Is it time to give up on the Dragon Quest series in the West?

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Dragon Quest IX is an amazing game, and many people love it.

Afaik there was a backlash indeed, though.
Actually Ichimura briefly mentioned about it at the last issue of Famitsu.
 
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Dragon Quest IX is an amazing game, and many people love it.

That whole post in general is basically "Taking anecdotal evidence and extrapolating it without any second thoughts, considerations, or qualifications."

So you are saying here in the west the average gamer is a kid with a 3DS in hand?
 
To be relevant again in the West, yes it does need to move back to consoles (but not necessarily exclusively). The 3DS (or Wii) in the West couldn't do that. But a big adventure on the big screen on a system that is starved for JRPGs would do very well indeed. And besides VIII was a beautiful game at the time. And NiNoKuni was gorgeous too. That's the level of graphics we'd have gotten if they'd released a proper DQ game on PS3. So to say DQ has never been "into graphics" isn't correct, it's just not had lots of opportunity to shine to it's fullest in that capacity due to it's platforms limitations. Moving it to consoles doesn't mean it has to have "blockbuster cinematics" either.

NiNoKuni sold less than DQIX in the west. If you want to talk about million selling RPGs in the west then the vast majority have been on Nintendo handhelds in the last ten years. FF is the only million seller JRPG on consoles in the west.

NiNoKuni is also a Studio Ghibli game which is a big deal even in the west.

EDIT:
So you are saying here in the west the average gamer is a kid with a 3DS in hand?

The average gamer is someone with a Smartphone in hand or on a browser. Consoles don't enter the equation at all.
 
notsure.jpg


Dragon Quest IX is an amazing game, and many people love it.

That whole post in general is basically "Taking anecdotal evidence and extrapolating it without any second thoughts, considerations, or qualifications."

IX was a huge step down from VIII. It was dumbed down, repetitive and tedious, especially compared to previous entries in the series. And many people also DIDN'T love it.
 
IX was a huge step down from VIII. It was dumbed down, repetitive and tedious, especially compared to previous entries in the series. And many people also DIDN'T love it.

Its still a great game, even if you belive that it's dumbed down etc, the fact that it sold slightly better than DQ8 in the West actually removes a bullet point from the conversation that DQ need to be on a console to success in the West.



Edit

Imo the only wrong move is making DQX an MMO so late in the Wii life cycle. A non MMO DQ X could have been released earier and have a huge Chance of localization.
 
that is exactly what companies should be trying to do. " Get People ". Get fans. Build a loyal core fanbase and through that cores word of mouth and self campaigning get that userbase to expand and grow over time. The worst possible thing to do is build up a fanbase on one platform, a home playstation console, and then say ... oh hey thats cool ... fuck off we will send the next product to a nintendo handheld. You couldn't do it any worse then that.

I wouldn't see it as such an affront myself. Games change platforms all the time. If you like the series, follow the series.

Looking at the MO for the series at that time the main games went to the console with the largest install base. So, while the DS came out of left-field in one sense, it made perfect sense in terms of how the series worked traditionally.

Recently, there's been talk of the games abandoning this model in favour of a multiplatform approach. With the release of X on PC and Wii U and the recent smartphone re-releases of DQ games it's not unreasonable to suppose that future releases will come to a multitude of systems, whether that's under one brand umbrella or another is another story.
 
Indeed.
The GAF reveal of DQ9 was amazing.



...
How in the world would you possibly draw that conclusion from my post?

Because you are disputing my claim about the average gamer here in the west being an adult console gamer. What else am I supposed to draw from that?

What was your point to this then?

That whole post in general is basically "Taking anecdotal evidence and extrapolating it without any second thoughts, considerations, or qualifications."


I wouldn't see it as such an affront myself. Games change platforms all the time. If you like the series, follow the series.

Looking at the MO for the series at that time the main games went to the console with the largest install base. So, while the DS came out of left-field in one sense, it made perfect sense in terms of how the series worked traditionally.

Recently, there's been talk of the games abandoning this model in favour of a multiplatform approach. With the release of X on PC and Wii U and the recent smartphone re-releases of DQ games it's not unreasonable to suppose that future releases will come to a multitude of systems, whether that's under one brand umbrella or another is another story.

Doesn't work like that in the real world sorry. I'm not going to spend hundreds of extra dollars just to buy a system for a single title. I will instead get pissed that the company forced me into making that my only option.

The average gamer is someone with a Smartphone in hand or on a browser. Consoles don't enter the equation at all.

Did you miss the memo that informed the PS4 is the fastest selling Playstation console of all time?

People play iOS games because they already have a phone in their pocket, but they do not use it as their primary gaming platform here in the west.
 
How different is DQ VII 3DS compared to the original PS version? Couldn't they just dip into the original localized game for easy translation? Could hardly see this taking a year to localize when they have a fully translated game already to pick from.

IIRC they redid they entire beginning portion of the game, also from what I've heard the original localization was pretty bad and not up to modern standards so they'd need to redo it completely.

latest


Average gamer is in their 20's and 30's these days. They own consoles. The average 3DS owner I am certain are younger kids. If what I see around me is any indication for sure. Yeah, core gamers will still grab the 3DS, but its not even close to the type of ratio you will see with consoles and adult gamers.

Putting DQ on the DS and such like that after the PS2 was basically sending the game down for kids to enjoy while ignoring the teen/adult following that had been built up. I mean just look at any JRPG thread around here. How often do you see DQIX mentioned compared to DQVIII? Its a 1000:1 ratio. Now why would that be?

DQVIII was popular because it looked great, had great art direction, was an epic adventure on the big screen that you didn't mind your friends coming over and seeing you play. Great music. Great characters. And Jessica. Ahh Jessica.

Sure, send DQXI over to handhelds, would be a smart business decision especially in Japan. But lets not fool ourselves into thinking sending the game to handhelds in the states wouldn't be ignoring a large section of the fanbase of gamers here in the west. And its not like the 3DS is burning aisle's down with the friction of peoples shoes running so fast through the store to pick it up and get out with it.

If SE truly cares about actually building the brand in the west. They will send the product to where the gamers are. Consoles. Here in the west, consoles are like the handhelds in the East. I don't think I've ever seen anyone, other then a kid, in the west, pull a 3DS or DS or anything out of their pocket and start playing out in the open. I've seen a couple of Vita's from people at work, but never once a 3DS.

Your post seems very anecdotal. Dragon Quest is a franchise made for Japan, and in Japan the 3DS is king (not counting mobile). Dragon Quest is arguable the best selling video game franchise in Japan, so SE aren't going to let the west (a much smaller market for the game in comparison) dictate the platform, when they know that it'll sell more and be cheaper to make on a handheld. Also just because it's on a console doesn't mean it'll sell better. For instance DQ9 sold almost a million more copies than DQ8 did in Japan. DQ8 did outsell DQ9 in the west but the gap was much smaller, and the overall sales of both were nothing compared to what it did in Japan.
 
I wouldn't see it as such an affront myself. Games change platforms all the time. If you like the series, follow the series.

Looking at the MO for the series at that time the main games went to the console with the largest install base. So, while the DS came out of left-field in one sense, it made perfect sense in terms of how the series worked traditionally.

Recently, there's been talk of the games abandoning this model in favour of a multiplatform approach. With the release of X on PC and Wii U and the recent smartphone re-releases of DQ games it's not unreasonable to suppose that future releases will come to a multitude of systems, whether that's under one brand umbrella or another is another story.
I wonder if going mutilplatfrom will actually help SE in the West. Looking at the sales for 8 and 9 seems like the western fanbase peaked at around that amount. Going mutilplatform may just means that sales are divided between the platforms. For r all we know, the plan for SE may be aiming for 3DS And PS4 mutilplatfrom to squeeze the most sales form Japan and the West.


Edit

Wait which sold better again? I was sure it was 9 by a sliver. Am I wrong?
 
Did you miss the memo that informed the PS4 is the fastest selling Playstation console of all time?

People play iOS games because they already have a phone in their pocket, but they do not use it as their primary gaming platform here in the west.

So? Good for Sony.

It doesn't change the fact that console gamers nowhere near the "average gamer".

EDIT: Also they have been more releases on Nintendo handhelds than Sony consoles so shouldn't you be mad they are making you buy the PS4 for "a single title"?
 
I'm sad that I will never get to play dragon quest X. It looked like the closest thing that I would ever get to playing a game like ffxi again
 
Because you are disputing my claim about the average gamer here in the west being an adult console gamer.

So you are saying here in the west the average gamer is a kid with a 3DS in hand?

There are other possibilities aside from "Adult console gamer" and "Kid with a 3DS in hand."
There is also overlap in terms of people who have consoles who also have handhelds.

Not to mention, my original post said nothing about any of that.
My point was that Dragon Quest IX is a great game, and many people loved it.
 
So? Good for Sony.

It doesn't change the fact that console gamers nowhere near the "average gamer".

EDIT: Also they have been more releases on Nintendo handhelds than Sony consoles so shouldn't you be mad they are making you buy the PS4 for "a single title"?
We had it so good on DS, 2 DQ monsters not counting the professional version , 3 remakes, DQ9, DQ Heroes, the DQ chess game, even the Crossover monopoly clone game =(
 
So? Good for Sony.

It doesn't change the fact that console gamers nowhere near the "average gamer".

EDIT: Also they have been more releases on Nintendo handhelds than Sony consoles so shouldn't you be mad they are making you buy the PS4 for "a single title"?

It's not the fastest selling console in Japan, the main market for Dragon Quest games.
 
We had it so good on DS, 2 DQ monsters not counting the professional version , 3 remakes, DQ9, DQ Heroes, the DQ chess game, even the Crossover monopoly clone game =(

Indeed, the DS was an amazing system.
Easily the best system of last generation.
 
I wonder if going mutilplatfrom will actually help SE in the West. Looking at the sales for 8 and 9 seems like the western fanbase peaked at around that amount. Going mutilplatform may just means that sales are divided between the platforms. For r all we know, the plan for SE may be aiming for 3DS And PS4 mutilplatfrom to squeeze the most sales form Japan and the West.

It will probably be the case that one version of the game vastly outsells the others. Like what happens with Metal Gear or Final Fantasy titles on Xbox and PlayStation.
 
We had it so good on DS, 2 DQ monsters not counting the professional version , 3 remakes, DQ9, DQ Heroes, the DQ chess game, even the Crossover monopoly clone game =(

Do you mean Swords? Because if not I want this time travelling DS version of Heroes.

Indeed, the DS was an amazing system.
Easily the best system of last generation.

It's worth pointing out that DQM:J2, DQVI, DQIX and Fortune Street were published by Nintendo and DQ Swords and DQ Wars were developed by Nintendo studios. We benefitted a lot from Nintendo's interest in the series.

It's especially not the fastest selling console...let alone PlayStation in Japan, the main market for Dragon Quest games.

For the record I think DQXI is going to be a PS3/PS4 game. I just don't think it's going to be the blockbuster hit in the west that people(and SE probably) think it will be.
 
There are other possibilities aside from "Adult console gamer" and "Kid with a 3DS in hand."
There is also overlap in terms of people who have consoles who also have handhelds.

Not to mention, my original post said nothing about any of that.
My point was that Dragon Quest IX is a great game, and many people loved it.

how many studies and polls and shit need to come out showing the average gamer being in their late 20's and 30's need to come out before this sort of stuff stops being argued?

And as per usual the actual point is being completely ignored

As for the bolded, there is a reason I didn't mention that.

I was responding to the second part of your comment.

It's not the fastest selling console in Japan, the main market for Dragon Quest games.

That ... has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation that " was " at hand. But as per usual, the actual point of the original conversation is being shifted toward something else.
 
NiNoKuni sold less than DQIX in the west. If you want to talk about million selling RPGs in the west then the vast majority have been on Nintendo handhelds in the last ten years. FF is the only million seller JRPG on consoles in the west.

NiNoKuni is also a Studio Ghibli game which is a big deal even in the west

I'm talking graphically what you have gotten from a DQ game if there was one for PS3. I'm not comparing sales of those titles to one another.
 
how many studies and polls and shit need to come out showing the average gamer being in their late 20's and 30's need to come out before this sort of stuff stops being argued?

And as per usual the actual point is being completely ignored

Average != Majority
And again, there is overlap - it's possible to be a console-owning adult in their 20s and 30s and still own a handheld as well.

Anyone who didn't own a DS last generation missed out on the best system of last generation.
 
how many studies and polls and shit need to come out showing the average gamer being in their late 20's and 30's need to come out before this sort of stuff stops being argued?

And as per usual the actual point is being completely ignored

As for the bolded, there is a reason I didn't mention that.

I was responding to the second part of your comment.



That ... has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation that " was " at hand. But as per usual, the actual point of the original conversation is being shifted toward something else.

First hit on google.

Lets talk about the average gamer.

I'm talking graphically what you have gotten from a DQ game if there was one for PS3. I'm not comparing sales of those titles to one another.

Sorry, a lot of people have been using NiNoKuni as an example of how DQ would do even better on consoles. I imagine a DQ game would look even better.
 
Let's go back to the actual post I responded to:

Putting DQ on the DS and such like that after the PS2 was basically sending the game down for kids to enjoy while ignoring the teen/adult following that had been built up. I mean just look at any JRPG thread around here. How often do you see DQIX mentioned compared to DQVIII? Its a 1000:1 ratio. Now why would that be?

Dragon Quest IX is an amazing game, and many people love it.

That whole post in general is basically "Taking anecdotal evidence and extrapolating it without any second thoughts, considerations, or qualifications."

Things that were mentioned in the post I responded to:
Sending DQ to the DS was "sending the game down for kids to enjoy while ignoring the teen/adult following that had been built up"
"How often do you see DQIX mentioned compared to DQVIII"

The 2nd is provably untrue - especially at the comical "1000:1" ratio given.
As for the first comment - this is where it comes in to discussing the quality of the game, since it claims it was "sending the game down for kids to enjoy" - this is, again, untrue. It's a game perfectly enjoyable by adults - many of whom did just that.
 
Do you mean Swords? Because if not I want this time travelling DS version of Heroes.


.
Every one forget about the OG.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime

If the average gamer is now in their late 20's and 30's it is an odd thing to think the other large section of the average shoots all the way down to the k-6 range, which is whom I only see DS's in the hands of these days. Yes, there are core gamers out there who own DS's here in the states, not saying there isn't. My MAIN POINT, was that here in the west the console gamer is the main gamer. By putting DQ on a nintendo handheld, when it was just on a playstation console, means they shifted the fanbase completely around and ignored a large portion of the fanbase they had created.

Simple point really. Sales and shit isn't what I'm talking about.



What was the point of linking that article? Thats talking about how gamers are playing iOS games more. That has nothing to do with anything being discussed.

It was never just on playstation console , DQ never left Nintendo during the PS period with the portables spinoff and remakes.
 
Average != Majority
And again, there is overlap - it's possible to be a console-owning adult in their 20s and 30s and still own a handheld as well.

Anyone who didn't own a DS last generation missed out on the best system of last generation.

If the average gamer is now in their late 20's and 30's it is an odd thing to think the other large section of the average shoots all the way down to the k-6 range, which is whom I only see DS's in the hands of these days. Yes, there are core gamers out there who own DS's here in the states, not saying there isn't. My MAIN POINT, was that here in the west the console gamer is the main gamer. By putting DQ on a nintendo handheld, when it was just on a playstation console, means they shifted the fanbase completely around and ignored a large portion of the fanbase they had created.

Simple point really. Sales and shit isn't what I'm talking about.

First hit on google.

Lets talk about the average gamer.

What was the point of linking that article? Thats talking about how gamers are playing iOS games more. That has nothing to do with anything being discussed.
 
Every one forget about the OG.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime

Didn't get a PAL release unfortunately. I wasn't as in-the-know back then either so I missed out on it.

EDIT:
If the average gamer is now in their late 20's and 30's it is an odd thing to think the other large section of the average shoots all the way down to the k-6 range, which is whom I only see DS's in the hands of these days. Yes, there are core gamers out there who own DS's here in the states, not saying there isn't. My MAIN POINT, was that here in the west the console gamer is the main gamer. By putting DQ on a nintendo handheld, when it was just on a playstation console, means they shifted the fanbase completely around and ignored a large portion of the fanbase they had created.

Simple point really. Sales and shit isn't what I'm talking about.

The DS obliterated consoles in sales last gen and I doubt PS4 will match it so the average game absolutely was gaming on the DS when they chose the DS. Your point is ignoring facts and mentioning silly anecdotes.
 
Your post seems very anecdotal. Dragon Quest is a franchise made for Japan, and in Japan the 3DS is king (not counting mobile). Dragon Quest is arguable the best selling video game franchise in Japan, so SE aren't going to let the west (a much smaller market for the game in comparison) dictate the platform, when they know that it'll sell more and be cheaper to make on a handheld. Also just because it's on a console doesn't mean it'll sell better. For instance DQ9 sold almost a million more copies than DQ8 did in Japan. DQ8 did outsell DQ9 in the west but the gap was much smaller, and the overall sales of both were nothing compared to what it did in Japan.

Well, this is something that is not set in stone. Horii can change that and I hope he does.

That's why we are talking about the future. 3DS is a dying king anywhere you look. Yes, another DQ would do great in Japan, even the world, but what about the next game? Will Square-Enix, will Horii wait and see if Nintendo can pull another sucessful portable? What about the challenge and satisfaction as a developer to do something new? Look at what Atlus is bringing us. FFXV and KHIII are coming too. Xenoblade X is a reality already.

Right now they have an opportunity to give another shot with DQ, no more limited to Japan, no more limited to the hardware of portables. FF and KH got their pass, why not try with DQ too? Actually, they don't need to abandon 3DS, they can continue to milk spins on the portable for Japan. I'm just tired to see no game coming to the Western market, I want to play and Nintendo is doing nothing for us.
 
I would love a spritely 100-hour traditional turn-based JRPG with a AAA budget. I'm not interested in the supposed action focus of the new entry. Not every JRPG needs to be an action RPG.
 
http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/29/g...erage-gamer-is-31-and-most-play-on-a-console/

When it comes to how they play, most are still using a console. The average U.S. home owns at least one dedicated console, PC, or smartphone, but 68 percent of those that do use the console for gaming. That’s compared to 53 percent for smartphones.

" Anecdotal "

The average age of someone who plays games is 31 years old. In fact, more gamers are over the age of 36 than between the ages of 18 to 35 or under the age of 18. They are also mostly men, but by a slimming margin. Men make up 52 percent. From 2012 to 2013, the number of women gamers over the age of 50 grew by 32 percent.

" Anecdotal "
 
Well, this is something that is not set in stone. Horii can change that and I hope he does.

That's why we are talking about the future. 3DS is a dying king anywhere you look. Yes, another DQ would do great in Japan, even the world, but what about the next game? Will Square-Enix, will Horii wait and see if Nintendo can pull another sucessful portable? What about the challenge and satisfaction as a developer to do something new? Look at what Atlus is bringing us. FFXV and KHIII are coming too. Xenoblade X is a reality already.

Right now they have an opportunity to give another shot with DQ, no more limited to Japan, no more limited to the hardware of portables. FF and KH got their pass, why not try with DQ too? Actually, they don't need to abandon 3DS, they can continue to milk spins on the portable for Japan. I'm just tired to see no game coming to the Western market, I want to play and Nintendo is doing nothing for us.

"Lets throw away guaranteed success in Japan for a small chance of success in the West."

That makes total sense.
Which is why Square Enix will be following that logic.
 
Well, this is something that is not set in stone. Horii can change that and I hope he does.

That's why we are talking about the future. 3DS is a dying king anywhere you look. Yes, another DQ would do great in Japan, even the world, but what about the next game? Will Square-Enix, will Horii wait and see if Nintendo can pull another sucessful portable? What about the challenge and satisfaction as a developer to do something new? Look at what Atlus is bringing us. FFXV and KHIII are coming too. Xenoblade X is a reality already.

Right now they have an opportunity to give another shot with DQ, no more limited to Japan, no more limited to the hardware of portables. FF and KH got their pass, why not try with DQ too? Actually, they don't need to abandon 3DS, they can continue to milk spins on the portable for Japan. I'm just tired to see no game coming to the Western market, I want to play and Nintendo is doing nothing for us.

Well DQ is Square Enix's franchise not Nintendo's, so it is SE who must act before us complaining other companies are helping them for localization :p
 
Whether NeoGAF liked DQ9 or not, I really want it to come to IOS/Andriod. I would like it to keep in the map trading too, but I can't think how they would implement it.
 
Nope, the last AAA Dragon Quest they made on a best selling console sold well, so :)

If they want to succeed on the West, they have to make the game really ambitious and not cheap :)

Japanese gamers might not care about this because many of them can only play portable games because of their daily life, but we don't have this kind of problem
 
Nope, the last AAA Dragon Quest they made on a best selling console sold well, so :)

If they want to succeed on the West, they have to make the game really ambitious and not cheap :)

Well there was a thread about job offering from SE regarding DQ franchise and that indicated they are shooting for something quite ambitions (though I think that wasn't about DQ11 because that should be in development for quite a time already).
 
"Lets throw away guaranteed success in Japan for a small chance of success in the West."

That makes total sense.
Which is why Square Enix will be following that logic.

SE may not thinking about the west if they decides not to go multi platform with 3DS .

They may be thinking about the Chinese market in SEA , TW , HK and China. If Sony is helping SE with localization on this front like many of the other Japanese developers PS4 and Vita games ,i can see SE going for a PS4 and PS3 and even Vita " multi platform " .


I am not so sure about the chances of Western localization if this is the case.
 
"Lets throw away guaranteed success in Japan for a small chance of success in the West."

That makes total sense.
Which is why Square Enix will be following that logic.

This is not anything ever spoken about in this thread so far.

What people have been saying is to build the brand IN THE WEST you would need to send the product over to where the western gamers truly are. Which is on consoles.

3DS in the East, PS3/PS4/Wii U/X1 in the West.

Never mentioned to make the game exclusive to anything. JRPG's are too niche as it is to make it even more niche by putting it into a single platform over here. But, it being multiplatform removes any " system seller " label it may potentially have had.
 
"Lets throw away guaranteed success in Japan for a small chance of success in the West."

That makes total sense.
Which is why Square Enix will be following that logic.
This is quite the simplification. Japan itself is quite a unique market in many ways, and whilst there is definitely a lot of success to be gained by sticking to the 3DS considering the success of the previous installment, they also need to take into account the creative needs of their staff, their long-term outlook, as well as the changing parameters of the market. It's not like the install base of the PS4 will be completely embarrassing by the time a hypothetical Dragon Quest XI releases on it, and partnering up with SCE has its benefits, financial and otherwise.

Timing, creative needs, market parameters, brand outlook, and various other factors come into consideration. There tends to be a very short-sighted outlook on GAF a lot of the time. There's nothing stopping Dragon Quest returning to smaller platforms in the future if a venture into larger territory isn't as prosperous as hoped. Not that I'm saying anything in particular here outside of the fact that your comment is quite the disservice to the kind of decision making that can go on behind the scenes. It's not always about the now, a good businessman keeps in mind the future.
 
Seriously?

Alright, I'm done.
Yeah, that's a losing battle you're fighting there.

Let's all just sit back and contemplate the tens of millions of copies DQXI will obviously be selling on PS4, and also the tragedy of IX being tossed to the kids on the DS where it sold more than VIII in every region, clearly by accident.
 
The DS obliterated consoles in sales last gen and I doubt PS4 will match it so the average game absolutely was gaming on the DS when they chose the DS. Your point is ignoring facts and mentioning silly anecdotes.

You can't compare sales of consoles and handhelds. Yes, the DS sold a lot, but how many iterations and LEs were sold? Handhelds typically being much cheaper, many people buy several versions of the same handheld. I, myself had 4 different DS systems, and this friday I'll be purchasing my fourth 3DS system. Has it ever been shown how many individual DS gamers there were? I'm sure its far, far smaller than the total number of systems sold.

In contrast, not many people will buy different iterations of the same console and usually only buy it once.
 

From the article I posted(which more recent than the one you used):

People who play on multiple platforms is the only segment of gamers that is growing, according to a report from industry research firm The NPD Group. That chunk of the market, which NPD calls “omni gamers,” grew from 16 percent to 22 percent of the total gaming population in the U.S. from 2013 to 2014. The biggest group, mobile-only gamers, maintained its 29 percent hold on the market.

Mobile-only gamers are growing and already represent the single biggest group of gamers.

Also the article you posted uses this which rather ambigiously splits Smartphone and Wireless Device into two separate categories.

But that's just the US, how about other Western countries like the UK?
 
This is quite the simplification. Japan itself is quite a unique market in many ways, and whilst there is definitely a lot of success to be gained by sticking to the 3DS considering the success of the previous installment, they also need to take into account the creative needs of their staff, their long-term outlook, as well as the changing parameters of the market. It's not like the install base of the PS4 will be completely embarrassing by the time a hypothetical Dragon Quest XI releases on it, and partnering up with SCE has its benefits, financial and otherwise.

Timing, creative needs, market parameters, brand outlook, and various other factors come into consideration. There tends to be a very short-sighted outlook on GAF a lot of the time. There's nothing stopping Dragon Quest returning to smaller platforms in the future if a venture into larger territory isn't as prosperous as hoped. Not that I'm saying anything in particular here outside of the fact that your comment is quite the disservice to the kind of decision making that can go on behind the scenes. It's not always about the now, a good businessman keeps in mind the future.

SCE seems to be really serious about the Chinese speaking/reading market so i won't be surprised if SE and SCE partner up and try to get a new market as the western market seems to have reached its peak (with DQ 8 and 9 sales)

You can't compare sales of consoles and handhelds. Yes, the DS sold a lot, but how many iterations and LEs were sold? Handhelds typically being much cheaper, many people buy several versions of the same handheld. I, myself had 4 different DS systems, and this friday I'll be purchasing my fourth 3DS system. Has it ever been shown how many individual DS gamers there were? I'm sure its far, far smaller than the total number of systems sold.

In contrast, not many people will buy different iterations of the same console and usually only buy it once.

This does not change that fact that sales of 9 is still better than 8 WW.
 
You can't compare sales of consoles and handhelds. Yes, the DS sold a lot, but how many iterations and LEs were sold? Handhelds typically being much cheaper, many people buy several versions of the same handheld. I, myself had 4 different DS systems, and this friday I'll be purchasing my fourth 3DS system. Has it ever been shown how many individual DS gamers there were? I'm sure its far, far smaller than the total number of systems sold.

In contrast, not many people will buy different iterations of the same console and usually only buy it once.

pls

only on video game forums do you find people who buy 10 versions of the same hardware

that isn't normal at all
 
Yeah, that's a losing battle you're fighting there.

Let's all just sit back and contemplate the tens of millions of copies DQXI will obviously be selling on PS4, and also the tragedy of IX being tossed to the kids on the DS where it sold more than VIII in every region, clearly by accident.

Not to mention that "1000:1 ratio" of people mentioning VIII as compared to IX...
 
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