Dark Souls 2 preorders 50 percent higher than the original, as Namco looks to attract a wider audience

Dark Souls II has racked up 50 percent more preorders than its predecessor in the UK, publisher Bandai Namco has said to MCV.

That makes sense, as the word-of-mouth success of the cult original is likely to have boosted interest in the sequel. Bandai Namco said in April 2013 that the original Dark Souls had crossed 2.3 million sales. The publisher is also trying to push preorders of the title by offering the Black Armor edition, which comes with early access to some of the game's weapons.

Bandai Namco said in March 2012 that sales of Dark Souls, first released in October 2011, helped push the company to its strongest fiscal year since 2008 at the time.

Looking to Dark Souls II, the publisher says it will shortly invest another £1m into advertising the game in the UK as an attempt to expose the upcoming RPG to as wide an audience as possible.

“We have everything going for Dark Souls II," said Bandai Namco product manager Gary Chantler.

Dark Souls II will be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 11 in the US, and March 14 in the UK. A PC version will follow in the coming months.