Dark Souls Does Not Need DLCs, Is "Fully Complete", says Namco Bandai

"Remember the time when you could buy a game and it would be the complete game? No retailer pre-order bonus nonsense? No taking away content just to sell it later as DLC? Well, developer From Software and North American publisher Namco Bandai remembers that time."

~ Nick Tan, GameRevolution

[Dart89]

This just went from my if i have money to buy i will list to day 1 purchase.

Now if more devs would follow this but highly doubtful.

[blitz0623]

It's not that devs release DLC because games are incomplete, those people just want more money so they don't include already-planned stuff when they release their game. It's all a marketing ploy. I'm glad Namco stayed conservative

[evrfighter]

you console folk better support the hell out of this dev. Guys like these are a dime a dozen.

just a friendly warning.

@ alpha the concept of continuing the story after you played the campaign is fine and all but what may start off as a good thing usually ends up with meetings about how to hash up future games into dlc to make more money.

[DaTruth]

Damn, I hate when I have to agree with Evrfighter! Worse when I have to bubble for "well said".

But a good comment is a good comment!

Shame, this is the only game worthy of a DLC buy from me! Held out hope for that sixth archstone till Dark Souls was announced!

[NatureOfLogic]

May thine strength help the world be mended

[vsr]

This is the word I want as a gamer & customer ...

I don't want the rebranding of Cut contents as a DLC & I won't pay extra

[darksied]

It's not so much a ploy, as it is a business model. A game makes them a certain amount of money for a publisher and developer. But DLC is direct income for them, no middle man, etc. And sometimes it's really good, sometimes it's really bad. If it's a game that you really, really love, then why not? A lot of people want to keep playing in a game's universe when it's over because they like it so much; I'm the same with, say, Mass Effect 2.

The way I look at it is, don't hate DLC, hate bad DLC. I know most DLC is just rubbish, but there's really good DLC out there for a lot of games.

[abang]

Im glad to hear bout this..though i can never bring myself to buy a dlc. I feel like being ripped.

Though i was hoping for a DLC for the original demon's souls..
The Giant world level(just like they teased in the final boss battle) would be nice :)

[-Alpha]

To be honest, I would love DLC for Dark Souls/Demons Souls. By DLC I mean true post-production content.

I love this mentality too, but I was so disappointed when they didn't do the DLC for that Land of the Giants broken arch

[LadyGaga]

There wasn't enough cake to mend my broken heart after I heard that I will never see what that level would be like.

Considering suicide.

[Information Minister]

My reaction to this announcement: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o...

[jspc1989]

Amen to this article!

Makes me feel just a little bit old skool. I miss the PS2/GC/XB era i really do.

Can't wait for this! Looking forward to tearing my hair out at 4am because I just lost 100,000 souls trying to beat 1 boss after 5 hours of grinding just to get to him. It's annoying.....and i love the hell out of it!

[DaTruth]

The day I plummeted into the StoneFang gorge with 700,000 souls on a ledge because I was trying to get, what turned out to be a storied hero"s soul was just... just...

Well, the words simply don't exist, but my hairline will never recover!

[GhettoBlasStarr]

This announcement is a breath of "Fresh Air". I'm going to put on pre order first thing in the morning......F**K DLC!!!!!

[Bits-N-Kibbles]

I will buy this game, and I don't have to worry about them releasing DLC 1 week after the release before I even play the game. If it was made before the game released, why was it not apart of the $60 I payed for the game.

Don't support $DLC. It's a ripoff.

[GunofthePatriots]

FINALLY

I hope to god more developers take a page out of Namco Bandi's book and release 100% complete games.

[bruddahmanmatt]

Namco is the publisher here, not the developer. And FWIW, what are we supposed to say the next time a Namco title receives DLC, because it's bound to happen?

[Quagmire]

Namco's other franchise Tekken 6 never had any DLC, and they have also confirmed they will include almost every single character in Tag Tournamnet 2.

[dbjj12088]

Seriously, this is what's right.

[UNCyrus]

The only question is... what about that broken worldstone in Demon's Souls? That was just WAITING for DLC to come out to open up that extra world.

*edit*
Broken = crumbled, not buggy.

[kcuthbertson]

Well if it was truly broken, that's called a PATCH...not DLC.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

lol @kcuthbertson i dont think you know what UNCyrus is talking about.

[Tanir]

very true, was wondering if they would ever add that. guess not, but dark souls is here and thats always good

[Viper7]

He meant broken as in "one of the levels was cut off the game and entrance removed" kind of way.

If game is truly fully complete it should not require any patches nor DLC.

[Cpt_kitten]

they explained why in the game if you paid attention, there was no saving that land it was completely consumed.

though it would be interesting to fight giants along with demons

[UNCyrus]

@cpt_kitten,

Yes, i know they did say that. I platinum'd Demon's Souls and loved every second of it. But like you said, I still would have loved to have been able to have a crack at a land filled with giant demons :)

[-Alpha]

I know, right!??

Best world too, it was "The world of the giants"

Totally pissed that it didn't happen

[stormeagle6]

Not interested in the game per se, but I definitely support this mentality.

[Kee]

I like that

[Allowen]

No problem for me if devs wants to launch ,later on, an expansion for their games .
But those DLCs, expecially those $2-$5 dollars that only ad stupid clothes/skins = sucks.

Expansion = HUGE DLC worth from 15 to 40 dollars not long ago. (Remember EQ/EQ2/WOW real expansions ?)

DLC = an expansion divided in 100 parts.

[vickers500]

I like DLC, just as long as it's not pre-order DLC or DLC that comes out within a month after the games release.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

I hate dlc because it use 2 be called free updates.

[vickers500]

So you expect developers to work hard to give you things for free and give them nothing in return?

How old are you, 12?

[AfroMan623]

Rather than insulting Simon_Brezhnev you could have read what he actually said.

Like Simon_Brezhnev said most of the DLC offered now is the same kind of stuff that was free back in the day (in PC gaming since online consoles are relatively new). Map packs, weapons updates, character skins, etc. happened all the time for free.

For you to not know this proves that you must be 12, or have a short, crappy memory, or never played PC games. Whichever one it is.

I understand they need to make moeny, and work isn't free, so I actually would prefer they push DLC rather than DRM or this new online game pass nonsense.

[vickers500]

I know that was offered for free back then, but that doesn't mean it should be offered for free now. It's not as easy to make a map pack now as it was back then, there is a lot more detail required of todays games. And even then, free map packs and huge amounts of content were a LUXURY, an incredibly nice thing for the developers to do, something extra, not something you deserved. It's entitled brats like you who think they owe you free stuff.

My comment covered the other types of DLC (character skins, weapon patches), so I'm not going to go into that as you should have already gotten that from my original comment, but apparently you don't take your own advice when you tell others to read what others say.

What I'm referring to when I say DLC, is stuff like Red Deads Undead Nightmare, Borderlands Zombie DLC/Knoxx DLC (pretty much a whole new game right there)/Clap Trap DLC/Underdome DLC, all the DLC for Fallout 3, Shivering Isles DLC for Oblivion, etc.

You have to be the most spoiled, entitled brat of the highest caliber to expect developers to hand out such amazing and content-packed DLC for free, especially when those games without DLC had a ton of content to begin with.

[teedogg80]

Why can't more developers be like this. I, personally never purchase DLC for any game and probably never will. IMO everyone should just stop purchasing DLC all together. Then maybe, just maybe we can get a FULL game for $60.

[FAGOL]

Depends on what DLC it is. If it's cut content then yeah no one should buy it and support that system. But games like RDR have DLC like The Undead Nightmare, which is completly new content made for fans.

L.A. Noire's DLC is a good example of cut content.

[teedogg80]

Oh yeah, forgot all about that one. Now DLC like that I'll accept.

[Brownghost]

i feel sorry for the person who bought all the black ops dlc thats $60 more! thats like buying an extra game for nothin

[MidnytRain]

I'm thinking they just didn't plan on having DLC, then decided to say this for good publicity.

[The_Quiet_Man]

Excellent news, its rare these days to get a complete game day one. I'm highly looking forward to playing this game in a couple of weeks.

Off topic:
I take it the disagrees people are getting above are from the Capcom fans /s.

[CrescentFang]

Actually guys, NBGI makes lots of money off of Tales and Idolmaster dlc if I'm not wrong... though only in Japan...

[Getowned]

so i like dlc ? no.. but expantion packs ? yes :D i do hope they make one down the line.

[turgore]

Expansion packs are most appropriate for long RPGs like Elder Scrolls. If Dark Souls is the same lenght as Demon Souls, then I hope they will just make another great sequel !

[FAGOL]

O snap!

[Adexus]

What's a fully complete game? Never heard of that new terminology before.

[Jocosta]

It's a fully complete game, you know, as opposed to a nearly complete game, wait a sec..that hurt my head.

[DaReapa]

"It will be such a great pleasure if there are many voices from fans asking for DLC, but I am very confident that the game is fully complete and everyone will be satisfied with the game without any additional contents."

"Finally, I would like to be fair to all fans of Dark Souls. I do not intend on providing any items or weapons which a player can buy in order to become advantageous in the game. I would rather prefer to provide an equal amount of opportunities to everyone in order to strive and achieve getting all items based on the effort a player makes. Ultimately, we aim for players to sincerely feel a sense of accomplishment when conquering the difficult tasks in the game."

Wow. It's almost baffling to see these words being stated in THIS generation of gaming. I've become so accustomed to seeing the opposite. NamBan/From, you guys are a rare commodity. Alongside Portal 2 and L.A. Noire, Dark Souls is among my most anticipated releases of the year.

[mananimal]

just a desperate attempt by the Industry, to get me to play this game, which is REALLY Demon Souls 2...lol......

[kza]

i would buy this game twice just to support the Devs lol, i cant wait for this game im looking forward to Dark Souls more than BF3.

[OcularVision]

Saying that is like another way of saying "We're not supporting the game after we release it."

[Jdoki]

Ah, a 'cup half empty' type of person.

Nothing wrong with creating a game, launching it, and moving on.

[zu4G]

yeah why asking for priced dlc if a is already complete..
i'm no big fan of DLC's its just a developer/publisher strategy to make money, its stoles our money a lot. fuck em! like CAPCOM!.. FFXIII and Dark souls and all games that are complete with no dlc thing FTW!!!!

[Maywell]

Maybe they just mean they don't want to make any other DLC (read:no more support) and just want to make the sequel or another game...

[hilyou]

YESS!!! finally a FULL GAME these days! heck even elder scrolls is getting dlc even through its a rpg! pubs need 2 listen up!

[hilyou]

Daisuke Uchiyama, i love u! devs need 2 more like this dude over here! providing a collecters edition at no extra charge! black ops hardened edition should hav come at no extra charge!

[JonnyBigBoss]

Hell yeah. I honor these guys for not being lame like Activision. <3

[LostTokens]

Add another vote to "note particularly interested, but pleased nonetheless." I LIKE hearing about a game shipping complete instead of being sold in incomplete chunks, or with weapons you need to pay to unlock. Good on Namco-Bandai.

[Lord_Sloth]

Awesomeness, thy name is Bamco!

Honestly I hold nothing against DLC so long as it's not merely withheld content like MvC3's Jill.

Costumes don't bother me so long as they're moderately prices, though they never seem to be...

[D3stinySm4sher]

DLC is AMAZING and AWESOME when it can extend the life of a game. But usually this feels more genuine and makes more sense when said DLC is released months after the game is released.

We live in an age where games can be patched and added onto, and that is a beautiful thing. BUT, with a game like THIS, I do agree that it is BETTER for it to be self-contained.

For me, DLC makes more sense for multiplayer stuff.

[Platinum_k]

Just wondering if this game was the same creators of Demon's Soul. If it is, I will seriously consider BUYING IT.

I would definitely buy it if only it was EXCLUSIVE for the PS3.

[MysticStrummer]

It's the same devs, and you should buy it even though it went multiplat.

[Platinum_k]

I should, but if it was both, I'de buy it without hesitation. Thanks...

[ichimaru]

This article commands respect. I wish more Dev would share this attitude, instead of shipping a partially complete game so they can milk DLC. cough* Capcom* cough

[TheObserver]

I despise the concept of Paid DLC. Totally greedy. Gamers already paid full price for the game and yet they charge things that should be free. Like maps. CoD have millions of copies sold and they still charge their fans for maps. It is ridiculous.

All of you who support these practices are the problem and I despise you for putting up with this and encourage such behaviors.

Good thing I am mostly a PC gamer. Modders make a ton of stuff and releases it for free. www.moddb.com is my favorite place to go for mods.

[SuperMassiveGav]

How refreshing.

[knifefight]

And yeah because wow!

[BigWoopMagazine]

yaaaaay somebody who's actually able to finish a game!