Topic: Dragon Quest X Coming to Wii

[Ian Sane]

I think someone is forgetting Monster Hunter 3.

More like intentionally ignoring.  Come on, this is DRAGON QUEST!  We don't have to pretend sequels to mediorce Playstation 2 games are a big deal anymore.

I honestly never even HEARD of Monster Hunter until it was annouced for the Wii.  Little bit of research shows that the PS2 game has a 69% average on GameRankings.  And I'm supposed to care about this series why?

Look at Dragon Quest X and compare that to pretty much any third party Wii support thus far and you can really see how poor the Wii third party situation has been.  This is a very major announcement but it's actually something that should be very routine for a market leading console.  This is the level of support that should be expected and that's why I've been so harsh about the third party support we've had thus far.  Monster Hunter was a complete NOTHING title on the market leading PS2.  Almost the entire Wii third party library would have been insignificant NOTHING on the PS2.  Ignore the nothing games, that's not real third party support.  THIS IS.  This is a significant game and hopefully it's just the start.

[vudu]

TYP Mario and Luigi 3 for the DS was announced back at the October conference.

M&L3 is for DS.  TYP is complaining about the lack of RPGS for Wii.

[Nick DiMola]

I think someone is forgetting Monster Hunter 3.

I honestly never even HEARD of Monster Hunter until it was annouced for the Wii.  Little bit of research shows that the PS2 game has a 69% average on GameRankings.  And I'm supposed to care about this series why?

You should care because the series is ABSURDLY popular in Japan, almost to Dragon Quest levels. The fact that Wii has the 2 biggest RPGs in Japan is absolutely massive.

The Japanese government at this point may as well tack on $250 to everyone's taxes and just send them a Wii at the end of the year.

[vudu]

I honestly never even HEARD of Monster Hunter until it was annouced for the Wii.  Little bit of research shows that the PS2 game has a 69% average on GameRankings.  And I'm supposed to care about this series why?

As Mr. Jack already said, a little more research shows that the PSP Monster Hunter games are the highest selling games on the system.  I think they have sold more than 2.5M copies each.

EDIT:  As of August 2008 3 of the top 5 highest selling PSP games were Monster Hunter games.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I think someone is forgetting Monster Hunter 3.

I honestly never even HEARD of Monster Hunter until it was annouced for the Wii.  Little bit of research shows that the PS2 game has a 69% average on GameRankings.  And I'm supposed to care about this series why?

You should care because the series is ABSURDLY popular in Japan, almost to Dragon Quest levels. The fact that Wii has the 2 biggest RPGs in Japan is absolutely massive.

The Japanese government at this point may as well tack on $250 to everyone's taxes and just send them a Wii at the end of the year.

Thank you, I was going to reply to Ian's ignorance on the game series but you guys did it for me.

[Ian Sane]

As Mr. Jack already said, a little more research shows that the PSP Monster Hunter games are the highest selling games on the system.  I think they have sold more than 2.5M copies each.

Is highest selling PSP game much of an accomplishment?

To me Monster Hunter is still insigificant because sales aren't really my concern: game quality is and Monster Hunter does not sound like that great of a series.  I want the kind of games to be released on the Wii that will attract more types of games I like.  I mean Wii Play is a super big hit but to me it's insignificant because it sucks.  If anything it's success may result in MORE games like it and that would be a bad thing.  Dragon Quest will attract other games I like, Monster Hunter won't.

Right now Japan loves their non-games so what's big in Japan is almost more like what I don't want.    Dragon Quest however is a big deal with the old group, with the core.  It's success in Japan can demonstrate to Japanese third parties that their A-list core titles should be on the Wii instead of just throw away casual-focused junk. 

It isn't like the Wii needs help with selling in Japan, it's problems are strictly image related.  It has the image of being the non-gamer casual console that despite the highest sales isn't a focus with third parties.  I guess they think the huge group is just all grandmas.  Dragon Quest can change that.  It can give the Wii hardcore gamer credibility.

[BeautifulShy]

Ian when you consider the horrible Tie in ratio of the PSP that is a accomplishment.

[Nick DiMola]

To me Monster Hunter is still insigificant because sales aren't really my concern: game quality is and Monster Hunter does not sound like that great of a series.

This is completely irrelevant. The series, whether you deem it good or bad, will bring enormous amounts of new Wii owners. The same goes for Dragon Quest X. More Wii owners, means more Wii games, which means more genres of Wii games, including "hardcore" Ian-friendly genres.

Developers want to reach the largest fanbase, and having both of these titles in line means Japanese developers will be all the more eager to hop on board with Wii. The two games should broaden the market to the point that game companies can no longer pussyfoot around on Wii and need to make a serious investment in the system and treat it like the market leader that it is.

[Toruresu]

Wow, I'm truly in shock! I was expecting DQX to go to PS3, since we got DQ:S and the DS is having DQ:9

This is totally out of the park and awesome. I also hope this will bring an onslaught of 3rd party AAA titles from Japan.

[NWR_pap64]

Is anyone really surprised that Ian is trying to turn big news into a downer? Admitting that this is big news would be him acknowledging that the little system that could is gathering some very strong support, something that his "angsty old Nintendo fart" agenda prohibits.

Dragonquest is a very popular series, and what the Wii is getting is NOT a spin off nor a re-imagining of the series. Its a true, CANON entry in the series. No matter how much you try to lessen the news, Ian, history has already proven you wrong.

The DQ Joker game sold millions on the DS, and it isn't even a canon game. DQ Swords on Wii sold the most in Japan at half a million. Again, its a spin off title with different gameplay. This should tell you how much of an important series DQ is.

As for you thinking that the Monster Hunter series isn't that good, first off, have you PLAYED the games? You are one to talk about quality. Second, a company doesn't determine the value of a product, its the customer. Its a very basic blue ocean strategy that has worked. If the MH series wasn't that good, it wouldn't be selling like it is today.

I don't like Halo that much. But even I can see why people love the series so much. The game appeals to THEM. So simply because MH doesn't appeal to YOU it doesn't mean it lacks appeal to everyone else. Its no wonder you have such a skewed view of the gaming world; you see everything revolving around you, and its a very retarded way of seeing things.

"Oh, No More Heroes doesn't look like a game I would enjoy, so it has no value"

"Monster Hunter doesn't look like that good of a series...to me of course"

"It would suck so hard if Twilight Princess became a Wii only title...But the original GC title is also being release so I see no point in releasing it as a Wii title as well".

Since when did you become the center of the universe and gaming has to revolve around what YOU want? Again, a stupid way of seeing gaming and no wonder everything fails to pleases you. Hell, even if gaming were to somehow revolve around your needs as a gamer you would still find something to complain about, because you made it your life's goal to see everything through brown tinted glasses and because of that, everything sucks, including the players who are more than happy with the way things are being run.

If you don't care about MH or DQ as a series or don't see the importance behind this announcement then you should stay quiet and keep the little integrity you have as a gamer.

[Ian Sane]

This is completely irrelevant. The series, whether you deem it good or bad, will bring enormous amounts of new Wii owners. The same goes for Dragon Quest X. More Wii owners, means more Wii games, which means more genres of Wii games, including "hardcore" Ian-friendly genres.

More Wii owners does not mean better third party support.  If it did then why does the third party support currently suck?  The huge userbase SHOULD be enough.  If the game industry was run by logical intelligent people it would be enough.  But there's more to it.  Obviously some bias about who makes up the userbase is an issue.  It might be very narrow minded thinking to assume that the Wii is only selling with non-gamers but that doesn't mean that mentality doesn't exist.

The Wii is selling remarkably well.  It doesn't need Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter to increase the userbase.  If raw numbers were all anyone was looking at there would be no third party issue.  But Dragon Quest, at least to me, is the first really significant third party game annouced that suggests that the Wii isn't just for girls and kids and thus is the first example of really relevent Wii third party support.  It's the first that I think has the potentially to change third party perceptions.

Is anyone really surprised that Ian is trying to turn big news into a downer?

Did you like read any of the posts I made?  This is HUGE news!  I think it's the most significant and awesome news for the Wii yet!

[Kairon]

I think it's fair to say that this is the BIGGEST announcement of third party support for the Wii to date. This is a coup, and I am just as excited as Ian as to what this could do for the Wii's reputation amongst third party companies in Japan.

However, I also think that to see this game in exclusion to other announcements is exhibiting tunnel vision. Like others have pointed out, Monster Hunter Tri was a very large coup for Nintendo as well, perhaps the biggest such victory before this DQX announcement. No matter if the series is alien to you, the game has shown a market significance amongst core gamers (it enabled the PSP to seize the top sales spots in Japan, and to gain a second wind against the DS that it is still benefitting from) and has probably done a lot to help the Wii's reputation amongst traditional consumers and game makers. Pap64 brought up Halo: If Halo was announced for the Wii, would that be blase? No matter what you thought of the game as a player, you have to acknowledge the effect it would have on others.

The same goes for many previous game announcements for the Wii, including not just Monster Hunter, but the Tales of RPGs, Dragon Quest: Swords, Tenchu IV(now heading to PSP, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth), Fatal Frame IV, No More Heroes, Bikini Zombie Slayers R, and possibly many more. These were the precursors to the DQX announcement, and may even have made DQX Wii possible.

To see DQX Wii as a singular event without acknowledging the many steps that it took to get there (which may have involved games that exhibited lesser excitement) is at the very least naive, if not woefully unrealistic. It is certainly a capstone achievement, the most exciting announcement yet, and possibly even a highly effective PR victory. But it didn't all of a sudden burst onto the scene fully formed: it is only the latest result in a long process that has bore many other fruits along the way.

*ahem*

Now, let me be negative. IT'S FREAKING TWO YEARS INTO THIS GENERATION. SE takes FOREVER to make a game: WHEN DO THEY EXPECT DQX TO RELEASE? 2010? 2011? Look, I'm all excited and all... but by the time we get to play DQX the freaking XBox720 and PS4 will be out. Maybe even the Wii2. Just how much benefit will this game really give the Wii if it comes so late in the game, huh?

Geez louise. It's taken them long enough.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Looking forward to the budget up-port of Onee-chan Bara Wii and the next Tales game (Dawn of Fist had plenty of content [100+ hours clocked in, completed the story twice, played 2 of 3 hidden dungeons], want MOAR).

[Bill Aurion]

Now, let me be negative. IT'S FREAKING TWO YEARS INTO THIS GENERATION. SE takes FOREVER to make a game: WHEN DO THEY EXPECT DQX TO RELEASE? 2010? 2011? Look, I'm all excited and all... but by the time we get to play DQX the freaking XBox720 and PS4 will be out. Maybe even the Wii2. Just how much benefit will this game really give the Wii if it comes so late in the game, huh?

That's probably why they announced it so early, even before IX has released...Right after IX was announced for the DS, there was a rather big jump in DS sales, so I'm sure they are shooting for a similar situation here...

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Umm... Kairon... The Enix branch has a long-standing history of realeasing its big Dragon Quest game at the end of a system's lifecycle. It's intentional--fewer new games are coming out, and the userbase is as high as it's going to get. That's why DQ9 is coming out in 2009 (6th year of system's life) and DQ10 will probably come out in 2010 or 2011 (5th or 6th year of system's life).

Also, while I may sound like Lindy for a second--another factor leading to this decision is that Enix can likely reuse more of its DQ8 engine code on the Wii than on the PS3 or 360.

[Kairon]

Umm... Kairon... The Enix branch has a long-standing history of realeasing its big Dragon Quest game at the end of a system's lifecycle. It's intentional--fewer new games are coming out, and the userbase is as high as it's going to get. That's why DQ9 is coming out in 2009 (6th year of system's life) and DQ10 will probably come out in 2010 or 2011 (5th or 6th year of system's life).

Ah. That actually makes sense then.

Also, while I may sound like Lindy for a second--another factor leading to this decision is that Enix can likely reuse more of its DQ8 engine code on the Wii than on the PS3 or 360.

VICTOLY! Hey, I never claimed that the Wii<->PS2 connection was a bad thing. One of the things I think more developers should embrace wholeheartedly is moderating their technical desires in quest of games that expose them to less financial risk, yet still posess the inherent potential that the Wii and its userbase allows.

Another avenue for this is the Wii<->PSP connection. My much-beloved-much-overlooked Alien Syndrome was a product of the similarities between Nintendo's console and Sony's handheld, as was the Monster Hunter 3 coup considering Capcom's penchant to release PSP Monster Hunter versions after the console version comes out. It may even have won the Wii Tenchu IV, which I hear is now headed for the PSP after a short period as a Wii exclusive.

[Jonnyboy117]

Hrm, famous Japanese franchise is announced for Wii?  It'll probably be a dating sim or a gearhead racing game set in the Dragon Quest universe.

Just kidding!  What awesome news, although not a huge surprise for me.  It's the only thing that makes sense from a business perspective.

[Enner]

A dating sim would be neat as long as it is far away from being a visual novel.

As for you thinking that the Monster Hunter series isn't that good, first off, have you PLAYED the games? You are one to talk about quality.

If he did, he would probably complain of the awkward controls, unintuitive camera, and MMO-ish gameplay (Ah, the PC Frontier version is still in beta :[ ). MH is pretty like an MMORPG except faster and frustratingly hard (both I see as a good thing). Also, killing monsters for more materials to make your avatar increasingly bad ass can be satisfying and addictive.