Demon Souls Dated And Bundled With Swag

@turkish101: its worth importing the american version though, otherwise all other players will be from asia (I'd rather play with some american players whom I can understand), plus the translations have been tweaked since the english subs from hong kong.

Theres an interview up on playstation blog (US) right now.

exion

Was totally for AX. Apparently we're big enough for something.

Asterisk-CGY

Don't forget to add some Gamestop hate in there...oh I see you did.

Still undecided if i want this game yet. I hear soooooooooooooooooo many good things about it, but i'm worried about all those who talk about it being TOO hard.

@Ketch2k8: The absolute honest reason they announced it on the Forth is because they had a panel at Anime Expo 09 the same day. I would know, I was there - they even raffled off a kickass painting that was signed by one of the developers.

BlinkinPark182

Did anyone else laugh at them naming the Deluxe Bundle the "Stop Importing It" bundle?

BlinkinPark182

@Witzbold: Ah, I had no idea. I only remember hearing that it sold pretty well upon its release.

I had forgotten about boxed sets in the last couple of console generations, though I recall companies like Working Designs had some epic ones, particularly Lunar.

Japan doesn't quite seem to get swag in the same way as overseas, at least not in the bundled way with little to no extra cost. It's a shame since I think some swag can go a long way.

@Đipic: I have been playing it a lot and don't really find it to be frustrating. it is very challenging though.

sampagne

@The_Red_Comet: Atlus is one of those rare companies that it's okay to be a fanboy of, because nobody could possibly ever hate them.

@casmith07: It's really fun, but be warned that it's also very hard. I still haven't gotten past the first boss, and I've had the game for about a month.

@Archaotic: Plus the combat is hella fun and it's incredibly hard in a bizarrely addictive way. It's fantastic.

GAH, I might need to re-buy this for the strategy guide (because this game is HARD AS HELL), I wish I hadn't jumped the gun and imported it. Oh well, the game deserves it, it's that awesome.

"which GameStop will be out of when you go to pick it up"
Fahey, I love you.

Rinaldus

@transcend:

Don't forget Devil May Cry 1 and 3.

Girtych

Sweet, hopefully it will hold me over until Monster Hunter 3! Doubt it but I can wish.

@Muckamuck: None really. Since its a waste of $$$.

Demons Souls was basically a HAY GUYS I R HAER NOW situation with how it just kinda showed up with little to no marketing and became a hit overnight.

Actually not many titles get cool shit in the recent years. Back in the days of the PS1 and early 2000s there was a lot of boxed sets with cool shit.

These days it seems like the US has gone more that route and Japan not as much.

Ive been on the scene for a long time so seen a lot of the trends come and go. Too bad the cool shit is going.

I'm looking forward to this. Could have imported it but heard it is REALLY hard yet addictive, so decided to wait till US version which I can rent or resell.

jellyfish

@Chris Memering: yeah coincidentally I spent last night reading up on this game, it looks amazing. Looks like the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden, Diablo/PSO style gameplay, and Oblivion graphics. I'm psyched for this. Day 1 Buy. Second Day 1 Buy other than RE5 for me haha (I'm a CAG).

IRHari

@D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..:
Bayonetta, Brutal Legend, Demon's Souls, and probably scribblenauts...

Argh, I just noticed how close together all of their release dates are. Q3 2009 is going to screw me over.

@Witzbold: Not many Japanese games seem to get this in the first place, unless it's big titles like Idolmaster, Monster Hunter, Star Ocean, etc. I guess Demon's Souls wasn't "big" enough to get that kind of treatment. :( But I get the feeling there could be PVC figures based off of the game's bosses and such.

Considering how Atlus took the helm for the NA release a couple months ago, it was a bit predictable that they'd do something like this.

Any plans to buy it again though?

"The game will run you $59.99, but for $10 you can score the deluxe edition"

So I can either buy the game for 60$ and just have the game or buy the deluxe editions for 10$ and get more..I think the choice is obvious.

@Kermad: If you seriously didn't want to read it, you could have did CTRL+F and type in every month starting with July onwards.

@gembel: Ah, thank you. Without knowing anything about the game aside from screenshots, I'd say I'm interested. I guess I just have to get a PS3 somehow.

Atlus released the info on july 4th because it was at the panel at anime expo california

"Demon's Souls"

I certainly hope that means there is a single demon who owns many souls. If it's supposed to be referring to the souls of many demons, it should be "Demons' Souls".

@arkdragon: It should be cheaper... because it's already in Asia? I don't understand your logic

@LegendofMyth:
yes you do because its a year closer to the day that the US innevitably takes control of Canada.
(Canadian XD)

anduin1

I just don't get why it's in W-RPG style: gameplay, sound, graphics :( .

@The_Red_Comet: my import shipped from play-asia and 2 days later they announced the US release >:(

atlus huh ? That already places the game above others for contention but what exactly is this ? An action rpg ?

anduin1

@(Zombie) Jolan: bitches be bitchin

@Witzbold: btw anyone here would like to tell me PSN ID, I'm dying to find someone who speaks English in this game from time to time -.-

sweet, only 3 more months till I'll be able to play with people that speak ENGLISH!

@casmith07:

Got my hands on an import version. The game is awesome. As far as I can tell at this early stage, the difficulty lies in fighting "new" enemies you haven't encountered before (as well as staying on your toes for those you have). Blocking, parrying, dodging are all imperative skills to learn.

You'll likely die alot, but "death" is all a part of it, and the game maintains its fun despite "dying". This has moved up to "must buy" status for me super quickly.

cornerman8

@Sama-Recarm: the game was co-developed by From Software and Sony's Japan Studios

gembel

I wish the game was ported to the 360, though I know it's not that simple (I don't have a PS3). But I'm really glad Atlus is charging more for the Spoils because they deserve to.

@No I wouldn't like tea and crumpets: binge drink Earl Grey and pass out in a sqiggly circle of hobnobs, oreo's and crumpits... it's basically the lamest possible o.d ever..

plus you people drink beer.. i do all-syrup squishies... you sot!

*ends with a clogtastic handstand*

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@Chris Memering:

Right? haha, was just about to import it until I heard of the US release. Can't...wait...

Starshock

@casmith07:
Yeah it's really fun, I played the demo and such at Anime Expo. I also went to their panel when they announced this.

Tom-Servo

I'll buy that Deluxe edition :D

*waits to see which damn store has the best damn pre-order incentive* I really wish it was all the same everywhere.

Ok, here's the deal. I'm really interested in getting this as I LOVE Diablo and hear it's very similar.

But, the "brutal" difficulty has me re-evaluating. It's not that I don't like difficult, but I don't like "so difficult you'll get frustrated and quit".

Can I get a comparison to Diablo difficulty wise? MUCH more difficult, or a little more difficult? I've only ever quit / never finished 2 games because of difficulty (Viewtiful Joe and Ikaruga).

nastysquar3d

This game is for Role Playing Masochists.

I mean that in a good way :)

Nice! I only heard about this a week or so ago ( can't even remember where it was... most likely here ), but I did watch a rather lenghty trailer and remember my mind being blown to bits.

I am so getting this one. I remember watching the trailer and thinking that my PS3 badly needed a game like this.
It also seemed to so perfectly mix creepy with fucking epic.

Now it's Atlus, so I don't expect this to be a basic RPG kind of game, so it'll probably have some kind of awesome, weird gameplay mechanics, but I'm still wanting it!

Okay, now I have to set myself a goal: Persona 3 must be completed before this comes out.
Should give me plenty of time to get around to it...

@ShadowOdin isn't american: Fuck you guys with your culture. Here in Britain we binge drink. YEEEEEAH

I will need to see the review consensus on this before getting too excited.

Got a lot on the PS3 plate this year as is.

I am hopeful that they will clear up the issues plaguing the Japanese release.

sascha23

I've been waiting for this to make it's way to Canada since I heard about it originally. PS3 needs some more RPG goodness.

Ecks

@wazzzup16: I meant the bundle itself. Game I never doubted. But I want more cool bundles like these.

@Witzbold: Difficulty is refreshing in games now. Godhand, Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, Ur-quan masters are some of my favorite games. But then games like prototype, okami, and burnout paradise are some of my favorite games too and they are easy. I'll try it, then sell on craigslist if I don't like it.

transcend

@(Zombie) Neteher:
They publish them in Canada as well...and I don't care about the 4th of July.

"On top of that, fans who preorder either version will get a Demon Souls art book, which GameStop will be out of when you go to pick it up." Or they will shove it into a box and damage it just like my Blazblue preorder art book...

ABCDelicious

@turkish101: yeah regarding that why october, it has something to do with profits, because is pretty dum cuz consider that the asian version is in english too, also 60 bucks, come on the game is great but is not they are doing something drastic to located.....

arkdragon

I feel compelled to point out that it shows Demon's Souls 3 times in the image, but is being referred to as Demon Souls. I know it sounds better, but it's not the correct name.

I'm a sucker for Atlus and can't wait to see what this ends up being like.

Tetelestia

@One Man Freak Show:
It's the most addicting action RPG i've played in... well... ever.
My coworker convinced me to import it before Atlus had announced it. Korean version is in full english (poorly translated at times) but it is a REALLY fun game. SUPER hard.

@Sparx: Well there's a reason that rpg fans are "eating this up." I was kinda skeptical about the game... then i played it and i was HOOKED.

wazzzup16

Aw, I hope this doesn't herald SMT exclusivity for the PS3:(

@ShadowOdin isn't american: Atlus games usually go to Europe, don't worry.

wazzzup16

@Ketch2k8: Atlus U.S.A. HQ is in Irvine, California, bro.

wazzzup16

@D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..: Everyone in Holland is high. Don't think you're so special.

We have clogs in Sweden too. Not as ornate as yours, but still. Let's high-five...with clogs on our hands.

@Đipic: "An easier difficulty setting included for the western release would be really nice but I guess I won't get my hopes up."

Incidentally, since the PS1 era onwards, I think the Japanese have been the ones getting handed easier versions of games compared to us...at least from Capcom, as shown through several titles.

@casmith07: It really is. So far, it has only gotten good reviews from japanese sites and magazines (and some non asian sites that reviewed it just 'cause). The only bad review it got was from famitsu's casual section, complaining about it's brutal difficulty. Def check it out if you can, Demon's Souls ROCKS.

wazzzup16

@Witzbold: Indeed. Although just buying it for the alternative cover art seems just fine too.

@Mike Fahey: i thought you guys had replaced us Brits with that of, stereotype Muslim of Arab origin (trying to be as p.c possible) as your stereotypical villain or is 24 misleading me again.

Trumpet

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: Square enix will most likely pick it up from atlus, they always do.

wazzzup16

@One Man Freak Show: It's an awesome freaking game. Pre-order it, NOW.

wazzzup16

@Witzbold: *looks at his Asian version and frowns*

黒天使

@ThursdayNext: Curse you Excel_Excel! You frenchy!

the best game ever for PS3

ye0073

@Curse_Lily:

Atlus always finds a way to take my money. All...the...time.

ALWAYS.

Yeah...kind of an Atlus fanboy. Maybe.

Starshock

@Revolutionary: This is very true. I already have more than 100 hours of gameplay already. Just about to complete New Game+, and it doesn't cease to increase difficulty. It is one of the MOST difficult games I've ever played in my entire life, but still it is SO rewarding when you actually manage to complete a boss fight, that I absolutely recommend it for most hardcore gamers looking for a REAL challenge.
Besides, you can make the game easier after all. You "just" need to summon players to help you :) That's the only way I actually managed to progress through New Game +

OtaconR

@Jekht:

wrong dude, that's another game.

televizor

@D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..: saggypants are all the craze

Now that's a bold-faced lie i haven't seen any girl using saggypants.....we should start a petition tho

I seriously considering scribblenauts as well but Those games will keep me occupied for a long while ^_^

@ShadowOdin isn't american: Well, I work, get high (alot), game, and repeat.

tulips cover up the weed, windmills ensure my bulbs stay nice and toasty, the hookers are pleasant to look at and the clogs... well they're just uncomfortable..

but i get by...

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@Mike Fahey: Pile on!

@D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..: So how is that working out for ya?

@Ueziel:

It's about time the 80's generation got something to challenge them again! Instead of all these new cartoons that you have to press a few buttons to get the story.

Reavyn29

@ThursdayNext: And Colin Firth is continuing the work of Hugh Grant in the stereotype that we are hopeless romantics.
But hopefully that also leads to the stereotype that we are much sought after abroad :D

"This is more of a strategy guide bundle than it is a special edition, isn't it?"

It's more like a stategy guide bundle plus an uber case for the game edition! Anyhoo, it's only $10, so Ill prolly get this special edition.

this game has me pretty excited. prob worth the extra $10.

I bought the Asian version when it came out, probably put 30 hours into it ... sold it when it go rare for a $30 profit :P Of course, I'll be re-buying it now. It is quite hard, and there are some niggling problems with it ... but, it's still quite nice.

@ShadowOdin isn't american: Windmills and hookers..

aye, tis a glorious culture..

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@Kermad: when viewing 3 sentences as some insurmountable obstacle, and calling it filler, you know a blog is not for you..

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@One Man Freak Show: i like to think of it as a mix between Oblivion and Diablo. its a fantastic game, almost like a dungeon crawler/rpg. the game is very difficult but is very fun. i love it.

@Curse_Lily: fret not, dear woman.. now after baggypants, skinnyjeans and those weird 3/4 pantsu's.. (...) i hear saggypants are all the craze... pockets down to your ankle's, baby!

Bayonetta, Brutal Legend, Demon's Souls, and probably scribblenauts will see me trough rocktobre.. i'm especially looking forward to BL's humor, it's been a while since Psychonauts...

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!:

Eh, it don't matter. PS3 is region free. A lot of people have already been playing the Asian version, which has a full English option on it. From what they say, it's good and really effin' hard.

turkish101

@One Man Freak Show Some people I know were talking about it, and they said "Oblivion" in the same conversation. I still don't know what it is, but I know it's an insta-buy!

FunkyMunxy

@ThursdayNext: These garlic smelling, croissant eating, surrender monkeys!!!

2SBs

@Witzbold: Very true.

I imported it, myself, and played it for probably a total of 8 hours. It's a massive game, but is absolutely punishing (perhaps even unfair) in difficulty.

I plan on getting back to it eventually (I really did like it), but yeah... this game is for the absolute hardcore.

This is one game where a strategy guide might come in handy.

@Jekht: No, that's Funcom's "The Secret World".

embef

@_LarZen_: Yeah, but AtlusUSA only publishes games in, you know, the USA...

(Zombie) Neteher

@Curse_Lily: I love you too, Master Lily, student of Rose

@Witzbold: The difficulty is probably the primary reason I'll be getting this on day one.

I started gaming in the 80s, and I'm getting really fed up and tired with the lack of difficulty and the hand-holding in today's games. (I nearly gave up on games altogether when I realized that the secret, long-lost Vault I needed to find in F3 was marked on my map with an enormous glowing green arrow.) I'm sooooo looking forward to a hard game.

@Mike Fahey: I'm assuming he's referring to being cack-handed. If so I am also a sinister Brit.

Besides which, the work of Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones has done wonders for replacing the evil genius stereotype with the Cockney Thug image. Great work guys.

ThursdayNext

@Sparx: It's more a dungeon crawler than a traditional RPG. There's a story, sure, but it's barebones and generally not at the forefront of the game. Your character never speaks.

In other words, it's a Western RPG without all that pesky moral choice bullshit.

@D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..: OoooOOoOoOh, Holland is so fancy. Will you attack me with your wild Windmills too?

@xAnarChisTx: Asleep, actually. I wrote a pretty long review of the game about four months ago on OLC. It explains a lot.

[www.onelastcontinue.com]

Bam. Needless to say, it's an Atlus game when it's coming to the US, so it will inevitably become a massive cult hit that never reaches optimal market penetration, but will be looked back on fondly for years to come by the few who do play it.

@deanbmmv: I for one always make a point of celebrating "Ungrateful Colony Day".

Also, given that this doesn't have an EU release why would they care if Britain cares?

ThursdayNext

@Witzbold: An easier difficulty setting included for the western release would be really nice but I guess I won't get my hopes up. Probably won't buy this unless it happens. I don't mind a good challenge once and awhile but most of the time I play games these days I just want to relax, not be frustrated to the point of breaking my controller.

@exion: Whenever this happens it is important to always blame the French.

ThursdayNext

@Ueziel:

Just don't mention that it's cripplingly hard.

I broke down and cried at Star Ocean Last Hope though, so what do I know. Those damn phantoms.

@TigerHat: Come on, if years of American movies and television have taught me anything, all great villains are British. Hell, even British television and movies prove this. >.>

@ShadowOdin isn't american: I catapult you with clogs and tulips, tis the way of my lands

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

I would love if someone scanned that boxart and posted it online. Would love to use that as my copy's instead of the regular >_> It's pretty sweet.

OMG, this brings back bad memory when I went to pick up Valkyria Chronicles. ONLY 5 people preorder and they only had 2 copies of the artbook. I was soooo pissed when I couldn't get one that I literally search 3-4 other GameStop and called them.

I'm ordering online this time, no more store preorder for me.

@(Zombie) Jolan: Seconded.

hmmmmmm sexy !!! can't wait ! :D

@Kermad: Yes the pain of reading words.
You know if you want release dates without the hassle of reading words on a blog of all places you could just visit your local/national game retailers site and they will more than likely have a "coming soon" link with release dates and box art and not much else to take up your time.

@Ketch2k8: Yes, but Atlus is located in California...and last i checked, ARAM didn;t have a Britsh accent.

@Witzbold: I love Demon's Souls and while I agree that its very difficult, I would never say that most people should avoid it. This is a very challenging game but at no time does it ever feel cheap or unfair and the innovative online components are extremely cool.

I think of this as one of the best PS3 games out there right now and I really hope it does gain some popularity in the US.

Kamakazie

@Curse_Lily: About as much as I enjoy my salt-water taffee.. and I'm a man who enjoys his salt-water taffee..

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@Save me: Ah never mind, the page loaded halfway for me. I see it now.

@Witzbold: What Witzbold said.

So when is the release date?

@Ketch2k8: whose 'us' are you speaking on behalf of the British or the US?
Because we do care about 4th July, it is a very important day to the British, its the day when we all go outside(cos there's nothing on Kotaku) and reflect on the fun we had 2 months ago on Star Wars day pretending to be the bad guys.

You know I like to say I'm an RPG guy, and seemingly other RPG fans are eating this up but I just don't get it. It doesn't look that appealing to me and looks like an RPG in the basest of terms

" I'm curious to see why Atlus decided to announce the release date for Demon Souls on the Fourth of July "

Oh...could it be that the rest of the world dont give a flying shit about 4th of july?

@carrliadiere: How would you even begin to advertise a game that is so hard that any gamer raised off of this generation or the last will break down and cry?

Not every game needs some massive marketing campaign. It wouldn't even work for games like this.

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: I've been following comment responses on the official EU PS blog, and right now it doesnt look like there's any plan to release in Europe right now (likely due to localisation)...

If this is the case, I for one will be importing it from the US!

exion

Haven't looked much into the game, but RPG usually works well for me regardless. And seeing the special edition isn't $100, even better

Best game I've played all year.

As a sinister Brit I take offensive to 'sinister British accent'.

TigerHat

@ShadowOdin isn't american: ^_^

@Ketch2k8: Kind of is to do with us really.

Glad to see that this will never make its way to Europe.
Or at least not outside the UK.

@(Zombie) Jolan: And they love my paycheck ^_^

@Kermad: Way to make yourself sound like a little bitch.

"a bearded man in a darkened room, stroking a Persian cat as he lifts a phone receiver to his face and mutters, "issue the release" in a sinister British accent."
thank you for that, i haven't laughed that hard in a while.
and 10 dollars extra for a 150 page strategy guide? sweet.

Way to make us dig through the filler for the release date

(Zombie) Kermad

@One Man Freak Show: This, my good sir, is a videogame. An electronic passtime most often enjoyed on ones television-set. A box, of a sort, will read your game and send signals to the television, playing forth images that you later can enjoy through the use of an external input-device that you hold in your hands. Pressing the buttons on the device in turn will control something on the screen in front of you. Most often, there's a set objective that you will have to steer your avatar in order to complete through various maneuvers that vary depending on the type of game you are experiencing.

I hope that clears up the confusion.

Geez i send in an email yesterday about it but Owen prefer TweetCraft over this announcement >:[

But bitching aside ^_^

Bayonetta/Brutal Legend and now this,i fear for my little pockets once again.

@One Man Freak Show: Where's Archaotic when you need em, eh?

They announced it on the 4th because in Britain no one cares about American holidays I guess... It's not really anything to do with us, no offense.

@Jekht:

OHHHH! That looked great. Is this it? The advertising has been pretty poor then.

Been waiting for this and forcing myself to resist importing, hope EU gets the same swag.

Adda

I wish the ver that came out here had swag. D:

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: too* :(

I'll have to do some research on this and see if it's any good.

casmith07

@One Man Freak Show: A very difficult game that "most" people should avoid.

Seriously its a great action RPG though. But it is brutal in the difficulty department.

One of the best titles of 2009 for the PS3.

Go search for vids on youtube. Though I suggest against it since seeing everything for the first time yourself is a large part of the experience personally.

I love Atlus Spoils.

Is it coming to the EU to?

@[uk.gamespot.com]
It was that video kotaku posted of a girl drinking a soda or something before kicking demon ass I think.

@One Man Freak Show: There are these demons, and you try go get their souls or something? I've been following this game for months and I just realized I'm not even sure.

spannu

Yay! Been waiting for a US release date...

Chris Memering

@One Man Freak Show:

I have no idea. But it has Atlus on it, therefore there are legions of people who will buy it.

I've never even heard of this. What is it?