Recent release "Dark Souls III" was supposed to be the last in the notoriously challenging video game franchise, but a new board game spin-off has already smashed its own crowdfunding target within minutes of going live.
Licensed by Japanese publisher Namco Bandai and created by British board game studio Steamforged, "Dark Souls - The Board Game" unfurled its Kickstarter campaign a week after the international release of "Dark Souls III" on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.
Starting out as 2009's "Demon's Souls" on PlayStation 3, the game transported players to a medieval fantasy environment inhabited by unforgiving monsters and deadly traps. It dared to go against prevailing trends by making itself harder rather than easier for those that struggled to progress.
Originally released only in Japan, it became a worldwide word-of-mouth sensation, prompting international distribution and several successful follow-ups: "Dark Souls," its two direct sequels, and a similar "Bloodborne," with April's "Dark Souls III" received by many as a trilogy closer.
The crowdfunding campaign for "Dark Souls - The Board Game" bucks trends as well, and has likewise benefited from a word-of-mouth surge.
It's rejected a complex, tiered approach to backer rewards, instead opting for three basic options.
A run of 1,000 sets for initial backers was available at £75 (Approx Rs 7,100), with a standard priced set going for £80 (Approx Rs 7600). Retailers could back at £200 (Approx Rs 19,000), netting a batch of four boxes at a reduced rate.
Then, as the overall total passes milestone amounts, bonuses are unlocked for all backers. Select other milestones will allow backers to augment their order with optional add-ons.
Going live on April 19 and with an overall target of £50,000 (Rs 47,52,702), "Dark Souls - The Board Game" was funded within three minutes; 15 hours later and the counter had climbed past £500,000 (Rs 47,506,412), with nearly four weeks to go.
Passing a grand total of $2m would make it one of the funding platform's biggest board games; $4m would make it the site's top board game project.
The "Dark Souls" board game Kickstarter runs until May 16, 2016, at this website
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