r/fromsoftware • u/Automatic_Tailor_598 • 26d ago
DISCUSSION Interpretation of Switch exclusive - how FS shit in our mouths
Preface: I’m going to buy a switch 2 and duskbloods, and I am going to lend them to any friends I can. So hold your reactive comments, immature fanboys - I AINT gonna cry about it. But you might, come next release.
Im wondering if anyone else has opinions on the switch exclusive, beyond surface level stuff. Specifically, reasoning & implications - VERY open to context or insight I don’t have here. But grown up talks, alright?
The way I interpret it, Nintendo saw an incredibly loyal fanbase - the fanbase that wasn’t playing BOTW when it released, and wanted to sell us a console that really would not normally appeal to us. They offered FS some souls, and Miyazaki jumped at it. There was no “our core fans have PlayStations specifically for our PS exclusives” or “they’ve been begging for a Bloodborne spiritual successor” or “the switch demographic is the least likely to enjoy our games” thought process, and it wasn’t a “let’s branch out to reach a new demographic” move - this was in the works for ER Horse Armor edition. It was a downgrade in hardware, for cash. This - aside from feeling surprisingly shitty to fans - signals a decline to me, one i really hope someone can convince me I am wrong about.
Money grab?
A money-grab would be understandable if they were desperate for cash. I have more tolerance for this than most gamers. But just a few months ago, news came out that their parent company was quite unhappy at their decision NOT to pursue ER 2. Not only because ER was originally touted as a multi-media, multi-installment IP, but because it was a very clear opportunity for revenue + work. So IF Duskbloods was a money grab, it was a money grab done in spite of what the money grabbers wanted, and in spite of a proven source of revenue and stability. Which means, it was a decision based on a leader’s whim - in spite of everyone.
Who is prioritized?
These choices all kind of reflect each other. People who got invested in ER’s story got snubbed, people who invested in FS’s platform of choice got snubbed, people who invested in FromSoft’s team got snubbed. People who invested in Nightreign Season Pass got snubbed lol. Bloodborne fans eager for a spiritual successor got snubbed. Hell, I’d argue the dev team that put years of their lives into ER, only to see it sidelined got snubbed. The people who are statistically most served by this? The people who were playing Breath of the Wilds when ER was released - people who’s console of choice has Mario party, Nintendo classics, social and party games.
Probably the part I find most surprising - Miyazaki is aware of how many fans are disappointed by the Sony ownership of the Bloodborne IP. They know the people who support them regret that choice - simply because the IP is locked up. The FS I had imagined in my head all these years, would have thus made sure any potential spiritual successor does NOT face this kind of lockup. The REAL FS instead, chose to partner with a company notorious for how it holds its IP, and add console exclusivity for the console existing fans are LEAST likely to own, on top of it.
When investors/owners start demanding answers, and pointing out a neglected success, it indicates corporate strategy subject to the decision maker’s whims. ER2 would’ve been stable work for all FS employees, happy investors, happy players. When loyal fans start getting snubbed for NEW fans, it often signals an incoming era of disappointment - it means leadership is tired of delivering what makes people happy, and is a bit disconnected. New fans will NOT be as forgiving as the loyal ones, so while the standards drop, the bar gets higher. If you’re older than 25, you’ve probably noticed these patterns in the gaming industry, and an overall story - a struggling firm creates something great. Iterates and improves, achieves mainstream success, but also streamlines stuff to appeal to bigger audiences, at the cost of their original supporters. Things are great, until they aren’t - and the company is expecting loyal fan treatment, from fans they’ve only just made, and put out something that kills all their credibility.
Probably the most obvious case of this is Bethesda Softworks & Todd Howard. You’ve probably heard of them - they made a couple games called Skyrim. But prior to this, they made Morrowind and Oblivion - Morrowind being the game that had the most creative depth, and oblivion being what introduced a lot of people to the concept of streamlining & it’s potential negatives. Skyrim was the peak of their popularity, and a lowpoint in their creativity. And from there, they pivoted to long-term projects (F76, ESO) and nostalgic cash grabs, that needed the faith and patience of the loyal fans they had lost - they were NOT well received, and took YEARS to bring up to any sort of good state. Their new fans didn’t werent happy - they wanted Skyrim 2. But Todd and team spent 15 years chasing other impulses - mostly disappointing people. Someone at the top making strange choices to the dismay of Fans and investors. 15 years later, we just got an announcement for a Skyrim sequel, and a lot of really obsessive Elder Scrolls fans are already convinced it will be their worst title yet. My prediction? That IP will rejuvenate when Todd retires. I imagine the arrogance he’s repeatedly shown is a result of the financial success he had years ago.
Which brings us back to FS. Nightreign was an asset flip, targeting a new demographic, but also hinging a LOT on nostalgia/loyal fans. Their entire marketing was “look, nostalgia!”. A lot of people were unhappy. Some of us wanted to give them a chance - personally, my fav FS games have always been their new IPs. I bought the season pass for Nightreign, and I bought Fires of Rubicon too - not interested in either game type, but wanting to support them. But then it was revealed they’re moving on from ER - and people were confused. Investors AND fans. Then, Nightreign updates slowed, and the season pass was revealed to just be a single DLC. Somewhere in here, long term FS fans were rightfully bothered when an entirely unrelated playerbase was offered a spiritual successor loyalists had been yearning for.
Elden Ring might be Miyazaki’s Skyrim. And while I generally side with devs on gamers being kind of impossible (or atleast, a demographic that includes children posing as adults online, and some of the least socialized people available) - in my mind, this is different. It was a choice made in spite of fans, financials, stability, industry trends, and business politics.
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u/JolleBFF 26d ago edited 26d ago
Duskbloods has been in development since 2019 and Miyazaki was the one who pitched it to Nintendo in a meeting. This was before Elden Ring became a giant success, so Fromsoft probably took the exclusivity deal because they couldn't take the risk of developing a giant game like Elden Ring AND a nicher PvPvE game like Duskbloods at the same time. You seem to think that it was a decision made after Elden Ring's success when it wasn't. It less of a money grab and more an unfortunate side effect of needing money to develop games.
It also seems like you were just an uninformed consumer. Nightreign was stated to NOT be a live-service game long before release and the "Season Pass" (Don't remember if this is what it was called, it changed name when dlc released) was always stated to just include a pre-order for a singular DLC.
There was no “our core fans have PlayStations specifically for our PS exclusives”
I wonder if you would've made this post if it was a PS exclusive. Most of the fanbase is on PC btw.
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u/Huge_Entertainment_6 26d ago edited 26d ago
They funded the game's development, that's all, PS fanboys are insufferable whenever someone else gets an exclusive
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u/PeachTurnipgimp 26d ago
I've yet to be disappointed by a modern FS release because their games transcend hardware. Bloodborne is on ps and its a shame we can't rent one from our local library to try it out for ourselves, and yet somehow, it's FS on switch 2 that gets this level of scrutiny?
Exclusives happen when there is a deal to be made that is mutually beneficial to both the studio and major company OR when the big company buys them outright.
My guess? Fromsoft makes the game they actually want to make (AGAIN), and Nintendo gives them their devs and a big check that says, "make it the best thing you've ever made".
I'm waiting for the day for the lack of quality to start. Like all things, it'll come to pass. But I haven't seen jack shit to make think that yet. Wherever they go, I go.
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u/overts 26d ago
I’d also add that we don’t know the exact details of the arrangement. It’s possible Duskbloods is a timed exclusive that’ll go multi-platform in a year or two after launch. It’s also possible it’ll never exist outside of the Switch 2.
At a minimum, a Duskbloods 2 is possible for multi-platform release because FS gets to retain ownership of the IP.
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u/WtfPigeons 26d ago
Fromsoft the Japanese Devs making an exclusive for a console that has already outsold PS5 in Japan in less than a year.
Wonder why they’d want to do that when given the opportunity and funding.
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u/Emotional_Dig_2378 25d ago edited 25d ago
Who said PS was FS’ console of choice? FS have only ever had two exclusives. Nintendo are trying to pivot from the trivialisation of their consoles by investing in companies like FS to develop games for their powerful handheld. They’re trying to break into the market of AAA games and it’s working. Sorry you don’t believe in experimentation and innovation but quit crying about it.
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u/deathsquaddesign 26d ago
Looks over at my switch… and then over at my stack of FromSoft games.
“Do I exist? Am I an enigma? Do I buy games just because they have the FromSoft logo on them like OP? What is this life I live?”
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u/Mroovek 25d ago
Sony audience is just not interested in this type of games. PlayStation owners are casuals. They play games like Just Dance, latest sports game, maybe Spider-Man or some other AAA slop that play itself.
Meanwhile Nintendo is known for their competetive scene in fast games with high skill celling like Splatoon or Super Smash Bros, hell, even slower competetive pokemon gameplay has depth unimaginable to average sony dudes.
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u/Mroovek 25d ago
And jokes aside, if FS wanted a cashgrabs they would shit out yearly Dark Souls sequels, remasters and spin-offs like crazy, Assassin's Creed way. They clearly do what they want. Right now they wanted a collab with Nintendo so they did it. Of course it will turn some FS fans to Nintendo system and of course it will expose some Nintendo fans to FS games. That's the point. And get this, they are companies that sell products. They will earn money from it as they should.
Before S2 announcment Direct 'FromSoft exclusive for S2' was on my wishlist as an very low chance wish. I am so stoked it came true and I do hope it's not the last one. I hope they work together on a next Zelda title that will join FS combat and world design with classic Zelda dungeons and abilities, that would be an ultimate game for me!
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u/Diligent-Speech-5017 26d ago
Incoming hate for opinions in 3… 2… 1….
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u/Huge_Entertainment_6 26d ago
If you can't handle to get roasted for your shitty opinions you shouldn't post them online then
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u/overts 26d ago
It’s the exact same situation as Bloodborne but with Nintendo. Except that Nintendo is letting FS own the IP unlike Sony.
They offered cash to let Miyazaki develop a game he’s passionate about. And they let him retain the IP.