tide them over until Dead Space 2 comes out in 2011.