The original response to Dragon Quest IX for the DS was mixed, as the series appeared to be heading in a more multiplayer focused direction. The game went underground for a while after that, as Square Enix retooled the game. What came out on the other side was much more in line with Dragon Quest traditions, but that desire to break the mold is back again, as Dragon Quest X is apparently an MMO.

Dragon Quest X was revealed over the weekend, and Andriasang has been pouring over the available details to provide a better picture of what we're in for. First of all, Dragon Quest X is coming to both Wii and Wii U. It's unclear what differences to expect or how far apart the releases will be. Nintendo has not announced a release date for Wii U yet.

It's the first Dragon Quest game to be developed completely internally within Square Enix, and while the look suggests an MMO, apparently the whole game can be completed solo. You will, however, have to hop online after a few hours, and at least in Japan, there's going to be a subscription fee.

Don't expect any motion control stuff here, either. The game will support all of the Wii's control schemes, from the Wii remote to the Classic Controller. You'll also be able to plug in a USB keyboard.

Final Fantasy was able to successfully make the jump to MMO--at least the first time. Dragon Quest fans are notoriously behind keeping with tradition, and we've yet to see Dragon Quest's take on combat and exploration, which may go a long way to soothing fears of too much change.

It's also unclear what the plans are for the rest of the world. Dragon Quest already has limited appeal outside of Japan, so would Square Enix risk tacking additional fees on top? Maybe it won't even leave Japan. We'll have to wait.

The original response to Dragon Quest IX for the DS was mixed, as the series appeared to be heading in a more multiplayer focused direction. The game went underground for a while after that, as Square Enix retooled the game. What came out on the other side was much more in line with Dragon Quest traditions, but that desire to break the mold is back again, as Dragon Quest X is apparently an MMO.

Dragon Quest X was revealed over the weekend, and Andriasang has been pouring over the available details to provide a better picture of what we're in for. First of all, Dragon Quest X is coming to both Wii and Wii U. It's unclear what differences to expect or how far apart the releases will be. Nintendo has not announced a release date for Wii U yet.

It's the first Dragon Quest game to be developed completely internally within Square Enix, and while the look suggests an MMO, apparently the whole game can be completed solo. You will, however, have to hop online after a few hours, and at least in Japan, there's going to be a subscription fee.

Don't expect any motion control stuff here, either. The game will support all of the Wii's control schemes, from the Wii remote to the Classic Controller. You'll also be able to plug in a USB keyboard.

Final Fantasy was able to successfully make the jump to MMO--at least the first time. Dragon Quest fans are notoriously behind keeping with tradition, and we've yet to see Dragon Quest's take on combat and exploration, which may go a long way to soothing fears of too much change.

It's also unclear what the plans are for the rest of the world. Dragon Quest already has limited appeal outside of Japan, so would Square Enix risk tacking additional fees on top? Maybe it won't even leave Japan. We'll have to wait.

Aw man, so close!

This will please a lot of people

Doesn't look great.

As long as the online is decent, it could be a MMO just fine.

It's wild.  Definitely a surprise turn of events. They hinted at this direction in IX, but this is something else entirely.
 
I'm quite curious about the fact that there seem to be no plans for a PC release.  Who has ever heard of a MMO with no PC release?  Seems like a missed opportunity.  From what I have seen of DQX(which should probably just be called DQ Online), it's a decent bit like FFXI.  So, a PC release would give it a lot more longevity.  I suppose they may just not be ready yet to announce a PC release.  Here's hoping.  A PC Dragon Quest would be quite a sight.

Neat. I will keep an eye on this.

Wii...MMO? Okay.

Hell, I'll play this.

Square Enix stocks plummeted after this was announced, apparently because the market was hoping for a single player game also released on the Ps3.

Personally I'll go play Dragon Quest VIII again.

I don't understand why so many fans are getting their knickers in a bind over this; change is good. The only thing I don't get is why it's a Wii/Wii U exclusive title since there's much better hardware floating around at there.

Eh, whatever. Some more DQ9

EDIT: I just saw the Ni no Kuni has a new trailer out. See you later Square, Level 5 has my back.

This will please a lot of people

A (at least at the moment) console-only MMO, and on the fucking Wii of all systems? Who thought that would ever be a good idea in the slightest?

Monster Hunter Tri didn't have a fee when it came over to NA, I doubt this will.

So a traditional JRPG property iterating with a subscription-based MMO on the Wii in 2012? Boy, Japan sure is weird!

@Chrisbot84 said:

A (at least at the moment) console-only MMO, and on the fucking Wii of all systems? Who thought that would ever be a good idea in the slightest?

The Square Enix led by Yoichi Wada

A fee really isn't looking likely, though. Perhaps in Japan, but not really in other regions where Dragon Quest isn't a fucking huge franchise. The same thing has happened with basically every Monster Hunter title as well. 
 
Everybody complaining about it being on the Wii is really annoying. It's kind of disgusting how much hate the Wii gets, really. I'm glad this will basically force S-E to not pour a huge chunk of their budget into graphics as has been the case in most of their other projects.  
 
Also, MH Tri ran on Capcom's servers and the online was fine. This won't be going through Nintendo's servers either, for sure. That means no friend codes and no wonky bandwidth.

If done correctly, a console-focused MMO, this could be the next PSO.

So no more (of me) calling it the Duke Nukem Forever of Japan?

I wanna be hopeful for this, since the DQ remakes on DS made me a fan and Dragon Quest IX is - no hyperbole - probably the best game that came out in 2010. It's the game people want JRPGs to be; the same charming art and beautiful music the genre is known for, but a progressive structure that pulls a lot from western RPGs. Giving AI routines to party members, no random battles, customizing party members with what felt like thousands of pieces of armor and weapons, loads of sidequests, intelligent and organic multiplayer and online features....it's a miracle that it was on the lowly DS hardware!
 
But DQX is insane sounding. First off, it's from Square's internal studio - and FFXIV has shown that they're not exactly dependable MMO powerhouse developers (probably why the Dragon Quest X announcement actually caused their stock to lower). Secondly, it's a Wii game coming out in 2012. AND it's online focused? None of that adds up. 
 
It's nice to see that it's also coming to Wii U, which at least has a chance to be a lot healthier by the time it comes out, but still. So many things here will go wrong, even if the game itself is good - that's the nature of multiplayer focused games. If the community isn't there, it'll bomb. Even Monster Hunter couldn't make it work on Wii, in any country. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd effin' DESTROYED Monster Hunter Tri in Japan. Nintendo hardware is not the place you go to to attempt this kind of thing. And since it's an MMO, it's a turn off to anyone looking for a good RPG (much like how there are people not looking forward to The Old Republic because they want a KOTOR 3). Personally, I wish Level 5 was in charge of it again, and it was building on DQIX's style of  "single player first, but with robust multiplayer and online support", AND that they were knocking it out for Wii U and PS3. DQ should just go multiplatform already. Square's dumb for keeping some of their series' console exclusive.
 
At the very least, this will be interesting to watch....

Nope.avi
 
It's like I'm about to see a car crash, but they aren't going to hit for like 18 months and for some reason no one is turning.

I can see this being like Monster Hunter Tri. They'll charge in Japan where they can get away with it, but if they bring to the US or Europe, they'll probably skip the fees (if they want it to have any chance of success in those markets).

Lol patrick, "atleast the first time". That FFXIV collector's box sure is pretty, it's just too bad about the total 2 hours I spent in the game before uninstalling, after having played beta for some time before that.

I've never played a Dragon Quest game.

Bad Square! Bad!

@Chris2KLee said:

I can see this being like Monster Hunter Tri. They'll charge in Japan where they can get away with it, but if they bring to the US or Europe, they'll probably skip the fees (if they want it to have any chance of success in those markets).

Agree 100%.

Ni no Kuni it is, then.

Paying to play online.... on a Nintendo system.  Nope.

I wonder why they didn't let Level-5 make this one too? It's not like Level-5 doesn't have experience with mediocre MMOs.

@vinsanityv22said:

I wanna be hopeful for this, since the DQ remakes on DS made me a fan and Dragon Quest IX is - no hyperbole - probably the best game that came out in 2010. It's the game people want JRPGs to be; the same charming art and beautiful music the genre is known for, but a progressive structure that pulls a lot from western RPGs. Giving AI routines to party members, no random battles, customizing party members with what felt like thousands of pieces of armor and weapons, loads of sidequests, intelligent and organic multiplayer and online features....it's a miracle that it was on the lowly DS hardware!

But DQX is insane sounding. First off, it's from Square's internal studio - and FFXIV has shown that they're not exactly dependable MMO powerhouse developers (probably why the Dragon Quest X announcement actually caused their stock to lower). Secondly, it's a Wii game coming out in 2012. AND it's online focused? None of that adds up.

It's nice to see that it's also coming to Wii U, which at least has a chance to be a lot healthier by the time it comes out, but still. So many things here will go wrong, even if the game itself is good - that's the nature of multiplayer focused games. If the community isn't there, it'll bomb. Even Monster Hunter couldn't make it work on Wii, in any country. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd effin' DESTROYED Monster Hunter Tri in Japan. Nintendo hardware is not the place you go to to attempt this kind of thing. And since it's an MMO, it's a turn off to anyone looking for a good RPG (much like how there are people not looking forward to The Old Republic because they want a KOTOR 3). Personally, I wish Level 5 was in charge of it again, and it was building on DQIX's style of "single player first, but with robust multiplayer and online support", AND that they were knocking it out for Wii U and PS3. DQ should just go multiplatform already. Square's dumb for keeping some of their series' console exclusive. At the very least, this will be interesting to watch....

Nice passion for DQ. Now that's a comment!

Alright just a point for "squares internal studio". We know that most of FFXIV was outsourced/contracted. Currently the work by the all internal studio on FFXIV is pretty good. Check out a little discussion on the site about it here. I'm not shifting the blame or anything though, it was Square's complete fuck up. On the other hand we see how Level 5 churned out White Knight Chronicles online component -- I am going to say it is a complete toss up on who can do a better job. Both are capable, but yeah I agree, I would rather see what Level 5 would do.

I also agree that this game should be on the PS3 as well, hey then it might actually get a N.A. release. There should just be a DQ game of some sort on PS3 already. The market in Japan ate up DQIX though, over 2million sold. I am thinking that is what is influencing DQX's direction. You bring up a great point about Monster Hunter Tri bombing though, if its true (where did you read that?).

@patrickklepek: 's mention of FFXI, and Square's great track record with that MMO, has little bearing in my opinion. Different time, people, etc. I don't think its going to effect DQX's outcome at all. If anything it only shows that Square Enix is capable of handily running a console mmorpg. So we know that DQX can be stable and run forever, haha. People forget that FFXI runs on PC, PS2, and Xbox 360 connected to the same servers.

Its true that DQ has limited appeal outside of Japan (DQIX bucked that trend). But I think in this case the appeal is even more limited given that its an online, subscription based game. It just adds up to much non-interest.

In the end. This just brings back painful memories of Level 5/Microsoft's canceled True Fantasy Live Online. NEVER FORGET.

I'll play it if they keep it as well-made as any other Dragon Quest game. However, I refuse to learn Japanese like I had to for FFXI in order to do anything outside of playing with friends.

Meh

Do most people consider Monster Hunter an MMO? Cause this game is very similar and I'm not sure if it's an MMO Either way I'm excited

I'll play it if they keep it as well-made as any other Dragon Quest game. However, I refuse to learn Japanese like I had to for FFXI in order to do anything outside of playing with friends.

Having an online component means its an MMO derpderp

@Chris2KLee said:

I can see this being like Monster Hunter Tri. They'll charge in Japan where they can get away with it, but if they bring to the US or Europe, they'll probably skip the fees (if they want it to have any chance of success in those markets).

MH wasn't an MMO, it had a monthly fee just because people in Japan will pay for it. MH also has a very small market outside of Japan, unlike DQ. If anything, the massive amount of fan backlash they're getting may lead them to remove it, but I don't think they will just for the English release.

If it was structured like a phantasy star type of game, this seems like it could be a lot of fun.   Though if there's a subscription then i probably won't be playing it.

No.

A subscription fee would be a deal breaker for me.

kinda strange seeing people ask why isn't this on the PS3... you guys played DCU online right?, that alone is a good example as to why this isn't on the PS3

anyway i see this adapting the same approach to online that Monster Hunter Tri did and that game was pretty awesome when playing with 3 other people

I doubt they'll charge a monthly fee in North America considering DQ doesn't have the sway it has in Japan here and since what Westerners expect from a subscription based MMO is different.  Besides there's a trend toward F2P growing in Western markets currently.  It will be hard to get people to play DQ looking like it does for money when they can play Age of Conan, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings for free.   This new DQ seems to be a hub-world style MMO on the same order as Phantasy Star Online. 
 
Another thing I read is that there might not be any playable humans in this game, which would be odd.  Still as a DQ fan I am very interested in seeing what's really going on with this title.

@PatrickKlepek said:

Dragon Quest X was revealed over the weekend, and Andriasang has been pouring over the available details to provide a better picture of what we're in for.

Surely you mean "poring," Mr. Klepek?

man  
 
i am a huge dragon quest fan. i have played pretty much every entry and loved all of them. even 7 which was prob. the most tedious of any of them was enjoyable to me.
 
i still have no idea how to feel about this

Is anyone else tired of the DragonBall aesthetic of these games? I mean, I get that the same designer did the art for both franchises, but I feel like I've been looking at the same Goku look-alike cast of characters for over a decade. Dunno, just feels like stale.

This really sucks for me... Don't like MMOs at all and loved the all the DQ titles up until XIII. I could already tell with X that they were heading in a multiplayer direction. It's unfortunate... they really could have done something incredible in terms of size and scpoe had they stuck with the PS3. I doubt the solo experience will be good at all. It suffered greatly in X due to the "optional" multiplayer and MMO style quests. 
I'd rather replay VII or VIII any day than play XI.