Dark Souls was a great game, no doubt, but in terms of sales, it didn’t blow away too many records. Well, things are most likely going to change with the sequel, Dark Souls 2, as Namco has already reported that the pre-orders of the game have exceeded its predecessor’s by 50%. The numbers don’t come as a surprise. In fact, there are several reasons behind this success. First of all, Dark Souls opened up to a relatively small target audience. After its success, it became well-known for its punishing gameplay and hardcore feel. Of course, people have taken note, and now Dark Souls 2 enjoys a much higher hype-level.
Add to that the great job of the marketing team in providing press and media outlets with plentiful opportunities to test the game, and you have free advertising from all around. The entire internet has been in an uproar about Dark Souls 2, and it made it to the most anticipated games lists of many players and press publications.Last, but not least, Dark Souls 2 caters to a wider audience, by adding user friendly options, without sacrificing the key element that made the game so popular – difficulty. It caters to a wider audience, and this is reflected in sales.
Worth mentioning is the fact that the extremely aggressive marketing campaign for Dark Souls 2 is only due to begin next week, with Namco investing heavily in publicity, especially in the United Kingdom. Even the previous Dark Souls title did well, and pushed Namco’s finances to record heights. By April 2013, the first Dark Souls sold well over 2.3 million copies, which is not bad at all, considering it lacked the fan-base of titles such as Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty. This time around, PC users will be getting a version of their own in due time, a version that seems to be a lot better in terms of keyboard and mouse controls. The only real competition Dark Souls 2 has is Titanfall, as the two games have the same release date, on the 11th of March (the UK version of Dark Souls 2 will be coming on the 14th of March). The PC version is still being worked on, and will follow in the coming months.
All-in-all, there’s every chance that Dark Souls 2 will be a profitable venture for Namco. It’s already well on its way of surpassing its predecessor, and if the quality remains unchanged and reviews are favorable (as most people expect them to be), it will be selling well for months. Are you planning on pre-ordering?