Here's the problem: Dragon Quest had never been designed for Western tastes. And so, Square Enix presumably took the only route it felt was feasible for the next Dragon Quest: it looked to the West, where big-budget AAA games on the PlayStation 4 were king. To top it all off, the 3DS hadn't been nearly as successful as the DS before it, and industry pundits were predicting the impending death of handhelds in the wake of the smartphone boom. Meanwhile, the troubled development cycles of Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy 15, and Final Fantasy Versus 13 had turned Square Enix Japan into a much more conservative publisher, the vast majority of its development split between gacha-driven smartphone games and the occasional AAA title. For starters, the birthrate had declined drastically with only a million children being born that year, concerns arose that, some day in the future, there were going to be far fewer new video game fans left to cater to. In fact, the things Japan adored about it were precisely the things Western audiences dislikedīy the time development started on Dragon Quest 11 in 2013, the Japanese video game market had deteriorated significantly and Square Enix was a very different company. It has sold over 4.4 million units in Japan alone, where it still remains the highest selling Dragon Quest game released on any single platform.ĭragon Quest had never been designed for Western tastes. Revolutionary game design for the time, the map exchange communication would later inspire Nintendo to make the 3DS' StreetPass feature.ĭragon Quest 9 tapped into the audience it had nurtured over two decades, and attracted younger players as well. Square Enix even set up Patty's Pub, an inn from the game, as a real-life destination in Tokyo to facilitate these meet-ups. These maps led to rare enemies and items, further incentivizing players to meet up and exchange.
And so, Square Enix designed Dragon Quest 9 with co-op multiplayer and the ability to customize the looks and equipment of your entire party.Ī key feature was Tag Mode, which enabled players to wirelessly exchange in-game treasure maps simply by carrying their DS around.
This was partly due to the fact that 20% of Japan's population owned a DS, and partly because Dragon Quest 9 itself was a highly cognizant product designed around the intricacies of the Japanese market.Īt the time, co-op multiplayer games were starting to become trendy in Japan, prompted by the success of Monster Hunter and Animal Crossing.
Dragon quest xi the measure of a man series#
So Square Enix's general approach to the series had historically been to make games for whatever the most popular platform in Japan was.Ĭase in point: 2009 DS title Dragon Quest 9, was played by everyone from 18-year-old men to 60-year-old women. Even people that don't typically play video games play Dragon Quest - sort of like FIFA or Madden. Dragon Quest's popularity lies in the generations of Japanese families have grown up playing the games. There was only one explanation: Square Enix was thinking beyond Japan. It felt like an odd decision, given that Dragon Quest is largely a Japan-centric franchise, and the market for home console games had all but dried up there.
Dragon quest xi the measure of a man portable#
Taking a look at the game's history and development offers insight into the challenges Square Enix faces with Dragon Quest 12 and the future of the series.ĭragon Quest 11 was first mentioned by series creator Yuji Horii in 2014, in which he indicated it was being developed for home consoles, as opposed to portable platforms like the last several Dragon Quest games before it. But if you were to look a little more closely, it took Square significantly more time, effort, and money to reach those numbers than it should have - and Dragon Quest 11 may have been a slightly misguided affair on the whole. On the surface, those are promising numbers. In September 2020, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest 11 had shipped over six million units worldwide, making it the highest selling game in the series so far.
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