Both the PlayStation 3-exclusive Demon’s Souls and the improved spiritual successor, Dark Souls, weren’t exactly targeted at the mainstream. The series’ unrelenting difficulty has helped From Software carve out its own niche, but with the upcoming Dark Souls 2, the marketing team will be treating the game as a massive, AAA release.
Namco Bandai PR director Lee Kirton recently spoke to OXM about one of the biggest RPGS on the 2013 roster, discussing the modest marketing budget for the first two games and the changes being made on this third try. The community has accepted the brutal formula this franchise has whipped up, and because of that, there will be a great deal more money thrown at the new game.
"The good thing this time round is we're investing more in it from a marketing perspective," Kirton said at a preview event in London. "With Dark Souls and [PS3-exclusive spiritual predecessor] Demon’s Souls it was very focused, small-scale. We're treating this as a massive, massive AAA title."
Plenty will be different in Dark Souls 2, including a greater focus on including the more casual crowd. The goal is to bring back all the old fans, but by doing its best to shove the game into the public’s eye, Namco also hopes that new players will see what they’ve been missing.
"We're going to go balls-deep and guns-blazing with it, and hope to God that it works," he said. "We're going after people who love and adore Dark Souls, while hopefully widening the net a little. I'm not saying that every Skyrim player's going to be jumping on Dark Souls, but it would be nice if some of them did. It's a different game, sure."
If you're not convinced that this PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC title is the real deal, take a look at the latest trailer.