Why Demon’s Souls for PC Makes Perfect Sense
Demon’s Souls was an action RPG that came out for the PS3 in 2009. It was made by FromSoftware, which interested individuals might recognize as the video game developer behind the Dark Souls games as well as a number of Souls-likes such as Bloodborne and Elden Ring. In fact, it should be mentioned that Demon’s Souls was the direct predecessor to the Dark Souls series. Together, these games make up the Souls series that serves as the namesake for Souls-likes as a whole. Based on this, chances are good that interested individuals can guess some important things about Demon’s Souls. To name an example, it has a single customizable player-character that respawns when killed. Something that is very important because the combat is very challenging. After all, difficulty is the single characteristic that does the most to define Souls-likes, so much so that other games of other action-oriented genres have sometimes been compared to Souls-likes because of said factor. In fact, it was the difficulty of Demon’s Souls that made it a game of note.
For those who are unfamiliar, Demon’s Souls wasn’t very well-received because of its difficulty. Thanks to that, Sony straight-up decided to pass on localizing the game for western markets, with the result that Atlus USA decided to do its North American release instead. As it turned out, western consumers responded much better to Demon’s Souls. The game was difficult. However, the game was also fair, meaning that it was possible for interested individuals to develop a degree of mastery by honing their skills bit by bit. Thanks to that, a lot of people felt that overcoming the challenges of Demon’s Souls provided them with a real sense of value. From this, the existence of the Souls series was ensured, which in turn, meant that the existence of Souls-likes was also ensured.
In the late 2010s, Sony made a decision to do a remake of Demon’s Souls, which would serve as one of the launch titles for the PS5 when the console came out in November of 2020. This process was carried out by a Sony-owned video game developer called Bluepoint Games that has managed to acquire a reputation for remakes and remasters. Eventually, the remake of Demon’s Souls came out in November of 2020, with the result that it met with a very positive reception. As such, it should come as no surprise to learn that people are now wondering whether there will be a PC release of the remake or not.
Will We See a PC Release of Demon’s Souls?
A PC release of the remake hasn’t been confirmed. However, there are a lot of people who are convinced that it will be happening sooner rather than later. Sometimes, such beliefs are a product of excess enthusiasm. This time, they seem to be very justified. For starters, the original announcement had a line stating that Demon’s Souls would be made available on the PC as well. Sony said that this was a mistake. As a result, the original announcement was pulled so that a corrected version could be posted. After which, Sony clarified that the game would be a PS5 exclusive while being very silent when asked the question whether the game would ever be released for the PC or not. Based on this, one would think that there was a reasonable chance that Demon’s Souls would be coming out for the PC at some point in the future. The line was said to have been the product of human error. It is possible that said error came out of nowhere. However, it is also possible that said error was caused by a mistaken understanding of when a PC release would be happening.
Thanks to this, the potential of a PC release remained unclear for a short time. That changed when a leak for Nvidia GeForce Now streaming support for upcoming titles came out. Initially, there was a fair amount of skepticism. After all, the public doesn’t exactly have a lot of ways to determine whether a particular leak is real or not. As a result, the most reasonable course of action would be treating leaks with a considerable degree of skepticism until further information comes out to give interested individuals a good reason to believe in either one scenario or the other. Fortunately, this leak is one of those leaks that are very easy to confirm because it is just a matter of waiting to see whether the upcoming titles come out or not. So far, the leak is looking very good in this regard. To name an example, a remaster of Chrono Cross was confirmed just a short while, which is notable because this game is a PS1 game that had been quiet for a long time before this. Since Demon’s Souls is on this list, it seems safe to say that there will be a PC release, though it isn’t 100 percent confirmed for obvious reasons.
Does a PC Release of Demon’s Souls Make Sense?
As for the question of whether a PC release makes sense or not, well, the answer is a solid “Yes.” There are some games that were designed for a specific platform, so much so that they would lose something fundamental by being ported over to something else. However, Demon’s Souls isn’t one of these games. For proof, look no further than the fact that every subsequent game in the Souls series has been released for the PC. Similarly, FromSoftware has chosen to make both Sekiro and Elden Ring available on the PC as well. On the whole, there are a lot of people playing these games on said platform. Due to that, it seems reasonable to speculate that there would be a lot of people playing Demon’s Souls on said platform as well.
Of course, the decision isn’t FromSoftware’s to make. For those who are unfamiliar, Demon’s Souls belongs to Sony rather than FromSoftware, which is why the remake of Demon’s Souls was handled by a Sony-owned video game developer. As for whether it would make sense for Sony to release the game for the PC or not, well, it is interesting to note that the modern Sony has a very different position on this matter when compared with its older self. After all, the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn has been out since August of 2020. Furthermore, the PC version of God of War came out in January of 2022. These releases should make it very clear that Sony believes PC releases of its console exclusives to be worth it at least some of the time. There is no way to say whether Demon’s Souls would be worth it or not but there is reason to believe that it could be.
Why Is Sony Releasing Games for the PC Anyways?
We don’t exactly have perfect insight into Sony’s thinking on the matter. However, it isn’t hard to guess why it is doing as it does. Generally speaking, companies will pursue the course of action that will enable them to make the most profit because that is the main reason for their existence. They aren’t necessarily right about their chosen course of action being their best course of action. Furthermore, companies won’t always seek to maximize their short-term profit because there can be other important priorities that are even more consequential for their overall profitability. Still, if Sony is willing to make PC releases of its console exclusives, it is safe to say that it believes that it will profit through this course of action.
Sony benefits from the console exclusives that it owns through a number of ways. For starters, it makes money from the sales of those games. This is particularly important because those sales make up a notable part of its gaming revenues. Sony is apparently no longer selling the PS5 at a loss. However, it did so for about six months’ time. In comparison, it costs much less for games to be made available to interested individuals. Something that has become particularly true because so many people are choosing to just download games in modern times.
Having said this, console exclusives aren’t just beneficial because of their sales. Simply put, console exclusives are console exclusives, meaning that they can’t be bought for some other console. Thanks to this, if people want to play them, they are incentivized to buy the relevant console. After which, said individuals are much likelier to buy more games for their consoles. This is because their cost goes from the cost of the game plus the cost of the console needed to play the game to just the cost of the game, which is much more bearable because it is much lower. In fact, some people might choose to buy more games for the purpose of justifying the price that they have paid for the console. Something that isn’t very rational but has nonetheless been known to happen. Regardless, the important point is that console exclusives are a way for console makers to sell their consoles, which in turn, will help them sell their games for their consoles.
At this point, it is important to note that Sony isn’t making its console exclusives available right away. Instead, it is waiting until its console exclusives have already been out for more than a year’s time before releasing PC versions, which makes sense because that should provide it with the most benefits. Releasing the PC versions within a short period of time would just remove the status of console exclusives from those games, thus stripping them of their ability to convince people to adopt the console in question. Sony might be able to sell more units on both the PS5 and the PC but it would loss out on an opportunity to convince people to buy the PS5. Fortunately, it has no need to choose between these two priorities. Once Sony has already used a console exclusive to get people to buy the PS5, it can then release it for the PC for the purpose of getting even more sales from people who are unwilling to buy the PS5 for whatever reason. In this manner, it can collect both benefits even if it has to wait a bit longer.
Of course, there are some potential issues. However, none of them are particularly dire. For example, the people who are responsible for bringing a game from one platform to another will need to be paid. If the expected costs outweigh the expected benefits, the PC release won’t happen; if the expected costs outweigh the expected benefits, well, suffice to say that means money being made. Similarly, there are some die-hard console fans that have been known to react very poorly when console exclusives get released for other platforms. Even so, it is hard to imagine the loss in sales from these people outnumbering the gain in sales from PC consumers, particularly since their high levels of enthusiasm mean that they are some of the most eager to buy relevant products.
Further Considerations
Summed up, there is no guarantee that Sony will be releasing the remake of Demon’s Souls for the PC. However, there are multiple reasons to believe that this will be happening at some point in the future. First, Sony’s own marketing has planted the idea in the minds of interested individuals, though it is possible that the relevant error was an error and no more than an error. Second, the leak says that Demon’s Souls will be coming out for the PC, which is very convincing because the leak has had a very good track record of being right. Third, a PC release at a later point in time would make a lot of sense for Sony, particularly since there is a receptive player base for such games.