From Software has been making waves in the game industry lately. The sequel to their highly successful Dark Souls title was just showcased at this year’s E3. But there is at least one fan who wants more then just a sequel to the Dark Souls series. Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida told reporters today that he is hoping From Software will come back and add a new game to their Demon’s Souls franchise.
Describing himself as a big fan of From Software, Yoshida explained how much he loved Demon’s Souls and how Sony “dropped the ball” when it passed on publishing Demon’s Souls in North America and Europe. This decision came back to hurt Sony when Demon’s Souls became a sleeper hit in the West- after Atlus and Namco Bandai published it instead. Since then, Namco Bandai has published Demon’s Souls spiritual successor Dark Souls.
Sony still owns the rights to the Demon’s Souls IP. When asked about Sony’s relationship with From Software, and if there were plans to work with the developer again, Yoshida had quite a bit to say:
“We have been great partners with From Software from the very beginning of PlayStation, I was actually the account manager of them when we launched PS one in Japan. I worked directly with [Naotoshi Zin], president of From, when they were entering into video game development. We have a long history of working as platform holder, developer and publisher in the case of Demon’s Souls. We love them.”
However, Yoshida was not as vocal when asked if Demon’s Souls could join series like Killzone, Gran Turismo and Uncharted as a multi-PlayStation platform – and if Sony would consider developing a sequel without From Software as the primary developer.
“That’s a great question, but because of the attention that will get, I choose not to answer, but personally, I love Demon’s Souls. I spent hours and hours and hours [playing it].”
He also added:
“I love the team, I love the game and yeah, I’d really like to see more. But that’s all that I will say.”
So can we expect a Demon’s Souls 2 in the future? One that may not even be developed by From Software? We will just have to wait and see if a Sony/From Software partnership can really bloom.
Dark Souls 2 is the latest title being developed by From Software. It will be available on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in March of 2014.
