Dark Souls, the hugely successful, brutally difficult title developed by From Software, made huge waves when it was released. Unfortunately, PC gamers were unable to play the game because it was only available on consoles. A fan petition was effective enough in bringing the title to the PC, but the results were far from what gamers expected. In short, the PC version was bad.
This fact was not lost on the makers, with the games director recently admitting that it was a weak effort: “A lot of it was not very well done, sort of half-assed,” said Yui Tanimura in an interview with Shack News. Tanimura candidly admitted that they were having a “tough time” making the transition from console to PC, which resulted in a game that basically required mods in order to meet the standards of PC players. But even with the taste of a bad port still in their mouth (or likely because of it), they are ready and willing to take on the PC version of Dark Souls II.
By acknowledging that mistakes were made, the developer has instantly brought credibility to itself, but the question now is, “will they be able to actually succeed in making a quality PC version of Dark Souls 2?”
Namco Bandai and From Software are betting on the answer being in the affirmative. “Yes, we will definitely put more priority on the PC. Last time, we started working on PC after the console version was complete,” Tanimura added. “This time, because we are considering the PC from the beginning, you can be sure there will be more care put into PC development.”
To add a little pretext, it took ten months for the PC version of Dark Souls to hit the market, not only making it extremely late to the party, but also prone to mistakes made by burnt-out developers. This led to a very weak offering. With more care taken, along with the knowledge that the predecessor was poorly executed, it should not be too much of a stretch thinking that the PC iteration of Dark Souls II will be on par with the rest of the platforms. Granted, it should be BETTER, considering the power of PC’s, but at this point, I would be content with parity and the peace of mind knowing they are putting in the effort this time.
Even with the lackluster release of Dark Souls etched in our minds, it is great to hear developers and publishers now giving the PC its due after more than a few years of less-than-stellar ports. With the announcement that Watch Dogs is being developed with PC as the lead platform, it seems that the industry is finally realizing how important the PC versions of their games really are.
Although this may be partly due to the fact that next-gen consoles contain a PC-like infrastructure, it still means that we will be getting higher quality PC games in the coming years. Lets hope that Dark Souls 2 brings the quality that PC gamers expect from such a highly-anticipated title. It is the exact type of game that PC users want to get their hands on, so it would be a major letdown if they did not succeed in making a a great port, because it looks great:
Are you excited for Dark Souls II? Do you think they can put their money where their mouth is a create a great PC experience? Let us know!
Danny Harper 