Even before Dead Space is out of the door, the development team behind it are hopeful that they can carve a chunk (this may be literally true, given Dead Space's rep) from the game engine market.

The engine is currently being prepped for duty in the Godfather 2 game and Glen Schofield of EA Redwood Shores is hopeful that it will go on to see heavy use within EA and beyond.

Weirdly, the source article mentions that "Lawyers are currently on the job sorting out the legalities of officially naming the engine" - not sure what this means, but perhaps there are some licensing issues stemming from the engine's origins in the original Godfather game and From Russia With Love (it has been heavily extended since then).

For now though, it is The Engine With No Name - suggestions in the comments, by all means.

Dead Space engine to become major middleware [Game Player]

2K Games is turning to the Havok physics engine to bring realistic motion to their upcoming lineup of Wii titles. The engine will first be applied to the Carnival Games' sequel Carnival Games: Mini-Golf before being applied to several as-of-yet unannounced Wii titles. Why should we care? Havok managing director David O'Meara explains.

"Havok physics engines allow game developers to realistically depict motion and the effects the game character has on their environment. Havok technology communicates with physical elements in the game and loads them with intelligence, allowing them to react to the players' actions in a realistic way. Of course, anyone who has used the Wii will recognise how important accurate movement is for the players' enjoyment of the game. Fans of Carnival Games: Mini- Golf won't be disappointed with the final results!"

He had me until the "Fans of Carnival Games: Mini- Golf" bit.

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