Dragon Quest IX is DS exclusive

[Wrestlevania]

At a press conference in Japan, Square Enix has made the unexpected announcement that the next numbered release in the Dragon Quest role-playing game series will appear on the Nintendo DS and not a Sony format. [...]

Dragon Quest IX itself will be developed by Level-5, who also produced the previous game in the series on the PlayStation 2. The game appears to feature impressive 3D graphics for the Nintendo DS, as well as more action based battles compared to the normally very traditional turn-based series. The game was shown in playable form and is due to be released next year in Japan.

[Full article]

Not that I'm personally a huge JRPG fan, but I'm sure this news will excite plenty of others.

[Git Force Gemini]

The RPG the DS is really crying out for Golden Sun.

[Roderick]

I saw a trailer for this game, I believe, on Gametrailers (Dragonquest, not Golden Sun). And it apparently features exactly the same enemies as the latest DQ (which was, 8? On PS2.), maybe even the same models, just scaled down.

Which would explain how they're able to make it this fast =)

[n0wak]

Japan now belongs to Nintendo.

[miffy495]

Well, DQ8 certainly managed to be incredibly beautiful despite a lack of technical wizzardry. If Phantom Hourglass can effectively make a beautiful cell shaded game on the DS, I'm looking forward to the style of this one too. Never really been that into RPGs, but the DQ games that I've played have always managed to keep me happy. So, y'know, w00t.

[Aussie Ben]

Phantom Hourglass? More like Phantom WHORE-ASS.

Still, it got delayed for a year, thank god, now I can't be horribly poor.

[miffy495]

No play on Phantom? C'mon. Think of all the things you could use. To list a few:

Random

Bran-bum

Fans Dumb

etc.

What? I have an exam tomorrow and it's this or study. Procrastination FTW.

[Wrestlevania]

Procrastination FTW.

"Every time you procrastinate, God kills a kitten."

...I think. Or was it wanking? Same difference.

[Wrestlevania]

Just as a follow-up (emphasis mine):

Square Enix has enjoyed the biggest gain in its shares for almost two years after announcing that it has created the first Dragon Quest game for Nintendo DS.

[Full article]

Not wishing to employ biz speak too much, but this sends a very clear signal just how viable a platform Nintendo DS is for the games industry.

And I'm also now excited. I demand a better trailer though, damnit!

[elmuerte]

Stock traders don't care about games. Just about possible profit a company will make. If reviews come out that the new game might not be a good they stock will drop. Well maybe not because the traders might still think people will buy the game even if the reviews were bad.

If the game was Wii exclusive the same thing might have happened. so I don't think it's a clear sign.

[Git Force Gemini]

I neither know nor like whay J-Pop is, but I like this...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-KljTMSs_wc

...so you can stick your Dragon Quest up you Dragon arse!

[loonyboi]

I was completely shocked by this.

A spinoff, sure...but the next major DQ game as a handheld-exclusive? Good GOD, that's nuts.

If it had been a Wii-exclusive, that would have been a little more understandable...but this is just mind-blowing.

After the waits between DQ6 and 7 (never did play 7...by the time it came out, I didn't care anymore) and then 7 and 8 (which was fantastic), this is somewhat encouraging.

But still, quite surprising. And it will have long-lasting effects on the industry.

Outside of Japan, we really can't appreciate just how popular DQ really is. In Japan, it's the biggest franchise in gaming, period. Bigger than Final Fantasy, bigger than Zelda, bigger than Mario.

[manny_c44]

I was completely shocked by this.

A spinoff, sure...but the next major DQ game as a handheld-exclusive? Good GOD, that's nuts.

If it had been a Wii-exclusive, that would have been a little more understandable...but this is just mind-blowing.

But still, quite surprising. And it will have long-lasting effects on the industry.

I don't quite understand why it will have such a huge impact...because Square-Enix is drastically lowering production costs for a game that is guaranteed to sell well? Because its going to Nintendo?

[loonyboi]

I don't quite understand why it will have such a huge impact...because Square-Enix is drastically lowering production costs for a game that is guaranteed to sell well? Because its going to Nintendo?

Because the largest franchise in Japan isn't going to be exclusive to Sony anymore, and the core series may not appear on PS3 at all.

It's like if Halo 3 went to PSP instead of 360. It's a big deal.

[Xeneth]

So... As I was thinking about my reply to the question of "How has your taste in game types/genres changed over time" in the excellent gaming background thread, I realized that I haven't fully enjoyed a JRPG in a long time...

I plan to elaborate on the hows and whys of that another time, but for now I just wanted to point out what an amazing sway this man holds over me.

When he said that...

Dragon Quest IX and my Nintendo DSi entertainment system are now fused, representing a single, dedicated entertainment apparatus. Anything not absolutely necessary for the playing of this most recent Dragon Quest has become vestigial...

...This must be what the true Dragon Quest enthusiast wants: to come in to the series completely fresh. Well, I'm doing that. And it's as great as you hoped.

...I became compelled to get Dragon Quest IX. Damn his colorful prose and rapier witticisms!

So wish me luck, gang- I played the original on the NES at some point (Fun Fact: I asked a sales clerk if they had any copies of "Dragon Warrior Nine" *forehead slap*) and haven't touched the series since! Here's hoping this is a neat time and place to find out if my abandoning the Final Fantasy-like JRPGS was indeed wise. Who knows, maybe I should have been a Dragon Quest guy all along.