3 replies to this topic

[Kat Leonard]

Dark Souls is out and ready for anyone to get their hands on. We have rumors of a third game in the collection. But along with that comes the sad news that Demon's Souls' North American servers shall soon be shutting down.

This shut down will occur at 11:59 PM PST on May 31st. As with many send-offs, there will be a couple of events to mark the sad occasion. Two World Tendency events are planned, one in the first half in May and the second in the last half.

Tim Pivnicny, the VP of sales, had this to say about the shuttind down of the servers: "It has been a tremendous honor and privilege for all of our staff at ATLUS to have been involved with so innovative and groundbreaking an interactive entertainment experience. We poured our heart and soul into every facet of our involvement with Demon’s Souls, particularly the title’s memorable Deluxe Edition, which served as the only avenue through which to purchase the game’s official strategy guide.

It was also of the utmost importance for us to sustain the game’s online experience as long as possible, even beyond the point at which sales could help to offset the expense. Regrettably, the online servers cannot be sustained forever and now the end draws near. Thank you to the unparalleled passion and support of the Demon’s Souls community throughout these last two and a half years. The online adventure may end soon, but the memory of it—just like that of every boss strategy, every level floor plan, and hidden secret—lives on in the gamers for whom the game was so special."

Goodbye, Demon's Souls. Now for focus to shift on Dark Souls and its upcoming sequel.

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[TYLERxDURDEN]

I never played Demons Souls. So how does this change the game? Is it still playable?

[barrel]

I never played Demons Souls. So how does this change the game? Is it still playable?

Sure, it's still playable, but it's definitely a much more isolated experience when offline I would imagine (and it may be tempting to youtube stuff after it is gone). That said, a lot of the cooler aspects of the game (and the sequel) come from online, so if you ever intend to play the game I would bump up the priorities of playing it before it shuts-down. The game is technically easier (as a whole...as long as you are in soul form, arguably easier and harder as human) if you are online because of the hints/messages other players leave (as long as you look at positive rated ones. I can definitely think of parts where I used them as a crutch) and taking a glance at other players bloodstains can give make you a bit more aware of what lies ahead (since it shows how a player died, so chances are if you see the aftermath of someone sprinting into a pit of death...it's best not to repeat that). Also you miss a trademark of the game with the invading/being invading by other players (and if you invade a certain area, you technically can become a playable boss in someone else's game) which is the game's version of PVP, and if you are having trouble on a boss you can summon the aid of other players (blue phantoms) to help you if you are in human form.

But yeah, that's too bad if people miss out on the experience later on, but I think 2 months is a reasonable amount of time to get in some last-time playthroughs online (I think it's almost half of the length of Dark Souls since my playthrough of Demon's Souls said something around 30hrs, or because I was playing easy mode as the royal class, one or the other....).

[DrPixel]

Aww. I'd been wanting to get Demon's Souls for quite some time now, and even knew that the servers would be shut down very soon, but was just too distracted with other fancy-looking games that caught my eye before it did. It's a shame that I probably won't be able to experience the online (or at least, that much), but I'll still try and buy it before June if I can.