Play day one on consoles or wait for PC version later on?

I'm in the "lucky" position of not knowing anyone who really plays games, let alone Souls games so I'll probably just wait for the PC version, unless there is some rotten technical stuff that comes to light before its released.

this is a very good good point that you bring up. The split will be 3 ways instead of two ways this time around. But the success over the last two years of dark souls as brought a lot of attention to the souls series and a lot more players than when DS came out in october 2011. So I think in the end the community will still be larger on all servers than its predecessor. I expect a very entertaining mess of complete badass experts mixed up with total noobs at the start...this will be awesome!

I'm still not sure whether I'll get it on PS3 day one or wait for the PC release, but not because I feel like somehow the game will be spoiled by what little in-game communication there; I just want to play more Dark Souls as soon as I fucking can. The most reasonable worry people have about having anything spoiled for them by waiting for the PC version is getting some vague tip like "use fire" or "illusory wall." Based on non-localized tips that appeared in the beta, it doesn't seem like there's going to be much more than that. Knowing a basic weakness for an enemy is not the same as knowing a particular weapon or a a full-on build to use, and you're probably not going to have that spoiled unless you go outside of the game for it.

Having the locations of secrets rooms is probably the biggest concern someone waiting for the PC version will have, as "illusory wall" or "here" are enough to let a player know what to do. That said, you still have to be in a room with such a secret when such a message is present, and I'm not entirely convinced that will be the case for every secret in the game even within a week of the PC release because so many people, as is evident by the existence of this thread, want to go in to the game blind. For example, I didn't get to play Dark Souls until more than a month after its release because I didn't take games with me to college, and I still didn't have any comment telling me about the existence of a bonfire behind an illusory wall near the door you need the Crest of Artorias to open in Darkroot Garden. And I still don't think I've ever seen a comment about the illusory wall concealing a bonfire near the Patches switch in the Catacombs. Furthermore, certain illusory walls in Dark Souls had virtually nothing signalling their presence, meaning that you'll more likely than not just stumble upon them by dumb luck, like I did in the Catacombs. I think the fact that these kinds of rooms exist is cool, but I also don't feel like the best part of exploration in the Souls games is hitting every wall to see if something is there.

I think that's a bit more optimistic than I am about it. As someone who is around the average gamers on a daily basis (I work at a LAN gaming center), there are very few people overall that care about Dark Souls, let alone the sequel. Any of the next-gen people I've seen that come in and mention the idea of getting Dark Souls II follow it with the statement "it's like Skyrim but more better graphics and stuff."

In essence, most of the noobs that I would imagine coming to the franchise because of the fact that it's a game released on a next-gen console or anything are the type that will most likely be sorely disappointed, sell the game back the day they bought it because it's too hard, and move on.

We have to remember that Dark Souls, despite doing well on the first game, is STILL a niche title. It's not nearly as rabidly popular as we'd like to believe. From Software has never had that big mass market appeal like other game developers, but they've remained dedicated to making games their way and not conforming to other peoples' standards (for better or worse).

I know there will be new people that will want to play Dark Souls II, but I have a fear that many of those people are not going to hold onto it for long. Beyond that, you point out that the split will be three ways, but it's actual five ways: 360, PS3, One, PS4, and PC. I'm assuming that the 360 and One won't have crossover play, just the same way that PS3 and PS4 won't have crossover play. It's a little more thinning of the herd than I care for in a generational crossover point.

We'll see how it goes. I know that I'll have friends playing at least, so I'll be able to find people to team up with regardless.

I'm pretty new to gaming on pc, so its probably partially my fault, but getting my copy of Dark Souls to run has been a giant hassle. I can't believe I had to install a mod just to get to the title screen. I will never support a pc release by this developer again. However I might not be playing Dark Souls II at all, I'm still not sure if I like the first one or not yet.

@hunter5024: Dark Souls is addicting. It is the last part that seems to drag. But I would play Dark Souls for even the first two thirds. My starting hassle with the PC was Microsoft, and one poor rep spent around 3-4 plus hours with me, which I appreciated.. I understand window Live games is being discontinued, which is good. I hope DS 2 implements better solutions this time.

I'm really torn between my strong desire to play on day one, and the very real possibility that it's going to have less than optimal performance on PS3.

It's coming out in March right? Titanfall gets priority. I'll wait on the PC version here. Even if it's not a great port it'll get fixed up quick. Plus mods.

I played hundreds of hours of Dark Souls, first on PS3 and then on PC.

Ill get the PC version, getting spoiled is a non issue. I have full confidence in the PC version as well of 2, seeing as the first game did really well they have all the reason to make the PC version of 2 great. Besides, it was one download for me on PC and then I ran the game better than consoles ever dreamed of. I don't want another blighttown situation on consoles.

@ripelivejam I actually do know the circumstances, but only because I looked into it after I bought it. I don't think it's a good excuse for releasing a busted port though. I'm sure there are plenty of people who aren't aware of the circumstances, who bought a game they don't know how to run.

yeah i rethought my comment on account i didn't want to appear TOO dickish. but as it's been reiterated many MANY times before, they made it perfectly clear (at least on blogs/etc) that they weren't experienced in PC development and that it was going to be a bare-bones port. i can understand the message wouldn't get through to the average user, though, and there are some pretty big hoops to jump through if you're just used to putting a disc in and running the game right away.

still think you're being a bit too excessive with your attitude towards them. i have a good feeling (maybe call it irrational) that DSII will be a damn fine port.

I don't want to have to deal with crazy hackers on PC tbh

@ripelivejam said:

From have said that they're working it the other way around this time; developing for PC and porting to consoles. Don't know if that's actually true (most of what devs say is utter horse shit), but if it is then I'm sure it should be fine.

I'd trade a "damn fine" PC port for avoiding another clusterfuck like Blightown, though.

I suppose that I was being a bit too excessive. For some people it's probably better to release a bad port than no port, but I can't help but feel sympathetic for anyone who may have bought the game and couldn't figure out how to play it. It's not too hard to fix up, but if I was like 14 or something I probably wouldn't have had any idea what to do, given up, and felt really bummed out that I bought it. Let's just all hope the new port does turn out great.

What gives you that idea?

Play it day one. Being part of the discovery process it the best part of the Dark Souls experience. I know that's what kept me going when I first played Dark Souls.

It's five separate consoles running five separate versions of the game. That's a five-way split among community. lol

@jakob187: They didn't say there will be PS4 and X1 versions.

Both? Both.

I'm almost certainly going to play the game on both. And I guess I need to reup on XBL gold to so I can get full experience

No matter what happens I will probably end up playing on both PS3 and PC at some point, so I am going to start with PS3.

But I've already told them, that I packed my PS3 away to sit in the closet. Didn't they get the memo?!

...seriously though, I had forgotten that it wasn't coming out on next-gen platforms, 'till someone mentioned it a few posts earlier. It would've been more tempting to pick up for PS4, now I'll probably just settle with what GB decides to do with it.

i would not been able to hold on for the pc one, so i did buy the collectors edition for ps3 and normal for pc because im silly and love dark and demon souls too much.

and i want to support FromSoft.

Sorry. I thought they had been announced.

The first game already had intense framerate issues, I highly recommend waiting for the PC version.

I don't really care about the whole zeitgeist/discovery process thing, but its still one of those games I want to play on day one.

I'm going day one on the console version. Haven't built a gaming PC yet, but when I do I'll probably get it for that too eventually.

With the new trailer they is still no confirmed date for PC .... grumble

I'll be waiting for the PC version, i can't even be fucked to turn on my consoles any more, they can continue to gather dust in a corner. Now there is no windows live bullshit in there it's even better.

If i don't care about the community thing with the building wikis and talking to people on forums, should i just wait for PC? In some way i would kinda prefer not having to wait a few days before something i kinda really want explained to me explained to me.

It sounds like you play these games a lot like I play these games, which is with a wiki open. In that case I would almost implore you to wait for PC like I'm doing. The extra month or so of waiting is actually beneficial to wiki-users like us.

Get Both.

Get console version day one. I didn't get the other games on day one and I'm now looking forward to putting together the mysteries as a whole and when people discover random shit and being there when it's at it's busiest.

Get PC version on Steam Sale. I have no doubt you'll be able to get it for 50 or 75% off before the end of 2014, that way you can play it on a PC with better performance and textures, potentially mods and you could (if you want) play around with Cheat Engine and give yourself stuff you need - it can be a bit annoying when you want to upgrade a weapon and you need a material and it just won't drop.

Yup. yupyupyupyupyup and yup.
You can grab Dark Souls for 5-10 bucks easy these days with Steam sales.
So you buy the console version, sedate your thirst for it, and then one day throw another 5 bucks at it for the PC version, everybody wins.

PC. Better looking version. PC master race and all.

Also never finished DS1. So will prob pick up DS2 for $10 down the line since I have a large backlog

@neonie: Thanks for the input, and now thinking back about it i usually did go to a wiki for my questions. I'll probably end up waiting it out and just enjoy Titanfall next week.

So, I ended up timing my trip away almost perfectly. While the game comes out next week, I don't have the time to play it right now anyway and I go away in a few weeks so whatevs but by the time I return, the game will already be out on PC :D

I'm buying both. I want to be able to experience the founding of things in the game with the community and then experience the awesomeness of the pc at a later date as well.

PS3 all the way. I have never played Demon's/Dark Souls so this will be my first foray into that evil realm.

I'm going to wait even though I have a PS3. Gives me time to dive into Titanfall, Infamous Second Son and finish up Castlevania and South Park.

I'll be waiting for the PC release, its only a few weeks after the console one. I think some of the giant bomb dudes were saying there will be a super comprehensive strategy guide on day one so it sounds like the whole discovery process will be pretty minor this time around too.

Is your computer made of wood? Man, a Tamagochi can run the first Dark Souls.

Exactly.

From the upset conversation surrounding the noticeable graphical difference between the Pc and consoles, if you have the choice I'd recommend waiting a month for the Pc version.

That's what I'm still doing.

He's right. The "zeitgeist" is overrated. I would save the money and wait for the PC version. The PC version will also be around for much longer and be updated when the console version sits there and ages.

At least it had parity with consoles then!

its like a month and some change, im gonna wait for pc and try to media black myself out.
but -shrug- i dont really care about spoilers, if the staff were to do a stream i'd watch :]
that's crazy [to me] new games are still coming out on 8 yr old hardware [ps3]

Dunno if it was mentioned already but take a look at this thread at neogaf http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=781625 and most likely you'll wait for PC release.