Square Enix Announces Dragon Quest X For Wii
Square Enix held a relatively small press conference yesterday to announce the Japanese release date of Dragon Quest IX for the DS. The date is March 28th, and there was much rejoicing. But then Square Enix made a second announcement that might just completely overshadow the Dragon Quest IX release date: the Dragon Quest series would be returning to consoles for Dragon Quest X. And not just any console, specifically the Nintendo Wii.
This is a brilliant move for Square Enix. Square Enix currently has two major flagship RPG franchises: Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Since its seventh installment (actually since the sixth, but more people recognize FFVII as the graphical achievement), the Final Fantasy franchise has been known for pushing the graphical abilities of the hardware to its limit, and from the looks of Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 and Xbox 360 that tradition will continue. But the Dragon Quest series has never had the graphical oomph that Final Fantasy had. The games remained based on 2D sprites long after Final Fantasy VII popularized the 3D RPG, and though Dragon Quest VIII is an absolutely beautiful game, it's hard to say that its mostly flat textures were pushing the PS2 as hard as a game like Final Fantasy XII. My point is, the Dragon Quest series has a specific art style that can be done very well even the Wii's comparatively limited hardware, as evidenced by Dragon Quest Swords. Could Dragon Quest look even better on the Xbox 360 and PS3 than it would on the Wii? Probably, but the point is that it doesn't need to since the art style speaks for itself.
So that explains why Dragon Quest can be done on the Wii, but should it? Yes, definitely. Though no date has been set for Dragon Quest X yet, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Square Enix has probably been working on it for a while now and we'll be seeing the release dates of Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XIII fall dangerously close together. Relegating Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy to different consoles ensures that both games will get the attention that they deserve with minimal incestuous competition between them.
Of course, then again, I could be completely wrong. After all, the announcement was only that Dragon Quest X will be released for the Wii. I haven't found a single report yet saying that it will be exclusive. I'm merely speculating that it would be a smart move for Dragon Quest X to be exclusive since it is coming to Wii.
What do you guys think? Are you happy that Dragon Quest X will be coming to the Wii? Or is this another example of Square Enix "abandoning" its Playstation fanbase (even though only two of the numbered Dragon Quest games have appeared exclusively on Sony systems)?
Dragon Quest X Coming To Wii [Kotaku]
NaviFairy
Posted to Video Games on 10 December 2008
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: Dragon Quest X, Square Enix, Wii
Is it a good move? I don't think so. Another Dragon Quest on the Wii, great. I await to see lots of used copies on the wall @ my GameStop. Right next to Dragon Quest Swords.
The problem is, is that the Wii is getting buried with so much crap, that the excellent niche games get passed up.
Square abandoning Sony? Hardly. More like just deserts, considering how the company left Nintendo high and dry over a decade ago. The situation has just reversed itself, with Sony leaving more and more third party companies confused with a difficult console to program for that's never (and let's be honest, probably never will) found an audience.
Sure, games for the Xbox 360 sell well... for a week. Has that console really had any breakout hits that weren't Halo or Gears of War? Square/Enix is just continuing what they started with DQ9, weening themselves off Sony's tit and establishing themselves firmly in Nintendo's considerably larger userbase. Strange that its come to this, but it has!
@StereoType
I don't think the same thing will happen with Dragon Quest X that happened with Dragon Quest Swords. Swords was a spin-off (and a rather shallow one at that) whereas Dragon Quest X will be a fully featured installment in the series. You said you have a ton of used copies of Swords at your GameStop, that means people had to buy it first, and they probably did thinking it was a full Dragon Quest and then sold it back in disappointment. That same thing won't happen with an actual new entry in the series, since they'll buy it all the same but then actually keep it.
I'm sooooooo happy!!!!! Currently I only own the Wii and this is one of the greatest news I've received in a while.
@Super Duper
Saying the PS3 is hard to program for is like saying Windows Vista sucks.
All of the issues people had with Windows Vista HAVE BEEN FIXED. But we all still think it sucks, when it works just fine.
All it took was for one dev to say they had a problem and all of a sudden the console becomes "difficult" to program.
It's not very fair.
Can't say I like turned based RPGs, Pokémon and Golden Sun being the exception. I liked the Crystal Chronicles all right, so I'm definitely happy that Dragon Quest will be available for the Wii.
I think it is a good move in the eyes of most Wii owners that are familiar with square. Who can say they don't like one of the great RPG makers making an exclusive for their favorite console? :)
Oh and I mean a main title, I loved the Crystal Chronicles, but it wasn't the main story. I must say though I loved that it wasn't turned based.