Demon's Souls wanders without European publisher

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 7th 2009 at 2:30PM }

It was surprising to see Demon's Souls announced for US release. The hardcore dungeon-crawling RPG is guaranteed not to sell much, thanks to its emphasis on old-school gameplay. Regardless, it has its niche, and we're certain there are many that want to play it.

Unfortunately, Demon's Souls is without a publisher in Europe. Sony Computer Entertainment publishes it as a first-party title in Japan and Asia, but opted to not pursue a worldwide release. The American rights were picked up by Atlus, a company that has no official presence in Europe. Sony told Eurogamer it had "no plans to publish [Demon's Souls] in Europe at present". Koei and Ubisoft, publishing partners of Atlus and From Software, also commented that there are "no plans," or are unaware of any plans, to bring the game to the European audience.

While a publisher may be announced in the future, it seems as though Europeans may have to rely on PS3's region free capabilities and import Demon's Souls when it releases in America later this year.

Gallery: Demon's Souls

[Thanks, Jake!]

Tags: atlus, demons-souls, europe

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Bill Nye @ Jul 7th 2009 2:36PM

wow looks nice :)

libertine @ Jul 7th 2009 2:45PM

that sucks... but why wait to import it from the US when it could be imported from Asia now..

RagingStormX @ Jul 7th 2009 6:07PM

Because the US version will have extra or enhanced gameplay features...

Synsane @ Jul 7th 2009 8:56PM

They never said anything about extra content. Only a strat-guide. Plus they still patch the Asian versions of the game.

Is Atlus really a big enough douche to cut off the Asian servers from the American servers even though the game is region free.
Thats the only news I fear for. There is already a giant English community of the game from importers.

TheManick @ Jul 7th 2009 10:06PM

They already said on the PS blog through a PS Eye interview that the asian and US servers would be seperate

russell @ Jul 7th 2009 2:49PM

what does "emphasis on old-school gameplay" mean? that's quite a vague statement.

drakkor @ Jul 7th 2009 3:05PM

it means you'll get your ass kicked

Mikebecker84 @ Jul 7th 2009 3:47PM

It means you are going to die... A lot

russell @ Jul 7th 2009 3:53PM

Doesn't sound like something that would necessarily be a deterrent. Or does that imply that it's extremely difficult? Because if that is the case then Bayonetta won't sell shit.

karlwulfekote @ Jul 7th 2009 3:00PM

I think "old school"means a third person hack and slash without the aid of lock on assistance.

Day one for me :)

j.howlett @ Jul 7th 2009 4:13PM

i'm buying it for sure. glad it got a NA publisher

Viglin @ Jul 7th 2009 4:15PM

Wont sell well cause its old school?....do you mean like Oblivion?

Or are we so rapped up in crap Japan Anime RPGS and RPGS that require Metrosexual heros[looking at Final Fantasy]...that this wont appeal to the masses?

I for one am looking for a nice dark bloody RPG.

kentuckyfried @ Jul 7th 2009 4:20PM

More importantly, why does "old-school" necessitate copious amounts of masoch1sm? Why were older games made so difficult (challenging, but I wouldn't necessarily say fun at that point) in comparison to today's titles, which are generally more forgiving?

I've thankfully never had the pleasure of torturing myself like that (never owned the original Nintendo).

Lav @ Jul 7th 2009 4:30PM

I think...That they did not publish it outside the Japs and other asian territory because they wanted to see how it faired...I don't know how it faired myself...but alot of outside imports into the US were being shipped..That was enough to stir it threw...maybe...

If the fuzzy Euros give enough demand we might see something over there.