VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
I wonder how many more Souls games we will get after this one.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Namco's Dark Souls 2 marketing: "We're treating this as a massive, massive AAA title"
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
darkistheway
Member
This. times a million. What a waste of money. Oh well, it won't hurt From.
Wow, I thought all three of those were at least a bit higher. Makes it even more understandable that Namco would want to market Dark Souls II heavily, especially considering how its budget is probably pretty reasonable compared to other projects they've thrown money at in recent years.
Well, the actual GAME budget isn't going to be much higher, is it? This actually seems almost like an experiment: can you REALLY exponentially increase a game's sales with expensive marketing, or is it an extreme case of diminishing returns? If it ends up the latter it could be a wakeup call to anyone actually observing the game on how to market their own.
Deified Data
Banned
This thread is 1/4 necessary catharsis, 1/4 constructive discussion, and 1/2 batshit hysteria.
Krusenstern
Banned
They can take a break from Souls after Dark Souls 2. Shouldn't burn them out in this game, or the game itself.
Phonomezer
Banned
Yes, it should have; I thought what we saw was encouraging.
What I'm concerned about it who they intend on marketing to.. I mean, they could attract another million customers to purchase their game, but what happens when they aren't playing the game they were advertised?
Unless the marketing is a series of two minute shorts equipping armour, dying and not knowing what to do, there are going to be a lot of disappointed and annoyed customers out there and that isn't a good thing for the franchise.
I'm imagining this but more Dark Souls like:
I'm thinking more along the lines of these actually
Anyway. I have no worries - I love Dark Souls, and the footage we saw last month seems to follow the template it set pretty damn closely. Looked awesome, and brutal.
cj_iwakura
Member
From Software do their thing, Namco does theirs. From specialize in getting a lot done on a small budget. They'll be fine.
As far as actual sales go, I can see Dark Souls II breaking 2M worldwide in the first month. With a PC version, word of mouth, the general positive reception of the first, and some extra marketing muscle, it shouldn't be hard to beat Dark Souls' 1.5M.
Or just lengthen the dev cycle. Personally, I was a little disappointed when From announced DkSII as Q4-2013/Q1-2014, since I wanted them to take their time.
I imagine From Software are more than happy with their game budget, just let them work. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and From Software is very much a medium-sized operation whose output doesn't necessarily doesn't scale perfectly with resources available.
Or just lengthen the dev cycle. Personally, I was a little disappointed when From announced DkSII as Q4-2013/Q1-2014, since I wanted them to take their time.
I imagine From Software are more than happy with their game budget, just let them work. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and From Software is very much a medium-sized operation whose output doesn't necessarily doesn't scale perfectly with resources available.
Dark Souls had those kind of customers too, if even 1 out of 10 new customers who never played Dark Souls manages to get into it for what it is, it's a win for them. Pretty sure the Souls name is famous enough that the average joe knows its supposed to take more effort than mainstream games.
I think comparing Elite Beat Agents to what is basically Namco's biggest franchise right now, as shown by Nirolak's numbers, is a bit ridiculous.
Even if it underperforms compared to expectations it is still by far the biggest thing they have going right now. I can't see Namco even thinking of something like getting rid of it when their own franchises like Tales and Tekken are in much worse shape.
gravitybear
Member
I like skyrim and I like dark souls but by god they should NOT be linked together by developers. I like them both because they are entirely different games. Do NOT CASUAL UP DARK SOULS YOU MOTHERFUCKERS
Yes, it's not like a programmer is going to be doing ads instead of working on the game.
This whole thread really has nothing to do with FROM or how they are working on the game. As I said earlier, I find it crazy people are still so skeptical, but to get skeptical again from them talking about how they plan to ADVERTISE the game, and that they want to ADVERTISE is to a lot of people, with 0 implications n story blows my mind.
I often cringe at the comparisons too, but I think there's a certain amount of common ground. Both involve customizing your character, traveling to an engrossing fantasy world, getting to the bottom of an ancient mystery, and killing some spooky monsters while upgrading your skills and collecting new gear. The particulars are almost completely different, of course, but you'd be surprised by how many people outside "the hardcore" buy games because they hit the right basic notes like that like that.
That is going to happen, isn't it?
Triple (or so) the marketing for the same sales. Went balls deep, but no one came.
edit:
I'd like to see something like this in the theater ads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-62fhmWDkx8
It's also worth noting that they're a rather large company who can afford something like this -- but their game business is small. So they're likely interested in taking an IP that seems to generate a lot of interest and growing it.
This made me laugh...
sublimit
Banned
Hmm...it would be an interesting (and risky) experiment if they keep the gameplay from the Souls games intact and at the same time use a big marketing campaign to promote it.If the game succeeds then it will break the myth that only cinematic experience,dumbed down games can become hugely successful in today's mainstream market.
The reality however says that publishers don't like to risk with their big budget investments and therefore some dumbing down will occur in order for the game to reach a broader market and get their money back.
All i can say is that i'm very cautious at this point.
The reality however says that publishers don't like to risk with their big budget investments and therefore some dumbing down will occur in order for the game to reach a broader market and get their money back.
All i can say is that i'm very cautious at this point.
Marketing's never been an exact science, but generally what is popular is rarely what is good, and what is good is often very unpopular. Rarely do the two ever meet. Dark Souls will probably never see the same success as Skyrim unless they make it just as braindead as Skyrim.
Even if that sounds mean, it's kind of the fact of the matter in all forms of entertainment. The only way to get the biggest audience is to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I don't think they would succeed at making a game like Skyrim, so they are better off aiming for more modest goals, and I think they know that. Hence why Dark Souls 2 appears to be mostly unchanged in core mechanics.
BurnOutBrighter
Banned
Aside from the "omg it is going casual" posts(which we know it won't be after seeing the previews), the concerns are pretty much legit.
Or what EA/Capcom/SE etc were doing to their games was not obvious enough? I just hope that Namco doesn't screw it up with overspending on all that marketing, but it sounds like there is a chance and not a small one at that.
Yeah, certain builds as well, make the game quite easy. Summoning is really the perfect way to help out someone of just about any skill level though.
A friend outright told me he wouldn't help me at all in my first run of DeS, only after my first, solo playthrough. We just finished a co-op 2nd run and now I can understand why he told me that.
It's called pyro and int spells. All those super skilled speedrunners just mash their pyro, no wonder they beat the game in an hour.
No, actually. The current world record relies mostly on the Red Tearstone Ring and Black Knight Halberd and doesn't use magic, pyromancy, or miracles at all. There's also a very similar run that does it with the Blacksmith Giant Hammer. (Worse weapon, but not reliant on the RNG to get the item drop.)
http://youtu.be/XJirKhvIn44
Some of the early WRs that used a glitch to skip from placing the Lordvessel directly to the Kiln did use Pyromancy, but it's hardly a necessity. That glitch was patched out in 1.06, but I think this run would still be faster than those old world records if that glitch was available.
High five.
Yeah, I played my first run of Dark Souls completely blind and I would never have had it any other way. To a certain degree, after replaying it so much, I kinda wish I could have that first playthrough back, just because it was so visceral. Once the mystery dies a little, it's hard to get with the game. I think that's why I would actively discourage people from using FAQs, not just for this game, but for all games.
Looking forward to drinking some Dark Souls estus fuel.
Ok, the Gies quote got me.
Deadpandas
Member
What about Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Gundam and all their other anime stuff?
You do know that marketing directly affects gameplay when dealing with a publisher right?
We better get used to it, because we'll be hearing these comments until the game is released.
At least the massive crow buffet that'll ensue will be hilarious to watch.
Depends on how the game is being published. They're pretty closely linked when the developer is wholly owned by the publisher, yeah, since that means the publisher is providing the majority of the game's development budget. That's no the case with Dark Souls II, and From Software have said that Namco-Bandai is giving them plenty of space and not interfering with development.
darkistheway
Member
How about they start the marketing bombardment by giving us a release date? October 2013 has that AAA-ring to it.
I'm pretty sure we all want to eat crow on this. I hope this is the best game ever, but once you start throwing in buzzwords like Skyrim audience I think there's at least reason to be worried a little.
I've watched several, some live, and only one of them was using a weapon. Good on the ones who are using weapons, not so much on the int/pyro guys.
Unfortunate. I know something will be lost in the transition. I hope if the game does worse than the past two they don't take that as a "Don't make more of these", and more of a "Don't screw with a working formula". Guess we will see.
If the game is better than the last, then it's a win-win for me. Here's to hoping.
If the game is better than the last, then it's a win-win for me. Here's to hoping.
The most performed any% runs are currently Black Knight Halberd, Blacksmith Giant Hammer, and Gravelord Sword, none of which use pyromancy or sorcery. People still do Sorcery and Pyromancy, speedruns but they're not overly popular or very close to the actual WR.
The ideal scenario is better sales, better critical reception, and Namco-Bandai saying "If you make these, we will publish them. Do whatever the hell you want."
TheCongressman1
Member
This is why I wish Dark Souls was less predictable. It's so easy to learn every nook in the game after a few playthoughs. All the enemies stay in the same exact spot. The replay value is not great at all. All it's really good for is trying different character builds, and I'm not interested in that.
Speedruns and challenges, bro. SL1, fist weapons, whips, and blistering speed await you! The combination of predictability and freedom make Dark Souls a surprisingly great for that sort of thing.
Honestly, I think only a minority of the doom and gloom types are big Dark Souls fans, since they generally tend more toward cautious optimism. The fear is very real, don't get me wrong, but not that many people with a sincere interest in the series are making the remarks about the sequel having guns and regenerating health.
huh? NG+(+++++) and PvP adds tons of replay value. You crazy.
ambientmystic
Member
In all seriousness, I'd love something like the Bartholomew trailer, maybe with an original song by the same band.
Dude. Dude. DUDE!
Don't even joke about that stuff, you might give them ideas.
I didn't say anything that hasn't already been brought up in this thread. We've seen gameplay, and we have every indication of it being the same Souls we know and love. Folks are just being unreasonably cynical.
Similar threads
- Poll