Dark Souls developer, From Software, turned down a mobile version of its action RPG as it would mean heavily changing the controls. This is according to Alex Adjaj, Director of Global Strategy for Mobile at Publisher, Namco Bandai.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Adjaj admitted that the publisher was interested in a mobile instalment of Dark Souls but the developers weren't so enthusiastic:
“We'd like to bring Dark Souls to mobile, but it's very difficult because the guys at From Software are very much console-oriented,” he said. “To change their mind about it, it takes quite a while. The leads on Dark Souls are saying, ‘we don't want to do mobile because the controls would have to be changed, and therefore it won't be Dark Souls any more.”
Adjaj went on to say that the game would do well on the mobile platform although, it would have to be redesigned for casual play with shorter sessions along with having to account for different tastes in different markets. Despite essentially dumbing down the game to bring it to the casual audience, Adjaj insists that its something the publisher could have done in a very successful way.
KitGuru Says: I think I've got to agree with the developers on this one, it'd have to change the whole combat system for mobile which is essentially the core of the game. From Software has been protective over its franchise, it won't even allow DLC to become a part of Dark Souls II, a mindset that I think gamers wish more developers would adopt. Would you guys like to see a more casual version of Dark Souls for mobile?