From Software acquired by Kadokawa Publishing
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From Software acquired by Kadokawa Publishing

 

April 28th 2014

Today Kadokawa Publishing announced its acquisition of shares of From Software Inc. in a public press release available here.

This may seem surprising given the seeming press and print focus of the company, but it is of note that Bandai Namco Holdings is one of the primary shareholders of the company, which may shed light on this distinctive decision.

The press release highlights the achievements of From Software such as owning its 3D technology and supporting successful international launches and recognition. It then indicates a desire to exploit synergies and strengths between the studio and Kadokawa Games so that both benefit from expanding marketing and global operations across all platforms and can successfully launch new IPs.

So how does the userbase feel about this? Yay or nay? Vote in the comments

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69 responses to “From Software acquired by Kadokawa Publishing”


  1. I usually never find the threads I’m looking for thru searching =( Though I’m rarely creating threads

  2. Fex is going to lose her damn mind if you people do not start learning to use the search function before making posts.

    This is like the 7th one of these threads she is going to have to merge into the main thread about this that she started.

  3. >
    I really would hope things don’t change :) glad that it has more resources prossibly at their disposal. I know as long as they keep releasing awesome souls games I will play till I go hollow!

  4. I read that From Software will remain intact and will continue to do business as usual. Maybe they will have more money and resources to continue in the same direction. Hopefully this change of management doesn’t change the content much. But it really wouldn’t make sense for a large corp to buy a smaller one at the height of its popularity only to gut it and make drastic changes. If it isn’t broken then don’t fix it right?

  5. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-04-28-dark-souls-developer-from-software-bought-by-kadokawa

    Saw this article and wondered what other people speculate will come from this? I was very please to see Kadokawa was the developer of Lunar: silver star story and Lunar 2: Eternal blue…. not that they are much like dark souls but they were incredibly good and hard PS games. I am guessing the teams working on DS2 will remain the same they just have a new parent company or something?

  6. I’m sure it’ll be fine. I doubt they would do anything that could jeopardize sales.

  7. Fromsoft our beloved developers of the Soul’s Series and Armored Core Series has been purchased by a very large manga, magazine, and animations company, Kadokawa Corporation. Seeing as this can mean a lot of things for Fromsoft as far as project control, budget and resources I think maybe we should discuss this…share our personal feelings and potential future of the Fromsoft’s IPs.

    Persoanlly I don’t know what to make of this… Semi-worried but optimistic. Kadokawa is a fairly unproven company when it comes to games which sort of makes the purchase of Fromsoft make more sense if you are trying to break it into the game industry. Also, corporate buy outs mean a lot of things i.e. Restructures, re-allocation of resources, new ideas for IPs, new rules… Again I’d like to stress I’m not whining about this or believe without question that this is the worst thing since the Superman 64 game but I am a bit apprehensive for the future of Fromsoft games. At the same time this opens a lot of doors for the Soul’s series like media outside of games. Anime, manga, light novels there are many good stories in Dark Souls! Seathe’s decent to madness, Gwyn’s rise to power, Artorias and the dark of the Abyss, The smiling toothy serpents Frapt and Kaathe, even King Vendrick of the new Souls game seems like an interesting motif/echo of Gywn.

    But… time will tell I suppose. Anyway what do guys you think?

    http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/28/dark-souls-developer-from-software-bought-out-by-kadokawa -IGN Article
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2014/04/28/dark-souls-studio-from-software-acquired-by-manga-giant-kadokawa/ – Forbes Article

  8. >

    IMO, no. I do, however, realize that there are some that do.

    About a possible Demons Souls 2. I’d have no problem with the game being set in a future Boletaria, but I don’t think they should hit you over the head with this fact like they did in Dark Souls 2. Having one NPC saying stuff like, “multiple kingdoms have fallen and risen on this land. blah blah blah,” is okay, as long as it’s only one. We definetely don’t need every single NPC to say it though.

  9. >

    That would be awesome! Boletaria is saved from the mists and 100 years later an unknown character shows up in an area 100’s of miles away when weird things start happening to the locals; hollowing, demons, and eventually a new fog… you as a character have to figure out the link between these events and this unknown character to save (or destroy) this new area. Sticky white stuff to the rescue!

  10. >

    To be fair, with the recent surge of popularity outside of Japan, most people only really get what gets shoved in their faces in the media.

    Which usually means Shonen and Shojo stuff. Which are not inherently bad by themselves, but their increased popularity and abundance often tend to overshadow more of the Seinen stuff which would probably connect better with a more mature viewer.

    Now, I got into anime before it was a really big thing here in America, back before they even started airing the Toonami stuff like DBZ and Gundam. Was a huge Macross fan back in the day, and have fond memories of waking up every Saturday morning to watch anime on the SyFy channel (which played lovely gems like Zeirem, Vampire Hunter D, I.R.I.A. and the like).

    The more mature stuff is generally less mainstream than it was in the past, but it still exists. The Berserk movies are still being made, people are still giving praise to Claymore, Black Lagoon is killer as always, Ghost in the Shell is still relatively popular. Period pieces like Shiguiri: Death Frenzy and Sword of the Stranger as still being made. There are even gems like Deadman Wonderland that turn up every now and again. Still waiting for them to finally finish out Hellsing Ultimate as well. The Vampire Hunter D remake they did not TOO long ago wasn’t terrible either.

    I think more people would like anime if they just had people to recommend ones that appeal to their sensibilities.

  11. I like how nearly 100% of people with a deep loathing of anime and fear of its influence have virtually no concept of what anime actually is. Dark Souls, as it is right now, is already heavily anime influenced. The things everybody is ready to abandon ship over come from the equivalent of Saturday morning kids cartoons. Its like saying you don’t want an american company to influence your game because theyll turn it into barbies dream house adventure.

    People who know what they are talking about have already referenced the Berserk series, which is much darker than the souls series with a thousand times the gore. If you’re worried about an anime influence and you don’t notice the one that already saturates the series you love then you literally don’t know what you’re talking about.

  12. Meh, as I said, a good portion of the atmosphere in the Souls series has been based off of stuff in Berserk.

    The idea of being cursed to die. The physical manifestation of the curse (the Brand in Berserk, Darksign in DKS). A generally dark atmosphere with undead and demons all over the place. The character design for Artorias and Orenstein are both heavily influenced by the armor Gutts wears.

    Then there is Ricards Rapier and the Smith named Rickert in DKS1. Both of which are common translations of the name of a character in Berserk, who also happens to become a smith later in the story.

    The design for the Dark set and the Darkwraiths in general was heavily based off of Skull Knight in Berserk. And the Thorned Swords design was based off of his sword.

    The Greatsword is basically the exact sword Gutts uses, at least in terms of looks.

    Berserk has kind of been a HUGE influence on the art direction of the game.

  13. Maybe its time to start pressuring sony to get someone to make demon’s souls 2? Anyway if the souls series survived the bamco transition, they will probably survive this one. Whether the quality will remain as good, is still in question.

  14. Only time will tell how Kadokawa affects the Soul Series, and From Software as a whole. I, for one, am not too worried about it. Let’s say Kadokawa does push From into making a watererd-down casual crap fest of a souls game. There’s nothing preventing From, or anyother developer, from making a more souls-esque Souls game afterwards. As we have seen with many other developers, the true mind(s) behind the Souls series could also leave From Software and join another development team or start their own company and make a spiritual successor there. The original creators of Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, and Megaman are all good examples of this.

    About Anime. There a plenty of Animes out there that are dark/(sur)realistic/gritty. Ergo Proxy, Witch Hunter Robin, Cowboy Bebop, Berserk, the Higurashi series, and many many more. Yes, some of the titles I mentioned have some humurous elements, but the dark elements are truly dark.

    Movie/TV adaptation. Game of Thrones, to me, is medieval political theater (war, allegiances, betrayal) with a high emphasis on world building. This type of show could work well with a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, but not so much a Souls game. A Souls style Game of Thrones show would have to have most of its story be made specifically for the show, instead of being taken directly from the game itself. It could work, but…I think a Souls movie/tv show would be better as something more action heavy with subtle story elements, like the games themselves.

  15. >

    It has more to do with the look of the game–the graphical style. I’m well aware that Dark Souls isn’t realistic. But you won’t see any of my characters rolling with a Black Knight weapon or the greatsword.

    I looked up this “Berserk” that some of you have mentioned. I find the artwork more interesting and detailed than your typical anime style. At least it’s not as exaggerated as some. What it boils down to for me is whether the artistic direction can back up the seriousness of the game material and whether it can suspend my disbelief for a time while playing it. That’s all I’m trying to say here. And that goes for any game–not just the Souls’ series.

  16. >

    Sorry but you can keep your game that already has cartoony characters with big eyes, spiky blonde hair and swords absurdly too large for practical use.

    Yeah Greatsword, Drakewing, Black Knight everything Need to GTFO my realistic game. These huge oversized weapons and pointy haircuts are obscuring my realistic ability to throw fire from my hand and rub tree sap on my weapons to coat them in stationary lightning.

    Also note he didn’t say to make Souls more anime-esque. Merely that a game with the mechanical feel of dark souls and the look of say Berserk would be something he, and others, would enjoy.

  17. A dark, gritty, darkgritty Dark Souls anime would have the potential to be decent though there is Sturgeon’s Law to take into account. Though to be honest, I kind of want an incredibly stupid comedic anime with all the genre conventions just for the ridiculousness of it. I’m sure you can picture it.

    Another IP would also be nice, even if it’s just another Souls game. I want another universe. Hell, I’m fine with it if that turns out to be the lighthearted game ublug mentioned as long as it retains the gameplay. Happy Funtime Souls go! Watch as the first level has swarms of bunnies hugging you into submission! Or maybe a game that borrows from the Souls and AC franchises…

    And for people worried that the Souls series will be flooded with nekkid grills, the last game had Quelaag and Ms. Amazing Chest while this one had Boob Witches. Sorry, I meant Boob Sorceresses.

  18. >

    It doesn’t have to be anime, I for one would like to see that Faraam Knight’s adventure through the end with graphics like the ones in the trailers. Anime would be okay-ish only because it’s Dark Souls.

    The games could branch out more as I stated, one for the anime-lovers and one for the those who like more realistic looks. I really dont mind as I can both.

  19. Here’s my take on this (total speculation btw):

    From will make a dark fantasy game for next gen consoles, I also assume it has been in development for quite some time. It will be a spiritual successor to King’s Field ;)
    This has become their cash cow game/franchise after all, and it is also the main reason for what From has grown to be during the last five years. So if they wan’t to keep the wheels turning without loosing weight they kind of have to continue making it.

    If Kadokawa publishes I guess it’s the last we see of Dark Souls with From as developer, since that name’s tied to Namco (like Demon’s Souls was tied to Sony). But, from what I understand, Kadokawa doesn’t have an American or European branch, so it could be that they are only taking over the Japanese publishing which From has self-published until now, so Namco could also still be involved.

    But Miyazaki also said he would like to work on a more light hearted game, so we could also see another type of fantasy adventure emerging somewhere down the line, since that’s Miyazaki’s area of expertise afaik.

  20. Berserk or no, still anime/manga. I too agree Souls should be as realistic looking and gritty as possible. The only thing I could think of outside of the video game that could possibly work is a Game of Thrones style, movie or TV series.

  21. >

    Sorry but you can have it if it comes to that. Anime would completely and utterly ruin this series. I’m sure others like yourself would love it. There’s no doubt tons of people are into that type of thing. It just doesn’t hold the suspension of disbelief for me nor would it retain its character. I prefer the more realistic look (if you can call it that). I don’t want it ruined with skinny cartoony characters with big eyes and spiky blonde hair that carry swords around 10x bigger than them. Yuk…

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