Dark Souls 2’s Marketing Problem, As Addressed by Jim Sterling

One of my favorite writers, Jim Sterling, has put together a video on his Jimquisition show at The Escapist, addressing Namco Bandai's bid to go in guns blazing in its promotion of Dark Souls 2.

The first game, Dark Souls, had realistic expectations by comparison, with a very small marketing campaign and a fanbase that didn't expect the game to be anything other than what it was. The first game found success as it rode on its own merits instead of marketing hype—its sales driven instead by word of mouth. The result was that even though it didn't sell as many copies as Resident Evil 6, a game which sold over five million copies and was still considered a commercial failure, Dark Souls was a successful game in every regard.

With that in mind, Jim Sterling seeks to address the topic of the broken mentality of "AAA" publishers, and in this case, Namco Bandai with its promotion of Dark Souls 2. Sterling takes to task the publisher's decision to go in "balls deep" (an actual quote by its UK-based PR guy, Lee Kirton) with the game and says that there are still lessons for publishers to learn.

"Despite the first Dark Souls showing the world how real success is won, it appears lessons will not be learned," writes Sterling. "So start praying."

Dark Souls 2 is slated for release later this year on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3