US Demon's Souls servers guaranteed

By Oli Welsh Published 22 July, 2010

Atlus promises support until March 2011.

If you're one of the many who imported the North American release of the From's modern classic Demon's Souls, you'll be happy to know that Atlus is guaranteeing that servers will stay switched on until at least March 2011.

The PS3 exclusive is essentially a single-player action-RPG, but it has many unusual online features and does allow players to invade each others' games to co-operate with - or attack - each other.

The servers also have a World Tendency that varies between black and white, making the game more or less difficult and unlocking secrets.

To celebrate its announcement, Atlus is setting the servers to Pure White for two weeks, which will make the game easier for newcomers and allow veterans to reach new areas and items.

Demon's Souls is now available in Europe too, following a release by Namco Bandai last month. It's a must-play - and Keza's rare interview with director Hidetaka Miyazaki, covering the making of the game, is a must-read.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ZuluHero #1 2 years ago

    I waited till it came out here in the UK and i'm just hopelessly addicted. Don't listen to people saying it's too hard or brutal, the game is perfectly pitched (at least so far after 30 plus hours).

    I still sit in work looking forward to go home and play it, and a game hasn't had this longevity on me since Fallout 3. I have a low attention span for games these days :)

  • Beano #2 2 years ago

    Only march 2011?

    Hopefully they will keep the servers up much longer than that...

  • Zanuah #3 2 years ago

    I never really thought about that. But this game is very developer/publisher dependent. Or does the game also function without internet connection? Obviously you'll loose the whole "multiplayer"aspect, but I'm wondering if you can at least play the game on your own.

  • Nuronv #4 2 years ago

    First Eye of Judgement, now Demon Souls. How about you at least keep it running until you release a sequel or a new console comes out?

  • rotmm #5 2 years ago

    @Nuronv,

    There's a cost in keeping servers up and maintained, especially over multiple regions, and if the game hasn't sold that well, then that cost can become an increasingly unnattractive cost to bear.

  • wizlon #6 2 years ago

    It's possible to play it single player, but it will be more of a challenge as you can't enlist other souls to help you out. Pure white eh? Might have to get on this and find me some rare items!

  • Nuronv #7 2 years ago

    I know its an on going cost for them but the game has sold well and is critically acclaimed. This will cut off a feature that makes it really unique. I think I may have just started liking the XBox Gold model a bit more *vomits slightly in mouth*

    @Zanuah Yes you can play without being connected, you just don't get any Phantoms, Ghosts, Bloodstains, notes etc

  • Retro_ #8 2 years ago

    I'm actually very dissappointed that it's only until March 2011. People are likely to pick this game up, 2nd hand for many years to come because of it's reputation. Without the servers, the game will loose some of it's charm and obviously it's novel online features. Bad news really :(

  • JahB #9 2 years ago

    and if the game hasn't sold that well

    but it sold like hotcakes. how am i supposed the mend the damn world without servers? i imported the US copy last year, so they "guarantee" a whopping 18 months of online service? that's pretty poor and i hope enough people keep playing to prevent the shutdown.

    or, From announce DS2 for fall. then go and switch off whatever you want

  • Shakey_Jake33 #10 2 years ago

    So, does the game still work if you don't connect to the internet at all? If not, we have a problem here.

  • Retro_ #11 2 years ago

    @Snakey_Jake

    Game will still work but, you'll not see the written messages, ghostly images of other players and you won't be invaded by other players or be able to join other players for co-op.

    So, a good chunk will be missing !

  • reelbigkris #12 2 years ago

    Everytime I see a demon's souls article I think;

    "This sounds great, perhaps I should actually play the bloody thing as i imported it from the US, day one and only got 5 hours into it!"

    The US one is probably worth pennies now, considering UK got the lovely collectors edition (and the servers may come to an end next year)... Time to play it this weekend if i don't get distracted with red dead redemption again...

  • systems #13 2 years ago

    The game works fine offline. In fact, some bits are best done offline.

    They'll be doing a sequel so expect the servers for that to turn on at about the same time as these servers turn off.

  • BAM! #14 2 years ago

    Servers for the EU version are only guaranteed to be available until June 2011, according to the message you get when logging in.

    Good job it's still a damn fine game in offline mode really.

  • menage #15 2 years ago

    I don't see a reason to celebrate anything here. I dunno, seems awfully short for a game which has only been out a year. Do they really expect us to jump for joy.

    I bought the game, I should be able to play it at least for the life cycle of the console. It's a freaking bullet point on the box.

  • mcreddie #16 2 years ago

    What a brilliant game. The review does it great justice.

    Bought it the millisecond it came out in europe hoping for a gritty, atmospheric and challenging game, and it delivered massively on all fronts. The multiplayer is brilliant as you never feel lonely in such a miserable place.

    It does have it's problems though. The aiming lock system is quite frankly absurd, requiring you to frantically click the right stick until you are barely locked on to an enemy. There is no real explanation about the character/world white/black tendencies and how it affects you're play, unless looked for in the great strategy guide. I have no idea what people did without that strategy guide in the US..

    Like many others, i can't stop levelling up. "I'm in trouble - please recommend this message!"

  • butler` #17 2 years ago

    What's people's problem with the lock-on function? It's pretty darn simple.

    You look in the rough direction you want to aim and push the stick in. If you don't get the right target, you switch between those available targets with a quick flick of the same stick.

    The only catch is it has a fairly limiting maximum range, causing some people (read: idiots) to spam the button and cry "OMG FUKIN TARGET ALRDY" when in fact they're out of range.

  • scottycam #18 2 years ago

    Seems a lot of people are getting ahead of themselves here. Having the servers guaranteed till 2011 is a good thing, I'm sure they will review it closer to the time depending on demand. It dosen't mean their going to suddenly close up shop then! Guaranteeing the servers running till 2012 would make no sense as they don't know how many people will be playing it.

  • timewarp87 #19 2 years ago

    Originally the American game had the servers guaranteed until April 2010, so I guess they have extended in further due to popularity. I guess they would review it all again next year. Don't Panic !

  • Gromit #20 2 years ago

    These are just the N.American servers.

    I understand some people imported it, but to most people here the EU servers are what matter.

    How long will they be up ?

  • Stomp224 #21 2 years ago

    I love this game. I missed out at launch on online/specialist stores, but luckily ASDA of all places still had a copy a week after launch.

    50 hours in, and It's my fave game this generation. Utterly superb. I just hope the sever switch off coincides with a sequel announcement.

  • Miths #22 2 years ago

    Pure White for two weeks? I guess this would be a good time for me to start playing again then. I got around 10-12 hours or so into the game when I bought the US version a few months ago, but got sidetracked by other games and things that needed doing.

  • Dreamion #23 2 years ago

    If you imported the US version to EU, will you be able to play on the EU servers next week on release day or do you have to buy the EU version to be able to play online? thanks!
    Edited by Dreamion at 22/07/10 @ 17:17

  • Drpwnage #24 2 years ago

    "Pure White for two weeks? I guess this would be a good time for me to start playing again then. I got around 10-12 hours or so into the game when I bought the US version a few months ago, but got sidetracked by other games and things that needed doing."

    Ha, that is exactly what happened to me, I played the U.S. version it for 10 hours with a Thief class around 14th Feb, from memory there was a Valentine's day special White tendency.

  • Sonic_D #25 2 years ago

    It would be v nice if they let you choose which servers to play on, I have an Asia copy, would be cool to play on EU servers as they should be busy now.