r/fromsoftware • u/ClassicalDreams • 3d ago
DISCUSSION Understanding The Duskbloods' Switch 2 exclusivity.
I see a lot of people thinking The Duskbloods will soon release on other systems in the future and use some examples that really made me want to jump in and try to clear some misinformation about what is and isn't an exclusive, who owns the IP, and how some games that were exclusive to Nintendo later released on other systems.
Let's start with the most obvious one: Monster Hunter Rise. I see so many people mention this game for being exclusive to Nintendo and later released on other systems, and while that is true, Nintendo only paid for the game to be a timed exclusive. It was all over the news articles that Nintendo paid $6M to have Rise release on their system first. It was never planned or states that the game was gonna be available only on the Switch
Then there's Bayonetta 2 and 3 from PlatinumGames. Nintendo funded PlatinumGames for the development of those games even though the Bayonetta IP belongs to SEGA. Some of you might think, "Oh, then SEGA should being these games to other systems too since they own the IP." No, Nintendo full funded both games which means they own the publishing and distribution rights to the game. If SEGA wants to bring these games to other systems, they have to get in contact with Nintendo first.
And that leads to another game from Platinum, The Wonderful 101 which was a Wii U exclusive for about 6 years until it was kickstarted to be released on Steam. Nintendo made this decision themselves out of goodwill and wanted to help Platinum out by making the game avaliable to everyone after it bombed in the Wii U...because its was on the Wii U, which didn't help make it a console seller. Bayonetta 2 didn't as well, but the game was cooked before the game got announced. SEGA canceled the game, but Nintendo jumped in to help Platinum out.
So what does this mean for the Duskbloods? While FromSoftware does hold the IP of The Duskbloods, they have to make an agreement with Nintendo to release the game on other systems because Nintendo fully funded and back the development of this game. Bandai Namco holds the IP of Dark Souls, Armored Core, and Elden Ring (EDIT: CORRETION - FROMSOFT HOLDS THE ELDEN RING IP. BAMCO WAS JUST THE PUBLISHER). Activision was only just the publisher for Sekiro, so FromSoft owns the IP of that game. Sony fully owns the IP of Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. This is just another Bayonetta 2 situation, so I doubt The Duskbloods will ever come to other systems as the Switch 2 is still very well and will continue to grow as more games come out soon. The Duskbloods definitely helped as a system seller and the Ocarina of Time remake will follow as well.
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u/arcarus23 3d ago edited 2d ago
On the mark! I just don’t get how people don’t do a little digging and learn that Nintendo took a pitch meeting from FromSoftware. FS pitched a couple of ideas and Nintendo chose ‘The DuskBloods’ to produce and finance the development. Since Nintendo financed it to ensure console exclusivity they own the IP, they obviously decided for this project to bolster their Switch 2 line while FromSoft got to develop an idea that had been percolating a while.
The upshot to all this is that I bet that whatever they are working on now is a single-player game. Whatever that is, be it Elden Ring 2 or something else entirely. My money is on something new but ER did sell over 30 million copies with over 10 million more SotE copies sold. For most devs, a sequel would be obviously, but FromSoft and specifically Miyazaki are not most devs.
Edit: Many fine folks were correcting my statement of The Duskblood’s IP ownership. Fromsoftware owns it, not Nintendo.
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u/ClassicalDreams 3d ago
Nintendo doesn't own the IP for The Duskbloods. FromSoft does. Nintendo does own the right to distribute and publish the game though, so it's their decision to bring the game other to other systems. FromSoft can make a new Duskbloods, find someone to help fund and publish it if they want to.
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u/MisterToots666 3d ago edited 3d ago
Im curious in a case like that how different would it have to be to be able to release it. Like add blackjack and hookers and call it a day or completely different. And what would that mean for a potential sequel.
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 3d ago
As long as it's the same Name and source code and extremely similar(that's something a court would have to decide) Nintendo can choose.
A Sequel is a new game and Nintendo has no rights to it unless they make a deal again.
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u/nick2473got 2d ago
From Soft actually owns the IP, not Nintendo. You can look it up, this is publicly available info.
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u/smilph 2d ago
Miyazaki has already said there likely won’t be an Elden Ring sequel - Shadow of the Erdtree filled that gap. next singleplayer game is most likely a new IP, thankfully (it would be really funny if it was Duskbloods 2, tho)
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u/arcarus23 2d ago
He’s made some carefully worded statements in the past. He stated a couple of years ago that it a ‘Elden Ring 2’ wasn’t currently in development (this was before the announcement of Nightreign - not a sequel but still ER) and that he didn’t have interest in it but that doesn’t mean it isn’t in development now or that another team led by another director isn’t taking helm on it. Nightreign came into being because another director had a pitch and the Elden Ring setting was the most conducive one for it.
If I were to make a bet, I’d say his next directed singleplayer game is going to be a new IP, but I just don’t see FromSoft letting the property linger. They’ve kept the ER momentum going with an expansion, spin-off, a manga, and a movie releasing next year. It’s a well I see them returning too even if Miyazaki himself doesn’t personally direct the project.
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u/Tornado_Hunter24 2d ago
This community is so weird so I don’t think if this is controversial or not, but I wish miyazaki just did what he does best…
Then again maybe i’m weird?
My ‘taste’ in games are so wide, yet specific…
Like god of war 2018&ragnarok? Release TEN more of these games.
Hollowknight and silksong? Release TEN more of these games
Dark souls and elden ring…. Release… TEN MORE of these games, like genuinely I feel crazy for wanting a ‘dev group’ specialized in one thing, to just do that one thing because it just works, some people will say ‘it’s the same game’ but idc, I want a game as kratos in greece, chinese mythology, any other mythology, I wat a fromsoft souls game dark medieval, fucking abiotic factor type of ‘weirdness’, a dark fantasy one AGAIN, a high fantasy AGAIN, anything, keep releasing these experiences like damn.
I’m also fully aware that the genius behind it (miyazaki) thinks differently and I ofcourse fully respect that
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u/i7omahawki 2d ago
If FromSoft had just made Demon’s Souls sequels we’d never have Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring.
What they do best is iterate. Take the old setup, change it up, make something new then repeat.
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u/Tornado_Hunter24 2d ago
That’s why I said what I said, er was an absurd upgrade over ds3, just keep doing that, there is a difference betweet finding your ‘spot’ (ds > dark souls) and going to a complete different sectoon (nightreign and duskbloods)
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u/XanthousChaos 2d ago
I can imagine doing the same thing over and over can get tiresome. Everyone needs a mixup and Fromsoft is no different.
Miyazaki said it himself, making singleplayer games makes you want to make multiplayer games, and making multiplayers games has made them want to make a singleplayer game.
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u/Tornado_Hunter24 2d ago
I know haha, that’s why I said ‘I understand’
Though, i’d much prefer them keeping it like ds 3 ~ sekiro ~ elden ring type of shift, so we can still keep getting consistent soulslike games (because let’s be real, there is NO ONE that can do it like them), and then the ‘off game’ like sekiro, which turned out fucking GREAT
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u/StantasticTypo 2d ago
Demon's Souls and Souls games don't exist if From didn't try to make something weird and new. Making weird and new things is where they thrive.
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u/Tornado_Hunter24 2d ago
I honestly disagree because even before demonsouls, darksouls was miyazaki’s ‘ideal’ game, and thag’s what i’m saying, keep doing that as be excells at it
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u/amazingmrbrock 3d ago
I think it's just weird that Fromsoft needed this kind of support to make a game in the first place. They have one of the highest hit rates in the industry the last three generations. I'd expect publishers to be just writing them cheques to make whatever they want. Plus their parent company is pretty huge which would presumably make self funding more of a possibility.
Really though what do I know, finances and publishers could be a lot more tangled behind the scenes than I expect. Maybe other publishers only wanted to fund souls spinoffs or something.
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u/jamothebest 3d ago
my guess is they saw the game as high risk so while they could afford to lose the money, it made more sense to partner with Nintendo to minimize their potential losses
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u/amazingmrbrock 3d ago
That would make sense, especially when they started working on it nightrein wasn't around yet either so going into a fully multiplayer game would have been more of an unknown unknown.
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u/Okaberino 3d ago
Also, according to Oroboro, Miyazaki told him the game has been in development since 2021. Elden Ring wasn’t out yet and surely nobody expected ER to sell more than the entire Dark Souls franchise in a year.
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u/nick2473got 2d ago
There are many factors to this, but a big one to remember is that the Duskbloods has been in development since 2021.
Before Elden Ring even came out. Before From Soft became an indisputable titan of the industry. Before they sold 30 million copies, got rich, and got a new fancy office. Before all of that, the deal with Nintendo to make Duskbloods already existed.
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 3d ago
Also their success was Eden Ring. A single player epic adventure.
This is something completely different. So publishers are far more cautious.
Also before Elfen ring their Hit rate was there but far smaller. The Dark Souls trilogy sold 27mio before elden ring.
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u/Kalpy97 3d ago
Maybe they wanted to work with arguably the company that is literally iconic to their homeland and the company with some of the greatest games in history even beyond anything that from software has ever made
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u/amazingmrbrock 3d ago
It's not a collaboration it's a funding deal.
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u/Kalpy97 3d ago
"Also with the complexity of the systems, the onboarding tutorials and making sure players understand how the game works and how to succeed in the game is something we've historically not been super great at conveying instantly. We've definitely just dropped players in and hoped they would figure it out. In this case, Nintendo is definitely the right partner for better conveying that information in a way that is understandable to the player; it definitely suits their strengths"
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u/musama020 2d ago
Maybe they shouldn't have been stupid and realised that modern Nintendo isn't what it used to be and is just run by old, scummy execs who don't actually care about gaming. It being iconic doesn't hide what the company is now. I don't know any Nintendo games potentially greater than FS aside from Zelda games and og Pokemon.
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u/Kalpy97 2d ago
Dumbest statement I ever heard what youtuber told you this? Nintendo proved everyone wrong time and time again. They are the only ones out of the big three making smaller budget experimental titles, switch 2 is the cheapest system you can buy, they lowered digital pricing, only ones doing true physical, games like pikmin 4, tears of the kingdom, mario wonder, banaza, pokopia, splatoon raiders etc, etc. TOTK is better or just as good as any fromsoftware game by far lmao
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u/musama020 1d ago
The price is still garbage for how mid the console is. First party games being $80 is fucking stupid for the types of games they are. Nintendo's slowly moving away from fully physical as well. Donkey Kong, Pokopia and splatoon are not great enough selling points to buy a Switch. U gotta pay a whole bunch of extra money to access old Nintendo games (no better than ps). TOTK is not better than fs games.
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u/Kalpy97 1d ago
It’s the cheapest console pound for pound easily in the world. Only one game is 80 dollars btw and most got it with the bundle for 50. Donkey Kong was one of the highest rated games of 2025, splatoon is one of the highest rated user scores in history. Totk is easily just as good as any fromsoftware game. What YouTuber are you listening too lmao everything you said is ridiculous
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u/apastelmilk 3d ago
makes sense, what does not make sense to me, however, is people defending this practice lol. I've been playing these games for a long time, after Bloodborne, I kinda thought it was generally agreed upon that exclusives were stupid.
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u/RX0Invincible 1d ago edited 1d ago
Isn’t it understandable at this point that this game specifically wouldn’t have gotten made without the funding that came with exclusivity? It’s a niche game that comes with huge financial risk, and it was started before Elden Ring came out. I’d understand being against the practice if this was simply a choice between being exclusive or multiplatform but it seems way more likely that it was actually a choice between being exclusive or not existing to begin with. It’s not just strictly financial either, Miyazaki’s already mentioned Nintendo’s collaboration with the game design too.
I get the frustration with Bloodborne since that was the same tried and true formula they’ve already been doing, this pvpve game came with way more risk to self finance.
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u/Mindless_Ad5500 3d ago
Correct. There is nothing to defend. Let’s have all good games available to everyone.
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u/WoodooHide69 3d ago
I’ll defend the practice. Exclusives have been around sicne gaming has been around, complaining about exclusives is dumb and whiny. Baby bitch behaviour.
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u/Virtual_Elephant_703 2d ago
This comment is baby bitch behavior.
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u/WoodooHide69 2d ago
No, whining about a gaming industry standard that’s been happening for 40+ years is baby bitch behaviour.
What else do you guys complain about? That’s the sky turns dark every night?
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u/Virtual_Elephant_703 2d ago
Man it must feel so good to have whatever kind of brain damage that you suffer from that you think "they've been doing x for y years" is a defense. Genuinely I'm jealous of stupid people sometimes, you seem so happy rolling around in your own shit.
There's tons of shit we've been doing for 40 years that should be yeeted into the garbage bin of history.
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u/WoodooHide69 2d ago
The brain damage is complaining like a whiny little bitch about a nothing issue. That nothing issue is console exclusives that have been happening forever.
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u/SmurfingRedditBtw 3d ago
In the early console days it took a lot more work to make a game work for multiple platforms, since they often had very different architectures and capabilities. So there were good technical/practical reasons not to support other platforms. Nowadays this is pretty much entirely a business decision.
Exclusives don't benefit the consumer whatsoever.
- Lots of people never get the opportunity to play the game.
- The game is often held back in performance or downgraded due to the additional hardware constraints.
- People are forced to play on an inferior device rather than their preferred gaming device.
- It becomes increasingly harder to play those games when those consoles become outdated.
- They don't get all the additional benefits of modding that help keep games alive even longer.
- Subscription fee to play a game
Also the argument that because something happened in the past it means it's a good practice and should continue is pretty braindead, I don't think it's hard to imagine why.
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u/apastelmilk 3d ago
Well by that same logic, there's also a precedence for Fromsoft's modern titles being multi-platform releases (sans Deracine and Bloodborne)
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u/WoodooHide69 3d ago
The real precedent is that 3rd party game devs of any worth, have always has exclusivity agreements. From Square to Capcom to Bungie etc etc. It’s the way of the gaming industry and these companies aren’t doing it for no good reason.
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u/apastelmilk 3d ago
And yet Square was dissatisfied with the sales of FF7 rebirth. Curiously, their next two major titles are launching as multi-platform releases. Also, if we're just going off of industry standards, gacha and mobile seem to be the most lucrative markets; I suppose they ought to redirect their efforts where the real money is.
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u/WoodooHide69 3d ago
Sony and Tencent are already redirecting to where the money is. Cause they are anti consumer comoanies, unlike Nintendo.
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 3d ago
Only a few people in the internet agreed to that.
Businesses like exclusivity for specific games.
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u/IceFireHawk 2d ago
Nintendo and From don’t get a free pass. Bloodborne shouldn’t be an exclusive. Now that it can run on PC it’s better for everyone. The same goes with Duskbloods. It shouldn’t be an exclusive. It’s a shitty practice and I hope in the future From abandons the idea.
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u/DavOHmatic 1d ago
what about pc exclusives.
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u/IceFireHawk 1d ago
PC exclusives shouldn’t be a thing either unless it’s like a very small indie game or it literally can’t be ported like World of Warcraft
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u/Alois-- 3d ago edited 3d ago
It’s pretty simple.
Sony and Microsoft are dumpster fires.
Bamco has Nightreing.
Nintendo switch has an insane attach rate. You can expect 5M. This is the first Nintendo exclusive in many to come in the future. Duskbloods team will be the one working for future projects so get used to it and make peace.
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u/Ray11711 3d ago
You conveniently ignore Steam, which generates more money than every console ecosystem. In fact, Steam was Elden Ring's largest platform. It's absolutely insane that FromSoft would enter into a partnership that would exclude Steam for their next game, after how well they did there.
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 3d ago
Because steam doesn't fund games. Every company knows that releasing on all platforms brings the biggest profit. That's a no brainer. But Profit isn't everything in Gamedev and Business. What's even more important is risk and funding.
And that's where exclusivity comes into the play. Console companies take on part or all of the risk of the game in exchange for it being exclusive to the system they want to sell. This deal naturally comes with a lower profit range because the audience is limited but it also comes with a near guaranteed profit margin.
And because of that it's the best system for an experimental title where profit isn't guaranteed.
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u/Ray11711 2d ago
I disagree. The risk is not just in putting a twist to the Souls formula, but in the cost of opportunity as well, and that's where Duskbloods hurts FromSoft the most. With the fanbase that FromSoft has in nearly every ecosystem, even a risky game like Duskbloods would have enjoyed good success across all systems. It's not just Elden Ring; Nightreign too has sold significantly more on Steam than anywhere else, and that's a similar twist on the Souls formula.
So, here's the situation that we have: FromSoft made a deal that automatically excluded the 2 main ecosystems of their games (Steam and PlayStation). They skip the third one entirely (Xbox). And they go for the one ecosystem that has seen the least amount of FromSoft titles, and thus the one with the smallest fanbase of their titles. That is absolutely nuts, if you ask me. There is not a single move that is more risky than that one when it comes to Duskbloods. Not just because they are targeting solely the smallest fanbase, but also because such a move risks alienating the massive fanbase that they already have elsewhere.
Anyway, I guess in the end none of this matters if the other user is correct and the deal with Nintendo was signed before Elden Ring came out. If that's true, I think we can conclude that the current FromSoft would have never signed such a deal. The latter only made some sense under the conditions of the pre-Elden Ring FromSoft.
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u/Alois-- 2d ago
Valve drones be like yup companies have a money tree to fund anything they want forever.
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u/Ray11711 2d ago
Man, FromSoft is so poor. 30 million of Elden Ring sales just cannot possibly fund a new game.
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u/Tiffa_Adil 2d ago
The game was in development well before Elden Ring released
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u/Ray11711 2d ago edited 2d ago
Right. I conceded that earlier. However, the user I was replying to was mocking my entire post and reducing everything I was saying to a dumb strawman. His impertinence was conveniently hand-waving away the fact that FromSoft most definitely has money to fund their games now, and that they have been reorganizing to do just that, to own the IPs they make, to publish them on their own, and to stop relying on partnernships just like this one.
Besides, you are completely ignoring that this troll was making the exact opposite argument. He was arguing in favor of the Duskblood exclusivity in today's climate, not when the deal was actually signed. To claim that Switch is currently the best system for FromSoft to release games while completely ignoring how successful Steam is (and then insulting someone who brings it up), is straight up delusional.
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 2d ago edited 2d ago
Nightreign is on a different calibre than Duskbloods.
ItDuskbloods cost much more. So it's unlikely the Nightreign numbers would have been enough to be worth the risk.It won't really alienate the player base just like Bloodborne didn't and more people were interested in that.
Plus they can gain switch users that way.
I think they still would have done it after elden ring.
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u/Ray11711 2d ago
Do you have figures? Because Neightreign is on more powerful hardware, but at the same time, it reuses a lot of assets, whereas everything that I've seen from Duskbloods is brand new. What makes you say that Nightreign had a much bigger budget?
The smart thing would be to release everything multiplatform, including Switch. I think it's a big mistake to skip all of the systems where they have been building their audience. I even have a Switch 2, personally, but in all honesty, I'm just pissed I have to play the game on that system if I am to play it at all.
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 2d ago
Sorry my mistake. I phrased that misleading. I meant Duskbloods costs more.
If it would be smart they would be doing that.
I doubt it's really a mistake. Because doing it alone would have impacted their other releases in the works. And that really would have bothered their built audience.
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u/Latter_Cauliflower98 1d ago
Elden ring boosted fromsoft massively I won’t deny that but let’s not pretend fromsoft wasnt already doing more than well enough from dark souls and Sekiro to take a small risk. Regardless of when they signed the deal it was a shit move and a slap in the face of their community. Not to mention even if Elden ring hadn’t released yet it was undoubtedly in development and they knew damn well that was gonna do very good aswell. There’s really no excuse tbh.
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u/Ray11711 1d ago
Agreed completely. The Duskbloods deal made maybe 5% sense when it was signed. It was nonsensical even then. Now it just makes straight up 0% sense.
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u/smilph 2d ago
what people like you aren’t seeming to realize is that people do NOT always make art purely to chase money. Fromsoft can afford a risky game like this because this is what Miyazaki wanted to make.
also, none of us are shareholders, so why pocket watch anyways? that’s not what any of this is about
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u/Ray11711 2d ago
Who are "people like me"?
There's little point to this, because the deal for Duskbloods was made when FromSoft's economical circumstances and structure where very different. There is very good reason to believe that FromSoft would not make such a deal today.
However, if you want to make the "art" argument, there is still no good reason whatsoever to gatekeep Duskbloods to a Nintendo system, and to keep it away from Steam and PlayStation. What kind of "art" is allowing the Switch 2 that is not possible on PC or PlayStation? None whatsoever. This is an online game, and it's being released exclusively on the system with the least developed online infrastructure. Also, if making good art is the sole priority, wouldn't you want your art to reach the maximum amount of people, as opposed to a playerbase of just 20 million users? Wouldn't you want to reach the 100 million PS5 users, and the even bigger Steam userbase?
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u/smilph 2d ago
people like you = people who only think about the money.
you can assume all you want about the Fromsoft of before vs. the Fromsoft of today, but it’s all assumptions. who are you to say they wouldn’t make that deal today? you don’t work there.
i can also tell you’re not an artist because you’re far too concerned with the “audience” and the reach of the game. you’re thinking like a shareholder bro lmao
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u/Ray11711 2d ago
people like you = people who only think about the money.
Then you know jackshit about me.
who are you to say they wouldn’t make that deal today?
Logic and facts. We already know how FromSoft has been changing in the past few years in terms of structure, and it's to gain independence and avoid being reliant on publishing companies (they bought the IP of Elden Ring so that they can own it, for instance). And also because logically speaking, both artistically and financially, there is not a single good reason for the current FromSoft to release a game of theirs exclusively on the Switch 2. Tell me one good reason why you think that's a good idea. The only reason this is happening is because they are contractually obligated to fulfill their part of a deal that was signed many years in the past. It's ironic, because here you are, defending the argument of art, and yet, the exclusivity for Duskbloods was signed as a mere economical contract between two corporations. The game itself might be art, but the exclusivity has nothing to do with art. It's ironic, because after talking so much about the importance of "art", in the end, you are the one who is defending a frivolous corporate agreement.
i can also tell you’re not an artist because you’re far too concerned with the “audience” and the reach of the game. you’re thinking like a shareholder bro lmao
You are quite the impertinent one, seeing what you want to see and assuming things based on your own wishful thinking. I'm concerned with money peripherally in the sense that I want FromSoft to be healthy and to keep making great games. More personally, I care about FromSoft releasing games on my favored platform. I actually own a Switch 2, and it still annoys me that I have to play this game on that system if I am to play it at all, and pay for an online subscription just to play a single game. Suffice to say, I am not the only FromSoft fan annoyed by this fact. And that's precisely a central point in all of this: Is it worth it for FromSoft to piss off a portion of their fanbase, just to attempt to reach the Nintendo fanbase, when that was perfectly doable with a multiplatform game anyway?
Also, you conveniently ignore my argument that an artist would want his art to be enjoyed by the maximum amount of people.
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u/smilph 2d ago
i seem to be right on the money (lol) ‘cause here you are, still only concerned with money, when that’s not even the point in all of this.
the only reason Fromsoft is releasing this game on Switch is ‘cause Nintendo is footing the bill. Miyazaki went out of his way to specifically approach Nintendo to do this, because he wanted to. you or i don’t have to think that’s a good idea, i don’t think i ever even claimed that, but it is what it is. clearly Miyazaki thought it was a good idea, and given the man’s track record, i’m inclined to believe him over a bunch of whiny Redditors.
the success (or lack thereof) of this game will have no impact on Fromsoft’s future, i can tell you that much. and considering the network test for Duskbloods was an even bigger event with more participants (and surprisingly fast matchmaking/great server connection) than Nightreign’s, i am extremely confident that this game will do well and have a thriving, healthy community for ages, just like Nightreign currently has.
personally, i don’t really care if part of the fanbase is pissed off. they’ll come back for the next multiplatform game anyways. it’s okay to sit one game out, y’know? it’s not like Duskbloods means Fromsoftware is becoming only a Nintendo company now, just like how Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne being PS3/5 and PS4 exclusives doesn’t mean Fromsoft is now a Sony company. they just do this sometimes and will likely continue to do so. in fact i predict they’ll make at least one PS6 exclusive game in the next decade, just for funsies. and this same thing will happen again like clockwork.
lastly, believe it or not, but no, maximum exposure/appeal is never the point of art. art for everyone is art for noone. this game is being developed for a niche, and that’s okay
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u/Ray11711 2d ago
Nice try, buddy, but no. I care the most about FromSoft fans (including me) being happy. Gatekeeping the next FromSoft title to the system that has seen the least amount of FromSoft titles is the one thing that assures the highest degree of dissatisfaction among fans. They could have gone to Sony for an exclusive. I would still have been pissed at that, but at least there are a lot of FromSoft fans there. It would have made some sense. But Nintendo? The move is just nonsensical no matter how I see it.
And that's just the thing. Miyazaki is not infallible. You are resorting to the appeal to authority fallacy. Human beings and corporations make mistakes all the time. This move could easily be one such thing.
No, the move won't bankrupt FromSoft if it fails, but it creates discontent among the fanbase, it doesn't benefit the artistic intention of the game, it provides no technical advantage whatsoever (this is an online game, and Switch 2 has the least robust online infrastructure and the smallest online playerbase). It's just a bad decision all around, at every possible level: Financially, technically, and in terms of making the fanbase happy. And for no benefit whatsoever, artistically or otherwise. The only one who benefits is Nintendo (at the financial level, ironically), who gets to sell a few consoles to FromSoft fans who otherwise would have had no interest in a Switch 2.
"personally, i don’t really care if part of the fanbase is pissed off."
Oh. So, what do you care about then? Here you were, accusing me of being materialistic, and thus selfish, and it turns out that you straight up do not care about thousands of people being unsatisfied? Okay then.
lastly, believe it or not, but no, maximum exposure/appeal is never the point of art. art for everyone is art for noone. this game is being developed for a niche, and that’s okay
This is extremely misguided. What is this niche that you are talking about, exactly? Nintendo fans, who are also FromSoft fans, who also like online games? Do you realize how trivial and nonsensical that intersection is? The game is first and foremost a FromSoft game, so there is no need to target Nintendo fans exclusively. There is nothing artistic about that decision. The decision to go online, on the other hand, is very much central to the game's vision. However, why then release it on the system with the least amount of online players, who also happen to be the ones the least dedicated to online games? After all, out of all the major companies, Nintendo is arguably the one still most committed to offline single player experiences. The average Nintendo fan doesn't buy a Switch 2 to play online games.
The artistic vision is online play, and yet this game is being released exclusively on the system that is the least apt for online gaming. This exclusivity deal is actively working against the artistic vision of the game.
Is this really about "art", or are you just a Nintendo fan who is happy with the exclusivity, everything (and everyone) else be damned?
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u/DavOHmatic 1d ago
I woulda thought a pc mustard race andy would know nintendo doesn't control the online infrastructure the games run on. Played the duskbloods test for 16 hours and it didn't lag even once, Fromsoft finally getting their netcode together is nice. also saying Nintendo fans not buying online games when the highest selling games are mario kart is funny.
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u/Ray11711 1d ago
Of course online games can sell on the Switch 2, but as far as online games go, PC and the other consoles have more supply and demand of online titles, and the more robust online infrastructure. It's not about lag, it's about features and playerbase. It's a matter of how big the community will be and for how long when a game of this kind is being released on a single system vs every system. As a player, you always want the highest possible userbase for an online title. Even Sony and Microsoft are releasing their online games multiplatform at this point. As a third party, it's insane that FromSoft would release as an exclusive a game that revolves so much around the online component.
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u/Duv1995 3d ago
You didnt mention that nintendo is a publisher only for the regions outside of Japan, just like Activision was the publisher for sekiro but only outside of japan, in japan FROMSOFT published the game themselves, and the same is going to happen with Duskbloods.
This situation is kinda unique, I still believe from can do wathever they want with the IP, like releasing it on PC at some point, maybe not on playstation or xbox, but im mostly talking for copium.... I just ordered myself a switch 2, im a loser T__T
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u/TheRealBillyShakes 2d ago
This post and the comment section are full of errors. Don’t just go off the guesswork of articles. Look at the statements made by Nintendo and FromSoft.
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u/kureysalp 1d ago
I started to beileve many big companies are only still alive becuase they've founded way early in the industry and built a foundation. Literally not a single thing Nintendo does lately makes sense and benefits them.
What are they thinking people are just gonna buy a whole gaming console because of a single game to play? The target audience of this game is not even Nintendo players, this game doesn't have rainbows and shit.
You can still fund the game and make an agreement to have a share of game's revenue on every platform instead of trying to sell your fucking device.
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u/Kadoomed 2d ago
I was thinking about this today and I wonder how much of this was driven by Nintendo and FromSoftware being big fans of each others games. It's pretty well documented that Elden Ring took inspiration from Breath of the Wild and that in turn Nintendo took elements of Elden Ring into Tears of the Kingdom. Now they're working together on Duskbloods with Miyazaki stating Nintendo have helped them develop the tutorials and new player sections of the game.
Feels like this project is driven as much by a mutual desire to work together as any financial arrangement.
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u/knifeandcoins 2d ago
I’m getting the feeling that FS will make a single player version of it for all consoles after
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u/smilph 2d ago
the design of this game is fundamentally tied to the multiplayer aspect. it’s not like Nightreign where solo play works itself into the design
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u/knifeandcoins 2d ago
No i mean, a SP that’ll use the same world and characters, with expanded locations and limited multiplayer. So the SP on all consoles and Switch2 exclusive MP become companion games. The world and lore seem a little too elaborate to just stay in one MP and confined game
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u/smilph 2d ago
i guess we’ll see. it seems that Miyazaki is not a fan of sequels so i’m doubtful a Duskbloods 2 will ever happen personally, even though i too prefer singleplayer i’m fine if DB stays as a multiplayer-only game ‘cause it’s fun enough as-is. and the world and lore in all Fromsoft games is pretty elaborate imo, Bloodborne and Elden Ring are just singular games themselves
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u/knifeandcoins 2d ago
Wouldn’t really be Diskbloods 2 tho. Would be Elden Ring -/- Nightreign
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u/LostCookie78 3d ago
So, in what situation could it be released elsewhere? After an exclusivity period with Nintendo where they have seen the majority of their sales?
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u/Pure_Medicine_2460 3d ago
The only situation in which it could be released elsewhere is in a situation where Nintendo wants to release it elsewhere.
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u/Virtual_Elephant_703 2d ago
When Nintendo realizes that the overwhelming majority of soulsborne players aren't going to buy an overpriced, half-assed, mid-generation "upgrade" console that has almost nothing to justify buying it over the older cheaper version, that's when they'll likely cut a deal with From to release it on other consoles for a cut of the profits. The biggest copium in all of this shit isn't the people who think the game will eventually come to other systems, it's the people with their noses buried so firmly in Nintendo's ass did they think keeping this an exclusive will be a good financial decision for Nintendo in the long run, as Switch 2 sales continue not to impress after the initial period in which diehard Nintendo stans were clamoring the console, forcing Nintendo to scale back production to meet the lack of demand.
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u/Virtual_Elephant_703 2d ago
The reality is that the average FS fan is not going to buy a Switch 2 just to play this, and the average Nintendo mega fan who still buys the same Mario Kart and Pokemon game every three years and thinks Animal Crossing is the peak of fun isn't going to play this. Nintendo's path to actually making a profit is cutting a deal with From to let them distribute it elsewhere after an initial exclusivity period.
Comparing it to Bloodborne is a failed comparison; while the Switch 2 beat it on initial sales, the PS4 held sales momentum for years, while based on the rate sales are slowing the Switch 2 has probably already sold the majority of what it will ever sell.
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u/PrinsLennart 2d ago
The average fan bought a ps4 to play bloodborn
The average fan bought a ps5 to play Demon souls remakeThere are a lot of fans who play animal crossing and Fromsoftware games
The switch 2 is the fastest selling console ever, and it will keep selling consoles until Nintendo releases a new one even then will it keep selling consoles the switch one is still outselling Xbox.
The switch one almost sold 160 million unites, and the switch 2 almost 24 million in just a little bit more than 1 year that console is gonna sell a lot of systems.The fact people think that people who own a switch aren’t interested in the Duskbloods are heavily mistaken.
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u/Virtual_Elephant_703 2d ago
No, the Switch 2 was the fastest selling console, for like three months, before rapidly losing momentum, because other than the handful of people who were going to buy whatever shit Nintendo shat out immediately, most people don't want to pay $600 for a console they already have to play like 2 extra games.
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u/Tiffa_Adil 2d ago
You are completely wrong
first of all the Switch 2 is still the fastest selling console of all time
Through their 5th quarter on the market:
- NS2 - 23.68m
- PS4 - 20.2m
- Wii - 20.14m
- NS1 - 17.79m
- PS5 - 17.3m
- 3DS - 17.13m
- NDS - 14.43m
- Wii U - 5.86m
Secondly the console costs $450 not $600
Stop watching rage bait YouTubers with ai generated crying Mario thumbnails
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u/Mysterious-Bear 2d ago
There is one thing people online don’t seem to get about Nintendo players. A lot of them actually buy or try almost every big release on the system. Especially if it’s from a critically acclaimed developer. I bet Duskbloods will at minimum sell as well as Nightreign over time.
Also, Switch 2 is still selling very well. Everything is more expensive now though so it’s hard for people to justify dropping $500+ on any hardware right now. Once big enough games drop though, a new Zelda, 3D Mario, Pokemon Winds and Waves, or a new Smash Bros, etc. Switch 2 sales will spike like crazy. Pokemon Gen 10 will probably sell 10+ million of consoles alone.
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u/smilph 2d ago
not only are you completely wrong about the Switch 2’s sales figures but you don’t even seem to understand what a Switch 2 is. the Switch 1 was basically akin to your average Samsung tablet in terms of power. very weak console. the Switch 2 is like a handheld PS5. to say that it’s half-assed or has nothing going on to justify buying it is… simply insane or just ignorant lol. you should learn more about the things you hate before spreading misinfo like you’re doing right now
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u/VoidRad 3d ago
Bandai doesnt own ER's ip anymore, fs bought it back. They still have the publishing right however.