???
IX sold more than VIII both in Japan and outside of it.
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Square Enix On The Popularity Gap Between Final Fantasy And Dragon Quest In The West
- Thread starter Poetic.Injustice
- Start date
IX sold more than VIII both in Japan and outside of it.
Square2015
Member
Yes, I'll correct (it may have been even less for DQB)
Some Nobody
Junior Member
I feel like DQ XI exists on the PS4 because they wanted it to come here, otherwise they would've just let the 3DS version do.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I think it's probably my age, but since Dragon Warrior on NES was my very first RPG, I share the DQ nostalgia that Japanese gamers have.
I feel very left out when people repeatedly mention FFVII as an RPG touchstone. I'd already been playing RPGs for years by that point.
I feel very left out when people repeatedly mention FFVII as an RPG touchstone. I'd already been playing RPGs for years by that point.
-Mutsukki-
Member
I realised after I posted lol. But I can't help and feel that a DQ game with Yoshitaka Amano art would just not be DQ at all. People were open to try 8 and 9 so I don't know how the artwork would be the biggest problem, especially when it looks like DBZ which is really popular. Yeah there's a stigma that it's cartoon-y so it might be childish, but I think the point is to try to convey that that's not the case instead of changing art direction entirely
I don't think I would like a DQ game that didn't look like this or at least similar
FF also has a considerably larger budget. Like a whole lot larger. And for a series that went dead for almost 10 years I'd say those are amazing numbers.
Battleborn is not even comparable when it was butting heads with the already incredibly popular Overwatch. It was fighting a losing battle since it's start
Poetic.Injustice
Member
Chrono Trigger used Toriyama's art, that was still pretty popular in the west.
Zomba13
Member
I don't know why but I have no interest in any DQ game at all. I gave builders a go at my cousins and that was fine but I tried it more for the minecrafty elements. And it's not the cartoony style either, I love me Dragonball/Z/GT/Super and I'm not against medieval style stuff either, I like The Witcher and Dragon's Dogma. I also like Final Fantasy and Bravely Default and turn based games. I just have no interest in even trying a DQ mainline game and I don't know why.
Classic_Gs
Member
I do agree the art style plays a part in the lack of appeal for the franchise. As a life long RPG fan, I never really found the art style interesting or engaging. It's just rather blah and boring.
Princess Viola
Member
The comment about the art-style is kind of amusing to me since I honestly can't stand Toriyama's art in Dragon Ball-related things (as well as disliking Dragon Ball overall) and yet I love the art in Dragon Quest.
-Mutsukki-
Member
It's slow paced, home-y and comfy. It's not really that epic and it generally doesn't have a huge climax like FF. It's also a turn based RPG in it's roots to this day. I think most people expect more action out of their RPGs and DQ is just the exact opposite of that. It's a lot of reading too and, sometimes, not too much variety between towns and NPCs (low budget and all)
Well, you can only trade on people's nostalgia for so long. At the end, the series need to innovate. I found Dragon Quest to be so boring.. I tried multiple times to get into it but never found that the game play is appealing or the story engaging. I think the presentation is there though.. anyway, my two cents. In saying that, I don't find FF XV appealing either.. so I want a mix of innovation and nostalgia..
The series has great monster art, but the characters might as well be generated by a DBZ character creator.
Captain Europe
Member
It's sad and frustrating, because Dragon Quest is actually the better series.
Are you saying they should give up on the west?
As evidenced by the replies to this thread, it's pretty clear that western gamers don't want or care about the series, so it doesn't make much sense to keep trying over and over again.
SliceSabre
Banned
Not really because like other have said the series is wildly popular in Japan.
The question becomes if SE wants possibly piss off the reliable Japanese fanbase in a attempt to appeal to a notoriously unreliable western one. Because if they change it up too much and tick off the Japanese fans and western fans don't replace those lost sales, then they've failed on two fronts.
I love me some Dragon Quest but it doesn't make much sense for SE to keep throwing money in the trash trying to sell the game here if they aren't getting the kinda returns they need.
Ōkami;227570648 said:
That's on Japan.
VIII did 600k+ In Europe.
Dragon Quest IX, from what I remember, didn't do that.
Edit: that was an annoying link to remember since I couldn't find it on game front but remember that GAF had it somewhere.
Edit2: don't get me wrong I love that NOE actually bothers but they have never actually done much for third party releases. It's kinda like "there it is, we're showing it as cheaply as possible" now buy it... Or don't"
Edit3: I might be remembering things wrong as Aena points out. To tired(04:25 here) to dig through the old npd threads atm.
LiquidSolid
Member
The existence of the PS4 already confirmed that.
Good luck getting the 3DS version localised though, not even Nintendo will care about that by 2018, not when there's already a Switch version.
We never got public individual numbers for DQ9 in NA and Europe, but we do know that between both markets, it sold over 1 million. Private numbers paint an interesting picture that is not that dissimilar to 8.
-Mutsukki-
Member
It needs to innovate but if it innovates too much then it's bad. It seems more like you yourself doesn't really know what you want and that's why I'm glad game developers don't always listen
SMT is in no way slow and it fits pretty much the kind of story the west likes, with post-apocalyptic worlds, moral dillemas and twists. It's also perceived as being way more "mature". You might rethink if you really like slow games or not because SMT is not a good example
Smt is a moderately budgeted series that's also slow and turn based. I loved Nocturne and DDS. Dragon Quest just some kind of way dials the boredom up to level 9. I love the character designs but the games themselves are completely uncompelling to me.
Poetic.Injustice
Member
Phantasy Star had the potential to be as big as Final Fantasy in the west if they didn't stop making single player entries after 4.
TriAceJP
Member
Ah, right. Point still stands, though. SNES made most of us fans of the genre.
Blame the 80's.
If all else fails, we will get the 3DS version in a few years the same way we got Terry's Wonderland. I'd rather have it much sooner and officially, of course...
I'm doing my part and double dipping on 7 and 8 for now.
Maybe they'll change the protagonist for a Western audience?
Instead of him being Trunks, he'll be Goku. And his partner will be Vegeta instead of Supreme Kai.
And the girl can stay as Bulma, cuz no one likes Chi-Chi anyway.
The fact that FF has huge plots and massive narratives, lots of unique characters and such is a major factor. DQ stories and characters are pretty threadbare and simplistic, crappy localisations of early titles didn't help with that either. As is the fact that it hasn't really changed up its menu or presentation pretty much ever. Toriyama's art probably doesn't help but it shouldn't hurt a lot either. Dragon Ball is huge in the West. I'd say it's more to the fact that if you look at DQIV and DQVIII aside from the transition from 2D to 3D nothing is different aesthetics wise, whereas FF changes shit up immensely with every game. Drastically different art styles, character designs, gameplay systems, etc. If you tried DQ whatever a decade or two ago and you see a new one is coming out it's not going to inspire confidence you'll like this new one since it looks the exact same.
They did something like that for DQ8. This art is exclusive to the west:
In the Japanese version, he keeps his bandana on.
If they are making the games for Japan anyway I assume the Western sales should at the very least cover localization costs?
CrichtonKicks
Member
That's not the point. DQ is profitable on Japanese sales alone. The goal should be to establish enough of a market in the rest of the world to make it worth the cost of localization, publishing, and marketing. You don't need 5 million copies sold to do that.
Chaos2Frozen
Member
Just make it *look* like Dark souls, that'll sell in the west.
Then that is on me I figured from those posts, that I remember, that it was reversed this time and Europe had fallen behind, greatly. I'm going to blame a random post that got information from ********
Lol I can't even type their name. Always assumed it was links only
This is why I'm hoping that the Switch version gets the 3DS port. Else I'm not seeing it making its way over.
-Mutsukki-
Member
The entire point of the quote in the OP is that this is not actually true. DQ since IV has pretty much as much plot as any FF, it's just slower and doesn't shove it right into your face with FMVs and stuff like that. It's more about reading and absorbing, less about seeing it
added_time
Member
Don't North Americans adults like Family Guy, South Park and the Simpsons? Those are cartoons.
Mikey Jr.
Member
Hmmm, my take is that
1. All the games pretty much look exactly the same. If you don't like the artstyle of 8, you aren't going to like any of them.
2. The combat is pretty ancient. Has it really evolved at all or changed? It's the same thing over and over again.
FF9 combat is different from 10, which is different from 12, which is different from 13, 15, etc.
1. All the games pretty much look exactly the same. If you don't like the artstyle of 8, you aren't going to like any of them.
2. The combat is pretty ancient. Has it really evolved at all or changed? It's the same thing over and over again.
FF9 combat is different from 10, which is different from 12, which is different from 13, 15, etc.
Also, DQ plots are not emo and the games do not feature fancy (read: annoying) summons.
The nostalgia angle is a bit weird to me since they are comparing Famicom and PS games. In NA Nintendo pushed Dragon Warrior pretty hard. I remember getting the first game for cheap or maybe even free with a subscription to Nintendo power back then. I started playing both franchise on the NES I'm getting old T.T . In NA the Toriyama's art is pretty much non existent until DW7 and it was only on the boxart. I do think they are right thinking it turns off some people.
-Mutsukki-
Member
man this idea that a game's aesthetics and combat needs to ""evolve""
maybe square should just give up we don't deserve it
(I really hope the spin-offs do at least something...)
It's more because DQ was a huge thing in Japan. Like really huge, not just for RPGs. The West only really got into RPGs on the PS1.
maybe square should just give up we don't deserve it
(I really hope the spin-offs do at least something...)
It's more because DQ was a huge thing in Japan. Like really huge, not just for RPGs. The West only really got into RPGs on the PS1.
All comedies, most that lean heavily towards dirtier/edgier humor. DQ is opposite of that, its as edgy as Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (ok maybe a bit edgier at times).
Yeah...after they get Nintendo to pay for a script they can use on the mobile ports.
added_time
Member
In that case, it's because we are stupid here in North America and have no concept of what actual maturity is.
This is part of why the newer games don't evoke any amount of nostalgia for me. The art now doesn't match up at all with the way I interpreted the NES sprites
DQ has some of the most depressing scenarios in games behind the puns and colorful art. Slavery. Human misery. Torture for no reason.
I mean I don't have a reason except after having played a few of them, I still don't get what makes the series great. I know Westerners who have a passing interest in the series, but that's mostly due to SE/FF connections and none of them got into it. Then again I really like DQM and the West dislikes that even more so what do I know.
I actually don't think that's the SNES at all, it's almost certainly PS1 and/or PS2. Just look at total console sales and European market penetration.
They're comedies. And it's not like The Simpsons didn't have an "it's for kids" mentality they had to jump over on the first few years. They overcame it through quality.
I actually don't think that's the SNES at all, it's almost certainly PS1 and/or PS2. Just look at total console sales and European market penetration.
They're comedies. And it's not like The Simpsons didn't have an "it's for kids" mentality they had to jump over on the first few years. They overcame it through quality.