Namco Bandai Doesn't Meddle With Dark Souls Development

One of the hottest topics of discussion in the video games industry lately is the problem with publisher/developer relationships. Multi-game contracts, I.P. ownership, borderline extortion, unrealistic milestones, and other horror stories don’t paint a pretty picture of this vital yet uncomfortable aspect of our favorite entertainment medium. Thankfully From Software doesn’t have to worry about any black phantoms invading their offices and demanding ways for the game to appeal to the tween demographic. Namco Bandai’s Kei Hirono, producer of Dark Souls recently explained to Gamasutra in an interview that he likes to stay out of the way.

“…we let devs do what they want. Every time we receive a build, we’re actually surprised by the new aspects that have evolved. So our job is to deliver this game to you guys on time, so we’ll do our best to do that, and make sure that a great game is delivered.”

As if the unique online features and brutal, yet fair difficulty weren’t enough of a departure from the norm, this news of a non-invasive publisher propels Dark Souls above and beyond the what we’re used to seeing coming from the AAA games industry. Kei Hirano goes on to explain how exciting it is that Demons Souls and Dark Souls appeal to a worldwide market. This is a new experience for a company that mostly produces anime games. What’s even more refreshing to hear is that they’ve embraced this possibility instead of writing off worldwide audiences as a happy accident that will increase import gains unlike some Japanese publishers I feel I don’t need to name. Let’s hope that Namco Bandai’s relationship with From Software and drive to understand and appeal to worldwide audiences is a trend that will catch on in the video games industry. In a perfect world it already would have.

Source: Gamasutra