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[DrROBschiz]

Another worry is that the overly zealous marketing push could put this game in the same position that Tomb Raider or Kingdoms of Amalur found themselves in.

They would have been way better off not chasing that Skyrim dollar and sticking to what made Dark Souls do so well.

I am sure Dark Souls 2 will be a great game since it seems like it was pretty far in development before the marketing machine stepped into the equation...

I dunno. Its just scarily similar to how other heavily marketed games get driven down over time

 

[Bedlam]

An improved version since I used a dictionary to translate the title of the DLC plan that was written at the top of the website, the previous message I wrote was just off the top of my head.

ダークソウル2の店舗別オリジナル購入特典のプランは良くないと思います。

"I don't think the Dark Souls 2 store exclusive DLC plan is a good idea."

Thanks. Sent a tweet as well. I trust you that it says what you say it says.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Another worry is that the overly zealous marketing push could put this game in the same position that Tomb Raider or Kingdoms of Amalur found themselves in.

They would have been way better off not chasing that Skyrim dollar and sticking to what made Dark Souls do so well.

I am sure Dark Souls 2 will be a great game since it seems like it was pretty far in development before the marketing machine stepped into the equation...

I dunno. Its just scarily similar to how other heavily marketed games get driven down over time

Yep...

I mean, what did we get from that live action trailer or the VGA reveal with jessica alba? This crap?

 

[Reisläufer]

Wow, exclusive pre-order weapons and weapon DLC, Miyazaki would have never allowed this…

Weapons look ugly though, almost as if FROM's trolling Namco ("Let's just use existing ones, put some strange stuff on it, alter some stats and then call it a day"). I won't use them anyway for my builds, since in the end aesthetics are to me as important as stats. Crisis averted I guess.

 

[Parmenide]

"We want the Skyrim audience".

No seriously, that's not DS style.

 

[Parakeetman]

Obviously. I meant I hope this particular bonus doesn't make its way over here.

Since the items exist good possibility it will. Or there will be something even worse perhaps that they have lined up for you guys.

BOHICA gentlemen.

 

[Dave1988]

Hmmm, should I feign outrage like the rest of the posters in this thread?

Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is here unless the weapons will make you a god in PvP. It looks like they basically added shome shit atop already existing weapons and shields in the game and called it a day. The DLC weapons even look that great.

 

[feel]

Just don't make a PC version From, the needy PC master race isn't worth it.

what

 

[DrROBschiz]

Typically I try not to give in to the internet way of thinking pessimistically/cynically but when it comes the the one series that I have been able to fully enjoy again and again...

It just treads on my sweet spots. Ya know since all the games we love and grew up with are quickly getting broken down and separated into marketing machines chasing whales.

Its bad enough to see every JRPG franchise get diluted on mobile recently.

Its too early to say whether DKS2 is being treated completely in this manner. I highly doubt it is for reasons i stated earlier

I just am not sure how we can support the games we love without every single publisher trying to turn into a money printer. That level of greed has destroy more franchises and products than its boosted.

At least thats my perception. I am no analyst

 

[SargerusBR]

Just don't make a PC version From, the needy PC master race isn't worth it.

 

[E92 M3]

Wow, exclusive pre-order weapons and weapon DLC, Miyazaki would have never allowed this…

Weapons look ugly though, almost as if FROM's trolling Namco ("Let's just use existing ones, put some strange stuff on it, alter some stats and then call it a day"). I won't use them anyway for my builds, since in the end aesthetics are to me as important as stats. Crisis averted I guess.

Exactly what I was thinking -- from the beta, though, it seems like Dark Souls still retains its special touch. Namco won't dare fuck up what works.

 

[Dyno]

These weapons sound like variants of low-tier weapons. They're not going to matter much, it's just some weirdness at the bottom of your backpack until you find a monster willing to eat them.

In FROM we trust... Umbasa!

 

[Lost Fragment]

wtf

Oh well. Sounds like the weapons they're selling won't matter too much. Seems like the most ethical way to do this if they absolutely don't have a choice.

It's probably hard for anyone working on a AAA game to avoid trends like this. With a much larger development team and a larger marketing push for the sequel, unfortunately stuff like this seem like a business reality.

Not sure why Dark Souls 2 has to be AAA in the first place. The first one did pretty well without an obscene marketing budget. Dark Souls 2 surely would've done even better with the first game's reputation.

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

I don't play Souls, just popping in to say this practice is disgusting. Fuck.

 

[ebullientprism]

Ugh. Just....ugh.

 

[Cameron122]

Looks like they flipped through a picture book of dick ailments and made them weapons

 

[vgBR.com]

Interview about the game at Brasil Game Show 2013 with Denny Chui, Marketing Manager from Namco Bandai

http://youtu.be/M7HPdjlBtWI

 

[B-Genius]

See!? Already getting FREE weapons. =)

Haha, gave me a chuckle

Thanks. Sent a tweet as well. I trust you that it says what you say it says.

I can confirm it's legit. To which account are you guys Tweeting btw?

These weapons sound like variants of low-tier weapons. They're not going to matter much, it's just some weirdness at the bottom of your backpack until you find a monster willing to eat them.

In FROM we trust... Umbasa!

I kind of agree. While the principle is kind of unexpected of FROM, these aren't going to be some magical game-breaking items, and if anything will provide a small helping-hand early on (to a lesser extent than the Drake sword, I imagine).

There are probably people out there who really like the aesthetic of at least one of those sets, and will put money down day 1 when they might not have otherwise. This just means more potential sales, which is a good thing, no? We want these games to do well. Boycotting stores or not pre-ordering because of such practices will only give the publisher the wrong idea.

Looks like they flipped through a picture book of dick ailments and made them weapons

Doctor, doctor, there's a dark something on my dick.

 

[Soriku]

"We want the Skyrim audience".

No seriously, that's not DS style.

This has nothing to do with the Skyrim audience.

And let's get real, these weapons won't affect the game at all. Seriously some of the reactions..."disgusting", really? Not that I like this either but the reactions aren't proportionate to how useful these weapons will be.

 

[Sullichin]

Hmmm, should I feign outrage like the rest of the posters in this thread?

Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is here unless the weapons will make you a god in PvP. It looks like they basically added shome shit atop already existing weapons and shields in the game and called it a day. The DLC weapons even look that great.

It's not a huge deal. It's disappointing that DSII isn't exempt from this common practice. It's not "Swing around your GameStop Greataxe on Dew Double Souls Saturdays" bad, but it's not a step in the right direction. I don't think a missed preorder bonus has ever hindered my enjoyment of a game but it's nothing to get excited about either.

Interview about the game at Brasil Game Show 2013 with Denny Chui, Marketing Manager from Namco Bandai

Hey I noticed how every one of your posts is an advertisement for your site.

 

[vgBR.com]

Hey I noticed how every one of your posts is an advertisement for your site.

Not quite... I've been participating a little in the Dark Souls II Beta thread.

About the videos, I'm just posting content that we produce and that might interest fellow "GAFers"

I don't even link directly to my website, since its in portuguese. I link directly to the videos, and only english ones (which are mainly the interviews).

 

[GuardianE]

I find it appropriate that these retailer specific weapons look sick and infected.

Weapons look ugly though, almost as if FROM's trolling Namco ("Let's just use existing ones, put some strange stuff on it, alter some stats and then call it a day").

This was my first thought as well.

 

[dragonlife]

Just don't make a PC version From, the needy PC master race isn't worth it.

If ever there were a post that deserved to pop up on the "GAF shit posts" twitter, it's this one.

 

[Pinko Marx]

These are all pretty terrible looking weapons anyway.

 

[Bedlam]

I can confirm it's legit. To which account are you guys Tweeting btw?

https://twitter.com/senden_ogu

Hope that is the correct account.

I kind of agree. While the principle is kind of unexpected of FROM, these aren't going to be some magical game-breaking items, and if anything will provide a small helping-hand early on (to a lesser extent than the Drake sword, I imagine).

But that's usually how the dilution of an IP and its path into irrelevance begins. If that stuff makes them a considerable amount of money, they will put more things like that into the next game (maybe they even push out more nickel&dime dlc for DS2), and people will buy that stuff too because they really like the game. And before you know it, they will sell Soul-packs. You know, for the people who just don't have time to play the game.

 

[Camwi]

How depressing.

 

[Zushin]

https://twitter.com/senden_ogu

Hope that is the correct account.


But that's usually how the dilution of an IP and its path into irrelevance begins. If that stuff makes them a considerable amount of money, they will put more things like that into the next game (maybe they even push out more nickel&dime dlc for DS2), and people will buy that stuff too because they really like the game. And before you know it, they will sell Soul-packs. You know, for the people who just don't have time to play the game.

This is the twitter I've been tweeting at.

https://twitter.com/fromsoftware_pr

EpicNameBro is following it, so I think that's the legit one.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Just watch ENB's latest video addressing this and he has a great theory

He seems to think these weapons represent the new Blacksmith upgrade paths for basic weapons

If true it doesn't seem quite as ridiculous.

I was never really worried about such a small DLC incentive anyways but this makes it seem less out of place.

That said I am still wary of how far they are really planning to take on cliche gaming marketing practices in the future.

As long as they stick to making PURE games and not try to shoehorn in IAP, Free2Play, Season Pass, and any other BS system that bleeds into the game design... Ill be happy

 

[jacksepticeye]

I bet the weapons will be good for a small period in the game and get completely overpowered then by others rendering them useless

 

[LogicStep]

probably useless after an hour

yup, these will be good for starting the game but will be replaced shortly thereafter.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I bet the weapons will be good for a small period in the game and get completely overpowered then by others rendering them useless

I sure hope not

The only truly useless weapon in Dark Souls was the mail breaker ( along with a few others)

Many of easily accessible weapons remained Viable and even preferred when upgraded

Like the Long Sword

If these DLC weapons represent what the NEW upgrade paths are for basic weapons then its actually not a big deal since they can be created ingame as well.

 

[Takamura-San]

Just don't make a PC version From, the needy PC master race isn't worth it.

whut....?

 

[DrROBschiz]

So if the theory is correct...

Does this mean these upgrade paths are in Addition to the old ones?

Will Darkness weapons replace Occult?

The more I look at the descriptions the more it seems like these are blacksmith upgrades

One Drops Weight, One adds Bleed, etc...

Kind of like a mix between Dark/Demons souls

 

[jacksepticeye]

I sure hope not

The only truly useless weapon in Dark Souls was the mail breaker ( along with a few others)

Many of easily accessible weapons remained Viable and even preferred when upgraded

Like the Long Sword

If these DLC weapons represent what the NEW upgrade paths are for basic weapons then its actually not a big deal since they can be created ingame as well.

Longsword full upgraded with enchantments or magic (can't remember the terms) was how I finished the game with my magic build. It was surprisingly powerful

 

[D Bo Chops]

So if I already pre-ordered the collectors edition from Gamestop, would one of these random weapons get thrown in on top of the deal? (if they come to US). Lame... but if I have to have one, ill take the mace and shield with herpes and cancer all over it just to say I killed you with a tumorous mass.

 

[D Bo Chops]

yup, these will be good for starting the game but will be replaced shortly thereafter.

Yep, Drake Sword anyone? Sadly, on my first playthrough I used that damn thing way longer than I should have, being that I didn't know shit about upgrade paths and what not.

 

[D Bo Chops]

Yeah, that's true. Japan's been doing this for years now. And not just with video games, but also art books, DVDs, CDs, etc. I don't think it's a big deal since you can probably find these items in the game world and they probably don't have the best stats. Still, I hate this kind of shit.

Yep. It even TELLS you where to find them in the descriptions lol. Meaning they will be obtainable for everyone. Whatever, I saw this coming in the old interviews where they mentioned they are spending "AAA budgets on advertising and promotion" this time around. it comes with the territory unfortunately.

 

[Serra]

Yep. It even TELLS you where to find them in the descriptions lol. Meaning they will be obtainable for everyone.

The is no guarantee that you can even visit those places in the course of the game. How many items in DeS/DaS had refences to them being from place X that isn't visitable in the game? TONS

 

[DrROBschiz]

Think of it like starting with a Magic weapon in your inventory in Dark Souls

These most definitely seem like upgrade path weapons

 

[D Bo Chops]

The is no guarantee that you can even visit those places in the course of the game. How many items in DeS/DaS had refences to them being from place X that isn't visitable in the game? TONS

True, but I see this case a little differently. They aren't going to divide the community based on which pre-order weapon you took a gamble on and are stuck with if the rest weren't obtainable in game.

Not disagreeing with item descriptions not being actual places in game. But im 95% positive these little gems aren't anything special or hard to find.

 

[B-Genius]

https://twitter.com/senden_ogu

Hope that is the correct account.


But that's usually how the dilution of an IP and its path into irrelevance begins. If that stuff makes them a considerable amount of money, they will put more things like that into the next game (maybe they even push out more nickel&dime dlc for DS2), and people will buy that stuff too because they really like the game. And before you know it, they will sell Soul-packs. You know, for the people who just don't have time to play the game.

This is the twitter I've been tweeting at.

https://twitter.com/fromsoftware_pr

EpicNameBro is following it, so I think that's the legit one.

Those should both be okay. The PR one is purely for official JP announcements, while the Ogu one is a more "personal" PR account.

As for the dilution/irrelevancy thing, I see where you're coming from. All I can say is, try to have a little faith. Remember that this is currently only announced in Japan - these brick and mortar stores (plus Amazon) are all different, and no one is excluded. I don't really know if it'll be an incentive to purchase the game earlier than normal, but for those who were going to buy day 1, it gives them an extra choice. When it boils down to it, it's all about the aesthetic; which you like the look of most.

Consider the MG Rising release and the custom bodies. I was gonna day 1 that bad boy anyway, but getting a military-colours cyborg suit (that gave more sub-weapon ammo) from my local store was a nice bonus. I rocked that cyborg body hard through my first playthrough, but never really touched sub-weapons. It was purely an aesthetic thing. Did it kill my opinion of Platinum? No way. Did they "nickel and dime" us for more custom content? Not at all. I loved the follow-up MGR DLC and I loved the Dark Souls DLC even more.

If we ever, ever see "Soul Packs" or some other shameless act, trust me, there will be words. But I think we can let this one slide.

 

[Toxi]

Holy shit.

This is the worst thing I've heard about Dark Souls 2 so far. Fuck preorder bonuses, fuck individual weapon DLC, just give me the game, From. I have no doubt Dark Souls 2 will be impressive, but the Souls series should be above this inconvenient bullshit.

The worst thing is, even if they're just cosmetic, they still have unique and most likely important lore descriptions. The mace is covered in parasite eggs, the axe's chains and spikes resemble the Oolacile chained prisoners, and the sword is partially crystallized like the enemies in the Duke's Archives. I don't want important lore tucked behind preorder bonuses. The Dark Souls mythology deserves better.

 

[DXLelouch153]

Holy shit.

This is the worst thing I've heard about Dark Souls 2 so far. Fuck preorder bonuses, fuck individual weapon DLC, just give me the game, From. I have no doubt Dark Souls 2 will be impressive, but the Souls series should be above this inconvenient bullshit.

The worst thing is, even if they're just cosmetic, they still have unique and most likely important lore descriptions. The mace is covered in parasite eggs, the axe's chains and spikes resemble the Oolacile chained prisoners, and the sword is partially crystallized like the enemies in the Duke's Archives. I don't want important lore tucked behind preorder bonuses. The Dark Souls mythology deserves better.

thats what the wikis for

 

[Toxi]

thats what the wikis for

Eh...

Looking at the lore, the description of the Pugmy's Mace weirds me out. Those objects look exactly like the parasite eggs from the first game, yet the Furtive Pygmy as far as we know had nothing to do with Lost Izalith. Maybe it's a different Pygmy. Or maybe the Pygmy wandered into Quelaag's Domain recently and is somehow still alive.

Wonder what the horrible mansion thing from the description is. Maybe the Pygmy himself, or a mutated survivor of Izalith?

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

I like the design of the weapons.

Normal weapons being infected and covered by some time of strange material or organism. Like if the weapons were Dark Souls and the the strange infecting material the DLC.

 

[KillerDark]

Ugh, I hate preorder bonuses like that.

 

[2AdEPT]

can anyone else confirm if they have a gamestop in their area that is selling a new "Day one edition" of Dark souls II? Asked about it at one in Washington state, and they said it will likely have undisclosed downloadable content codes. Couple days later back home in Canada my EB games (gamestop affiliate) said a "Day one edition" just popped up on their screen. I actually ordered it on faith, but have no idea if it is going to be the Japanese sword skins etc. or whatnot....but since I was going to cave anyway and not hold out for PC I guess I could use a few skins.