Did you try to run Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition on your Windows 8 computer (including consumer preview edition 32-bit / X86 VERSIONS AND 64-BIT X64) and run into an annoying problem - Dark Souls crashes when you load it? This effects Steam versions of the game, as well as Origin and CD / DVD copies as well. Do not fear, my fellow RPG PC gamer.
Having this title available on PC is going to be awesome.
It won't be the prettiest game out there, no doubt about it. But I play lots of games that have sub-par graphics and love them so long as their gameplay is good. Gameplay is paramount. And any developer that gives me hundreds of hours of gameplay, some of the best combat ever included in a video game, and one of the most interesting fantasy worlds of any RPG out there, can yes please take my money.
I've purchased Dark Souls twice already for consoles, and if for some reason I don't get a review code for the PC version, I'll buy it again. And every single penny I spend will be more than worth it, graphics and frame-rate be damned.
And it will be worth it to you if you're a PC gamer who hasn't been able to play this yet - so long as you don't mind dying a few times. From Software has shown gamers plenty of respect already by creating such a tough, fair, intense title - and then agreeing to port it for fans. That they're unskilled at PC is no reason to throw this all in their faces.
Give them a chance and I bet you'll see their next Souls game - if there is one - appear on PC from the get-go. I'm not saying go buy the game right away. I'm just saying wait and see.
P.S. I understand that if sales are bad for this game it may not be the result of piracy. But too many PC gamers out there right now are already writing From off saying that 'If sales are bad, they'll blame piracy!' as though From Software has any track record at all of doing this. I say quit imprinting a non-PC developer with the bad things other developers have said and done in the past. This is too cynical to be healthy.
P.P.S. Yes, I'm seriously biased on this one. I think this game is one of the best games ever made, and I think a straight-up PC port, while not ideal, is better than no port at all, which was the original plan.
Now drink.
Update: It appears a user [Durante on Neogaf] has already cracked the game and started implementing resolution fixes on their own (though no word yet on frame-rates.) In an ideal world this means that we'll see a patch at a later date allowing higher resolutions and better frames. In an even more ideal world, this game would be open to modding from the get-go.
Oh, and speaking of Dark Souls vs. The Witcher 2...
Update 2: Some commenters have pointed out, rightfully, that the number one reason not to pirate this is because piracy is wrong. You shouldn't justify stealing a game for any reason. I agree. While I think doom-and-gloom portraits of piracy are often way over the top, neither do I condone the practice. I am speaking to this game in particular because of all the calls for piracy lately.
But I also don't mean to suggest that people should be all roses and sunshine about the port - a fixed frame-rate, low resolution, GFWL port has plenty to complain about, and gamers are justifiably upset. If you want to hold the wallet and not buy the game, I think you're well within your rights to do so - obviously.
Or wait for a price drop! Or wait for a fix!
Update 3: I've been reading through the Neogaf thread and saw some interesting points made. One, we don't know if the higher unlocked resolution will be stable throughout the game. This is important. It could be that From tried and failed and that this supposed fix will fail as well. I hope not, but it's possible.
It's also possible, as some posts have noted, that From didn't really understand that a PC port should be different than the console versions, or didn't want the experience to be particularly different between console and PC (out of, perhaps, a misunderstanding of the PC gaming community.)
The last theory, which I doubt but which is fun, is that From wanted the Dark Souls community to make the fixes themselves as part of the 'meta game.' This seems unlikely, but I like it anyways.
Anyways, I see a lot of people saying that now there's a fix they'll buy the game so that's good. I'm still not convinced that this means the fix will work perfectly or that From was just being lazy, but it's possible. It's also possible that gamers are jaded for many other reasons, and From didn't realize what a kettle of fish it was getting into.
Update 4: Two more things. First, it's weird to see how many people are almost gleeful about saying 'From Software shamed!' and other such stuff. Okay, complain about the port. That's fine. But this is a good game and I don't take any joy in lambasting its creators for whatever reason. Maybe that's just my bias showing up, I don't know.
Second, I'm looking at comparison shots, and I'm having a hard time getting as worked up over this as many other people. I love pretty graphics, but this is a game I play for other reasons. I have a very nice gaming computer that I built myself, but I'm okay with lower-resolution games. That may make me a heathen, but I can live with that.
And I want to reiterate that it's still very possible that the fix on Neogaf is actually less promising than we think, and could result in poor performance issues later on. Cross your fingers.
Update 5: I've posted a video showing the first seven minutes of the PC version and it looks just fine.
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