Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition was one of the most disappointing PC ports in recent years, but From Software has learned from its mistake.
Speaking to ShackNews, Director Yui Tanimura shared his disappointment in the PC version of Dark Souls. He said:
A lot of it was not very well done, sort of half-assed.
Its successor won't suffer the same fate, though. Tanimura said:
This time, because we are considering the PC from the beginning, you can be sure there will be more care put into PC development.
It wasn't so much that the PC version of Dark Souls was a mess, it's just that it was a straight port. It looked, played, and felt exactly like its console counterparts. For anyone who has invested in their gaming hardware, that's a big pet peeve. To make matters worse Dark Souls was one of the highest-rated games of this generation and is known for its grueling difficulty that inflates its 20 hour experience upward of 60 hours. Dealing with a 30 FPS limit and clunky controls through a fully compelling experience just makes you want to scream into a pillow—but don't do that or you'll die to an enemy.
Although PC gamers complained, the game still sold over 300,000 copies on the platform. Some of that was the result of a resolution and framerate fix posted shortly after the game's launch, but most of it was PC gamers just wanting to see if they can survive the game's world famous punishing design. These respectful numbers have shown From Software that PC development is lucrative. The high sales numbers might look like they rewarded From Software for a bad port, but on the plus side the PC platform will receive one of 2014's most promising games without anything to hold it back.
