Dark Souls almost called Dark Race
Dark Ring discounted too.
Dark Souls, From Software's spiritual sequel to PlayStation 3 sleeper hit Demon's Souls, was almost called Dark Race, producer Hidetaka Miyazaki has revealed.
In an interview with Japanese site 4gamer, translated and paraphrased by Andriasang, Miyazaki explained the working title was changed to Project Dark two days before the game was revealed at last year's Tokyo Game Show.
"The Dark Race name didn't hold because there was worry that it would be viewed as a racist expression overseas," read Andriasang's report.
Following that setback, Miyazaki and his team settled on Dark Lord as the new title, however couldn't get a trademark on the name.
Next up: Dark Ring. Apparently, the term relates to a gameplay feature - a 'Dark Ring' comes out of the player as a sign of being cursed. Alas, that title was binned around the New Year. Why?
"The reason this didn't happen is because Dark Ring is slang for anus in England," Miyazaki explained.
So, Dark Souls it is then. Probably for the best.