Atlus Brings Demon's Souls To US

Keane Ng

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Sep 11, 2008
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Atlus Brings Demon's Souls To US



Previously import-only and notoriously hardcore action-RPG Demon's Souls is making its way Stateside thanks to Atlus, which recently picked up the publishing rights for the PS3-exclusive title.

Demon's Souls, an action-RPG developed by Armored Core makers From Software, has gained a strong following among US import gamers, no doubt thanks to the fact that the Asian territories version of the game features a full English translation.

That's one barrier to entry down, but importing is expensive! Well, now all the gamers too cheap hesitant to pay the extra cost of importing the game will be getting their chance to brave the waters of Demon's Souls this fall, thanks to publisher Atlus.

So what is Demon's Souls? I've had it described to me as a mix of Oblivion and Monster Hunter: Western RPG-style trappings like an open-ended dark fantasy world combined with a Japanese action-game feel to the combat. There's a non-linear world, complex character creation and class customization system, tons of gear and equipment, and massive dungeons to explore.

The big sell, however, and it might not sound like one, is that this game is hard. Atlus calls Demon's Souls the "ultimate hardcore action-RPG challenge" and a world in which "death is inevitable, but not final." That's supposed to be a good thing, mind you. As Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/demons-souls-review?page=3] put it in its review, Demon's Souls "slaps you in the face with your own incompetence and dares you to overcome it."

Yeesh. Sounds like a bad relationship. You're not alone in Demon's Souls, though. There's a two-player co-op mode, PvP, and, interestingly, the ability to leave hints and clues behind that players in other games will find and perhaps use to avoid suffering the same fate you did. And by that I mean dying.

Demon's Souls will be released this fall, and is exclusive to the PS3.

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Break

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Sep 10, 2007
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Sounds like just my sort of thing. Being liked among importers speaks well of it, too... Hopefully a European release will follow suit, if it turns out to be good.
 

Rodger

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Jan 27, 2009
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I figured someone would bring this stateside eventually...but Atlus? I mean, visually speaking, hardly seems like their kind of game. Then again, I'm probably just saying that because I've been playing so many DS games brought over by them lately...and PS2 games...

Of course, an insanely difficult action rpg certainly IS Atlus style. I've been curious about this game, honestly, though not so much that I actually looked into it past a few videos/screenshots. This is the first I'm hearing of the hint system and the difficulty. The idea of leaving hints (written in blood, no less) for other players certainly piques my interest, but I half expect to see "The cake is a lie...is a lie...is a lie..." written fairly often...
 

scotth266

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Jan 10, 2009
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Interesting stuff, I suppose. It could be good to see some hard RPG's again...
 

Brotherofwill

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Jan 25, 2009
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Sounds awesome, I might have to import it to Europe (we all know the situation...).

God bless Blu-Ray games for not having a region code.
 

Therumancer

Citation Needed
Nov 28, 2007
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Hmmm, now I have to go looking for a release date, and the cost of an import if it has an english translation already on the disc.
 

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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Hmmm, well I guess I will be waiting for an official release. Despite being disabled I wouldn't mind spending $20 extra for a game that I can get a lot of play time out of (and this would be one of them) however every importer I've checked (I only know a couple since I don't import too often, or even keep track of it) seems to be sold out, won't restock for weeks, and even then isn't likely to have copies due to backorder. Unless Atlus drags it's feet I figure by the time I could import there will be an official American release.

My concern though is that since the're saying "Q4" that there will be some localization involving the editing of the game for content.

Well, we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky. :)
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Well, Oblivion is good, Monster Hunter is good, so the only result is that Demons Soul will be good. Right?
 

unangbangkay

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Rodger said:
I figured someone would bring this stateside eventually...but Atlus? I mean, visually speaking, hardly seems like their kind of game. Then again, I'm probably just saying that because I've been playing so many DS games brought over by them lately...and PS2 games...
Atlus is a publisher as well as a develop, so it obviously does not develop everything that has its label. From Software developed Demon's Souls, but for whatever reason didn't have the balls to put it out in the US, settling instead for tripe like Ninja Blade.

I do agree that Demon's Souls, aesthetically speaking, would seem rather unexpected from Atlus, but super-hard dungeon crawlers are definitely in keeping with their style.

The game is already entirely in English, but the translation has its ups and downs. Should Atlus decide to "re-localize" the title, I imagine it would be up to their usual super-high standard.

As for the hint system, in its current incarnation it uses pre-written messages. This enables current import players to leave hints for Japanese players and vice-versa.

For the release date, Atlus has opened preorders on Amazon, and it seems that site has a listing of October 27, 2009.
 

Caimekaze

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Feb 2, 2008
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Oh, darn it. I saw the words Atlus and Demon and so I automatically assumed that it was a new Shin Megami Tensei game. Oh well, that was a little too hopeful for me, I guess.

If it comes down here, I think I'll check it out.
 

KingKamor

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Jul 8, 2008
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This sounds like the game I've been waiting for since... well, a long time ago, really. I just hope that Atlus does another great job of localization for this, as well.

Now all I have to do is become employed and shell out $400 for a PS3.
 

Monocle Man

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Apr 14, 2009
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Brotherofwill said:
Sounds awesome, I might have to import it to Europe (we all know the situation...).

God bless Blu-Ray games for not having a region code.
They don't!?
Now if those American sites would only accept Maestro cards...

The game looks really interesting, so I'm hoping there's a European release coming out some time soon.
 

Mstrswrd

Always playing Touhou. Always.
Mar 2, 2008
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I didn't know this wasn't coming to the US in the first place, to be honest.
 

Monocle Man

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harhol said:
Monocle Man said:
Now if those American sites would only accept Maestro cards...
Umm... they do. At least the ones I've used: amazon.com, ebay.com and yesasia.com (via Paypal).
You just changed reality, didn't you? I swear that option wasn't there last time I looked on Amazon.
Thank you for that.