Dragon Quest XI announced for PS4 and 3DS

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llazy77

Warrior of Light
May 27, 2014
1,149
550
29
#1

Square Enix has now officially announced the next entry in the mainline Dragon Quest series during their Dragon Quest presentation today, Dragon Quest XI.
Confirmed for PS4 and 3DS. Nintendo NX version under consideration
Game will come out sometime between the fiscal season of April 2016 and March 2017 to commemorate Dragon Quest's 30th anniversary
PS4 Gameplay
New3DS Gameplay
 
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buddhafied

Sphere Hunter
Sep 30, 2013
241
126
Vancouver, BC
#3
This news is welcoming. Hopefully they will make it to the West, which I personally is pretty optimistic about it. I think the iOS versions as well as how JRPG has been doing relatively well lately is something Square-Enix will consider.

One thing very interesting I about this news is regarding on NX. If Square-Enix is planning this game on NX, it means the console really isn't too far away from making formal announcements, I think.
 

buddhafied

Sphere Hunter
Sep 30, 2013
241
126
Vancouver, BC
#5
Odd choise of platforms, PS4 and 3DS ? Why not PS4/XB1 ?
It is a little odd, although I find it intriguing. Also, so far a lot of people has commented on that they like the option of 3DS version of showing retro graphics (haven't had time to look at screenshots yet, so if I'm wrong, sorry!)

As for XB1, to quote someone on Kotaku: "Dragon Quest is developed for the most financially lucrative systems with the biggest install base. It's always been that way, which is why DQ9 was a DS exclusive."​

XB1 is not in the same league when it comes to sales especially for the target install base of the series, which is Japan. This says a lot that Square-Enix would rather spend money to develop essentially two games than to port it to XB1.

Edit: So the 3DS version is very interesting. From the Wired:

This isn’t just a cosmetic quirk: If you use the 3DS’ analog joystick, the game will display all its messages on the top screen and the battles with enemies will feature 3-D graphics. But if you use the old-school D-pad instead, the game’s messages will appear on the bottom, pixelated screen, and the battles will feature classic 2-D sprite illustrations instead.

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/dragon-quest-xi-ps4-nx-3ds/
 
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Tornak

Keyblade Master
May 18, 2014
718
421
31
Madrid, Spain
#6
YI know it's just game announcements, but it seems like S-E is actually putting their shit together. The PS4 version looks really good (thank fuck it isn't a PS3 crossgen title), although I've yet to see more character models, as I'm not way too in love with the current one. The rest looks great, UE4 can be gorgeous, and it looks, at the very least, as big as VIII. Hopefully, the speed is better this time around, which I guess it's already going to be if only because of enemies being onscreen all the time.

I really like the design of that town (can't wait to see it crowded), although I hope they work on the animations you can perform: more fluidity, more variety... I mean, I'm not asking anything like FFXV or Uncharted, but it's 2015. I hate animations like that in Tales of games, for example, really turn me off.

The main character looks alright, he's very reminiscent of VIII's hero in terms of clothing (he still is the best Hero in terms of design and all imo. III and IV's come close). I actually wondered what kind of Toriyama's hairstyle he was going to have and hoped it'd be the Future Trunks one, lol. And hopefully all characters are actually set and not ones you create like in IX.

And well, the 3DS version (great strategy on S-E's behalf, both creatively and economically) looks amazing. Maaan, the 3D/2D shit looks so cool. I'm not even that nostalgic when it comes to DQ (as VIII was the first one that arrived here in Europe and I was already 12 or so when I played it and the rest), but the oldschool artstyle is so lovely and brings so many good memories.

So yeah, really excited and confident. Hopefully they dare introducing a respectable amount of innovations and all (especially in the PS4 environment) and focus on the story and characterizations at the very least as much as VIII or IV did. Wish I had a 3DS, though :(
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#7
One thing very interesting I about this news is regarding on NX. If Square-Enix is planning this game on NX, it means the console really isn't too far away from making formal announcements, I think.
Nintendo said they would talk about NX in 2016. When exactly I don't know but it will probably be sometime during the next fiscal year. They also said they're in a transitional period too.

But this has me thinking about the release timing side of things. Could you imagine Zelda, DQXI and maybe even a new Mario game being NX launch window titles? That could be big if NX hardware is appealing and is price competitive. It's very possible I think. DQXI could release around the time NX comes out. Zelda could be a cross-gen title and we know a new Mario game has been in the works for over a year now.
 
Likes: buddhafied
Jun 7, 2014
898
625
Poland
#8
Never played Dragon Quest but this looks really promising. The situation with platforms seems similar to Ni no Kuni where DS and PS3 versions were essentially different games.
XB1 is not in the same league when it comes to sales especially for the target install base of the series, which is Japan. This says a lot that Square-Enix would rather spend money to develop essentially two games than to port it to XB1.
I bet if SE had known how poorly Xbone would sell a few years ago, they wouldn't even make FFXV and KH3 for it. And with the current state I wouldn't be surprised if FFXVI was PS4-only.
 
Likes: buddhafied

buddhafied

Sphere Hunter
Sep 30, 2013
241
126
Vancouver, BC
#9
But this has me thinking about the release timing side of things. Could you imagine Zelda, DQXI and maybe even a new Mario game being NX launch window titles? That could be big if NX hardware is appealing and is price competitive. It's very possible I think. DQXI could release around the time NX comes out. Zelda could be a cross-gen title and we know a new Mario game has been in the works for over a year now.
You brought up a good point! Absolutely... though I think Sony will do its best for pushing the release of DQXI as early as it can compare to NX. At this stage, there might be a better chance that DQXI release on PS4 and 3DS very close to each other (as they are not direct competitors) then with NX release to follow.

Though, seems like Square-Enix is back paddling a little bit now and said the NX release is "under consideration". Though I wouldn't be surprise that it will and have some form of cross leveling/playing/function compatibility between both; like using StreetPass to get rare items, leveling, collect loots. etc.
 

Infest

Blitzball Champion
Sep 8, 2014
540
346
Germany
#10
Definitely day 0 on PS4 for me. I can't take pleasure in handheld gaming (anymore) and I always prefer the technical superior version anyway.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#11
You brought up a good point! Absolutely... though I think Sony will do its best for pushing the release of DQXI as early as it can compare to NX. At this stage, there might be a better chance that DQXI release on PS4 and 3DS very close to each other (as they are not direct competitors) then with NX release to follow.

Though, seems like Square-Enix is back paddling a little bit now and said the NX release is "under consideration". Though I wouldn't be surprise that it will and have some form of cross leveling/playing/function compatibility between both; like using StreetPass to get rare items, leveling, collect loots. etc.
I'm assuming they're back paddling because nobody knows anything about the NX and it's too early to even talk about it. Seems like an accident.
 

rboxman

Balamb Garden Freshman
Feb 20, 2015
16
2
42
#12
XB1 is not in the same league when it comes to sales especially for the target install base of the series, which is Japan. This says a lot that Square-Enix would rather spend money to develop essentially two games than to port it to XB1.
Things get a bit weird with UE4 since it's the one doing the heavy-lifting to target the XB1 already. Much of the work is already done for studios, and if it's not, they can go to Epic to ask for resources in that department. All that's left for a studio is providing the bits at least (for digital distribution), marketing (just put the xbox logo up on the existing material), and the last bit of technical work if the engine still has some shortcomings. I would wager it would be easier to put on XB1 than 3DS with UE4. They're missing a buy from me until I eventually get the PS4...
 

buddhafied

Sphere Hunter
Sep 30, 2013
241
126
Vancouver, BC
#14
Capture.JPG

Sort of an official response, as that's the official Dragon Quest Twitter account. To be honest, it's only been a few DQ that didn't get a West distribution and one of them was an MMO, so I think this will happen.
 

llazy77

Warrior of Light
May 27, 2014
1,149
550
29
#15
View attachment 281

Sort of an official response, as that's the official Dragon Quest Twitter account. To be honest, it's only been a few DQ that didn't get a West distribution and one of them was an MMO, so I think this will happen.
If DQ Heroes is coming to the west I dont see why this wouldnt. As for the 3DS one I dont see why they wouldnt do it either alot of componies bring jrpgs to the west, why are they the only ones not doing it, makes absolutely no sense. Other 3ds rpgs are no name stuff that hardly anyone knows but dragon quest games have been around since the 80s in the US. Why in gods name wont they bring them over here.
 

buddhafied

Sphere Hunter
Sep 30, 2013
241
126
Vancouver, BC
#16
If DQ Heroes is coming to the west I dont see why this wouldnt. As for the 3DS one I dont see why they wouldnt do it either alot of componies bring jrpgs to the west, why are they the only ones not doing it, makes absolutely no sense. Other 3ds rpgs are no name stuff that hardly anyone knows but dragon quest games have been around since the 80s in the US. Why in gods name wont they bring them over here.
I have comparative less knowledge about game production than a lot of people on this forum (that said, as a project manager I do know how things generally works,) there are a lot more to consider to bring over a full JRPG compare to something like DQ Heroes. The obvious is cost. Given this will be a PS4 game as well, voice acting will probably be very likely, and that itself adds a huge cost in translating as well as voice actors.

Another huge factor when it comes to translation is time. For North American companies, translation might doesn't sound like a big deal because of our general working culture, but when it comes to Japan, this can be a rather frustration process for the people to be involved. I am sure a lot of people have heard or have dealt with Japanese people in business. They follow protocols to the beat and sometimes it's a great thing but other times you just want to beat their stubborn, non-flexible, non-compromise attitude with a stick. A client of mine used to do translations for a Japanese company. One time, the Japan HQ send them something to translate, when he sent them back the English translation, they asked him to "please translate the English script into Japanese so we can ensure the translation is correct." This sounds like a joke, but this is how "seriously" they take their jobs and their protocols.

This is just a very small part of the whole picture of bringing a game such as DQ to the West, and you can see why it can quickly get out of hand. But from a business point of view, Japanese companies tend to be a lot risk averse compare to North American firms.

You are right though, the 3DS one should be a lower cost, lower risk product for them if they were bringing that to the West. Did they ever explain why DQ9 never made it to the West?
 

Yause

Balamb Garden Freshman
Aug 30, 2014
31
13
47
#17
I have comparative less knowledge about game production than a lot of people on this forum (that said, as a project manager I do know how things generally works,) there are a lot more to consider to bring over a full JRPG compare to something like DQ Heroes. The obvious is cost. Given this will be a PS4 game as well, voice acting will probably be very likely, and that itself adds a huge cost in translating as well as voice actors.

Another huge factor when it comes to translation is time. For North American companies, translation might doesn't sound like a big deal because of our general working culture, but when it comes to Japan, this can be a rather frustration process for the people to be involved. I am sure a lot of people have heard or have dealt with Japanese people in business. They follow protocols to the beat and sometimes it's a great thing but other times you just want to beat their stubborn, non-flexible, non-compromise attitude with a stick. A client of mine used to do translations for a Japanese company. One time, the Japan HQ send them something to translate, when he sent them back the English translation, they asked him to "please translate the English script into Japanese so we can ensure the translation is correct." This sounds like a joke, but this is how "seriously" they take their jobs and their protocols.

This is just a very small part of the whole picture of bringing a game such as DQ to the West, and you can see why it can quickly get out of hand. But from a business point of view, Japanese companies tend to be a lot risk averse compare to North American firms.

You are right though, the 3DS one should be a lower cost, lower risk product for them if they were bringing that to the West. Did they ever explain why DQ9 never made it to the West?
DQIX was released. DQX wasn't, and the main reason given was misgivings over pricing. It would almost certainly fail with a monthly fee, and while free-to-play is a possibility, I suspect that the game would still suffer in comparison to all the AAA F2P MMOs that are already available.

In terms of remakes and spin-offs, the track record for western release has always been spotty. It's as if they go through cycles of a major push followed by years of quiet, so brand popularity seems to be prioritized over mere profitability.
 
Jun 7, 2014
898
625
Poland
#19
The very fact that they're making a PS4 version of this game indicates that they want to release it in the West. Creating a big game like that only for Japan would be completely unprofitable when home console gaming is pretty much dead over there.
 
Likes: buddhafied
May 26, 2014
625
172
#20
How come Dragon Quest's characters always look so bland compared to DBZ's and Chrono Trigger's? Is it the fantasy setting? I mean yeah, I imagine Toriyama is given a lot less free reign compared to Dragon Ball (his own creation), but wow.

Also wasn't there some other DS or 3DS game that did the whole "modern look on one screen, retro look on the other" thing? Or am I just crazy?