It's not official official, but it's looking pretty likely Capcom is going to push forward with Dragon's Dogma as a headline franchise.

Capcom announced today Dragon's Dogma has shipped 1.05 million copies worldwide, "setting the stage for creating a series of titles."

It's not the first time Capcom has recently alluded to more Dragon's Dogma games, either. Just recently, Famitsu polled a series of Japanese game designers about what they're looking forward to creating in the future, and there was a telling comment from director Hideaki Itsuno, as translated by Andriasang.

Capcom's Hideaki Itsuno says that he really wants to make a sequel to Dragon's Dogma. The current world is just two-thirds of the idea he had in mind, and there are things he'd still like to do.

That said, despite some critical acclaim from writers like yours truly, Dragon's Dogma has its work cut out for itself in the West. Capcom admitted the game "struggled" out here.

It's still my opinion that Dragon's Dogma represents Capcom's best chance to help make Monster Hunter (or Monster Hunter-like games) a hit out here. You've already got me on board for a sequel.

It's not official official, but it's looking pretty likely Capcom is going to push forward with Dragon's Dogma as a headline franchise.

Capcom announced today Dragon's Dogma has shipped 1.05 million copies worldwide, "setting the stage for creating a series of titles."

It's not the first time Capcom has recently alluded to more Dragon's Dogma games, either. Just recently, Famitsu polled a series of Japanese game designers about what they're looking forward to creating in the future, and there was a telling comment from director Hideaki Itsuno, as translated by Andriasang.

Capcom's Hideaki Itsuno says that he really wants to make a sequel to Dragon's Dogma. The current world is just two-thirds of the idea he had in mind, and there are things he'd still like to do.

That said, despite some critical acclaim from writers like yours truly, Dragon's Dogma has its work cut out for itself in the West. Capcom admitted the game "struggled" out here.

It's still my opinion that Dragon's Dogma represents Capcom's best chance to help make Monster Hunter (or Monster Hunter-like games) a hit out here. You've already got me on board for a sequel.

Are you ready for dragons?

Glad to read this. If they can just learn a bit more of the Elder Scrolls game to make the world a bit more engaging. They be sure to have a hit on their hands.

I actually really liked Dragon's Dogma. It was a crazy ass game, which really stuck with me long after I played it. That's more than I can say for most of the games I played this year.

You say, I play Patrick. Hopefully will have the time for this soon.

I should probably play this game, right?

I would describe Patrick's review as lukewarm, not quite "acclaim"

It's an awesome game that many people ignored. It kind of reminds me of how Vanquish was ignored until people began spreading the word.

@freakin9 said:

I would describe Patrick's review as luke-warm, not quite "acclaim"

I dunno, man. Just because I didn't give it five stars doesn't mean I can't have really enjoyed my time with it.

@BraveToaster said:

It's an awesome game that many people ignored. It kind of reminds me of how Vanquish was ignored until people began spreading the word.

vanquish sold a lot less than this did though, afaik

I want to get this eventually

Dragon's Dogma reminds me of Assassin's Creed 1: clunky as hell, a few things work really well, and has some really cool ideas in it.

Hopefully the sequel reminds me of Assassin's Creed 2 in the same ways.

I've put a good 60-70 hours or so into Dragon's Dogma (finished the game twice, on my third playthrough now) and I'm not done with it yet. Hopefully the sequel is able to do all the necessary tweaking to get more people interested, sort of like AC1 to AC2. Excited regardless.

There was a fair bit of things I liked in Dragon's Dogma, and a fair number of disappointments as well. I would consider myself interested in a sequel but not without some reservation. For one, I would want a whole lot of more stuff, like a bigger world and more variety in the environments.

There's other stuff, but I've listed it all before so, eh.

HERE BE DRAGONS

...dogma

@Animasta said:

@BraveToaster said:

It's an awesome game that many people ignored. It kind of reminds me of how Vanquish was ignored until people began spreading the word.

vanquish sold a lot less than this did though, afaik

I want to get this eventually

Wasn't vanquish also really really short, and with no multiplayer? That can turn a lot of buys into rentals, I think.

@Stormdragonblue said:

Glad to read this. If they can just learn a bit more of the Elder Scrolls game to make the world a bit more engaging. They be sure to have a hit on their hands.

I'd prefer they didn't mimic that series. If I want to play one of those, I can, but if I play a different game, I'd want it to be different. Besides, for all the (deserved) praise Skyrim got, the world itself wasn't exactly engaging beyond simple exploration - shallow questlines, boring NPC's, etc. If Dogma II is going to try to improve, I don't think copying the Elder Scrolls is the way to go, simply because there are too many flaws there that Bethesda has spent years learning to minimize, while Capcom is new to this.

@BraveToaster said:

@Animasta said:

@BraveToaster said:

It's an awesome game that many people ignored. It kind of reminds me of how Vanquish was ignored until people began spreading the word.

vanquish sold a lot less than this did though, afaik

And? That still doesn't mean that Dragon's Dogma got enough attention.

that's not what I was saying, I was just saying that vanquish was still ignored pretty heavily and this wasn't as much (probably because vanquish was released in the fall or whatever)

I'd have to call Dragon's Dogma my 2012 game of the year easily, I picked it and Diablo 3 up at the same time and barely touched D3 compared to marathon-ing Dragon's Dogma. I'm utterly ecstatic and cannot wait to see what they do with a sequel.

@patrickklepek said:

@freakin9 said:

I would describe Patrick's review as luke-warm, not quite "acclaim"

I dunno, man. Just because I didn't give it five stars doesn't mean I can't have really enjoyed my time with it.

Yeah, if we're going to get into "stars = enjoyment-of-game" territory, then Trackmania 2 deserves way more stars than the 3 Jeff gave it. Sometimes a reviewer can have a good time with a game, but recognize significant flaws that will likely push other players away. Just one of the many blithe ways the review "score" system betrays itself.

Edit: sorry. Jeff gave Trackmania 2 four stars, but still ripped on it pretty hard for not doing more to fix issues from previous games.

I couldnt get going in this game. I bought gear, got my pawns, then was slaughtered by groups of enemies I could never see until it was too late. If I did get the jump on three dudes, out of nowhere a bunch more would show up, and sometimes with a really tough dude- and NUMBERS MAN! THEY MATTER!

That makes me happy. While the game had falts, it was still a need little game. Will gladly check out the 2nd one whenever it comes out.

Good. I don't see what Capcom meant by saying it struggled in the West, but whatever. More Dragon's Dogma is a good thing.

I really enjoyed Dragons Dogma, i hope this launches into a series the same way Monster Hunter has, id love to see a new game once every couple of years if possible ^_^

@Animasta said:

@BraveToaster said:

@Animasta said:

@BraveToaster said:

It's an awesome game that many people ignored. It kind of reminds me of how Vanquish was ignored until people began spreading the word.

vanquish sold a lot less than this did though, afaik

And? That still doesn't mean that Dragon's Dogma got enough attention.

that's not what I was saying, I was just saying that vanquish was still ignored pretty heavily and this wasn't as much (probably because vanquish was released in the fall or whatever)

Ah, sorry about that.

Great, first one was fantastic.

I would very much like another Dragons Dogma game. The first one had its issues but there is a clear diamond in the rough that could be a fun game in the end.

I can see this isn't the PC port news I was hoping for. Sound the retreat!

I'm really glad of this. The games biggest fault is probably the lack of fast travel for a pretty large portion of the game, and then when you do get it it's really limited. I think there's something pretty cool about being able to create your own travel points, but they probably need to just make it a cheaper/easier thing to do...

Whatever, what the world really needs more of is fantasy games with big dumb J-Rock on the title screen.

I just hope they introduce mounts (let me tame my own Chimera!) and attempt to balance the difficulty a little more. A proper NG+ mode would be appreciative as well... Overall I enjoyed Dragon's Dogma more often than not, but there were a lot of times, notably during the middle portion, where I slowly grew to hate it. Regardless I'm glad there's going to be sequel.

@patrickklepek said:

@freakin9 said:

I would describe Patrick's review as luke-warm, not quite "acclaim"

I dunno, man. Just because I didn't give it five stars doesn't mean I can't have really enjoyed my time with it.

That's the stigma of it though, it's 5 stars or it's shit. Jim Sterling did a piece on this recently that I think sums it up: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/4966-Hate-Out-Of-Ten

I really enjoyed Dragon's Dogma. I mean, a lot of people have already asked for it but with the whole pawn system it really isn't out of the question that we could be seeing some co-op in the next one, right? I think that would be a good road to take that game down anyways.

I loved it. That game was great and i look forward to more.

As long as they fix the issues I had with the first one, then I'm good.

I'm actually interested in Monster Hunter and if Capcom can make one that is similar to Dragon Dogma than I'm all in.

Yay!

Flawed game but it was a good summer time sink for me and the combat was just plain fun. I am on board for a new one.

@Xeirus said:

@patrickklepek said:

@freakin9 said:

I would describe Patrick's review as luke-warm, not quite "acclaim"

I dunno, man. Just because I didn't give it five stars doesn't mean I can't have really enjoyed my time with it.

That's the stigma of it though, it's 5 stars or it's shit. Jim Sterling did a piece on this recently that I think sums it up: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/4966-Hate-Out-Of-Ten

I'd consider 3 stars to mean average as in you had average fun playing the gaming. I'm no video game journalist so I don't have professional experience reviewing games, but I wouldn't score a game 3 stars if I had really enjoyed my time with it. Just my opinion though - I've played flawed games that were ton of fun and gave them 4 stars because I thought the fun outweigh the issues and ultimately a 3 isn't something that screams "spend $65 on me!"

@patrickklepek: Actually those 1.05 million copies are units sold, not just shipped, as shown in the April-June 2012 financial report here. The fact that 1 million copies had shipped was announced more than a month ago. Not trying to nitpick though, it's good news nonetheless.

I'll probably get this game very soon.

Waiting for price drop, but I am definately gonna get Dragons Dogma! Glad to hear more are on the way!

@Fripplebubby said:

I can see this isn't the PC port news I was hoping for. Sound the retreat!

RETREAT!!

This is good news. After listening to the 8-4 podcasts I think I might pick up the original, and it sounds like there are some awesome places this franchise could go.

@metalsnakezero said:

I'm actually interested in Monster Hunter and if Capcom can make one that is similar to Dragon Dogma than I'm all in.

Same here. Playing Monster Hunter on the PSP does not cut it and Dragon's Dogma scratched enough of the monster hunting itch for me.

What is gross is how many copies of Operation Raccoon City were shipped.

Excited to see where this series can go. I absolutely loved the game and I'm more than ready for one with more quest/world depth. It's weird to me that I look back on Dragon's Dogma and realize I actually enjoyed it more than Skyrim, especially considering I'm a huge (see: map of Morrowind framed on the wall in my office) TES fan.

Cool. Improve it, don't just copy it.

@Peanut said:

Excited to see where this series can go. I absolutely loved the game and I'm more than ready for one with more quest/world depth. It's weird to me that I look back on Dragon's Dogma and realize I actually enjoyed it more than Skyrim, especially considering I'm a huge (see: map of Morrowind framed on the wall in my office) TES fan.

I agree. I had a weird experience where I loved Skyrim from about 25 hours of play, but I realized that the game makes it too easy to just absorb rewards and power and stuff, so that you could easily finish any part of the game exactly the way you wanted to with little skill or thought. I played DD and Dark Souls afterwards, and preferred both games because, although they were flawed and not as well fleshed out with lore, their worlds felt appropriately dangerous.

Played it, enjoyed it far more than Skyrim due to fact that Im not in it so much for the story or the size of the world, but the combat. Also I like how it rewarded me for going into dangerous areas with strong enemies to get loot that would usually be worth the risk. The only risk I felt when playing skyrim was to run into something that just so happens to play against my racial weaknesses and drops me. I succeed in that situation and there is basically no reward. Felt like this was the other half of what skyrim was missing and skyrim was the other half of what dragons dogma was missing.

Tell 'em to make a PC version as well.

Yea, we should definitely get a PC version. I have no doubts it would do as well in the West on PC as it did on consoles.

I loved me some DD and my first playthrough is above 80 hours but going through NG+ with no difficulty scaling is making playing through the same missions over quite a chore. The enjoyment for me came from the challenge of the fight. Being able to kill a boss in 1 shot isn't very exciting. The game does have its fair share of faults but I really enjoyed the gameplay and being able to change your class kept things interesting throughout as it forces you to change your tactics and who you have with you. I hope DD2 just allows you to bring friends in. The pawn system is actually very good but it depends on how they're trained but even then they do have a weird tendency to not act how you'd want them to as they may not have the knowledge. In one fight against an ogre, I had a sorcerer that was crazy power and just wrecked this ogre by casting down fireballs from the sky and launching powerful ice spikes from the ground. In another fight which was quite difficult, she just stood there. I was just yelling at my tv, "fireball him to death!"

@mrangryface said:

I couldnt get going in this game. I bought gear, got my pawns, then was slaughtered by groups of enemies I could never see until it was too late. If I did get the jump on three dudes, out of nowhere a bunch more would show up, and sometimes with a really tough dude- and NUMBERS MAN! THEY MATTER!

That means you need to readjust your party with different vocations. Make sure your healer has the necessary inclinations cause that factors in some. Do not go through that area if you are too weak for it and find another way around it. You do not always HAVE to fight. The point of the game is not brawling, its surviving.