Dragon Quest IX will go portable on the Nintendo DS
Square Enix will take major RPG franchise to handheld platform
December 12, 2006
Square Enix made a shocking revalation today. The next installment in its Dragon Quest RPG series, Dragon Quest IX will not be coming to one of the major next-generation consoles (the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3). Instead, Square Enix will release the next installment in the twenty-year-old series to the portable Nintendo DS.
Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata, commented that he's "impressed" both that the series is moving back to Nintendo's platform, and that it will be available on a handheld system. "Portable gaming, which was in a corner of the gaming industry, has been moving into the main stream since about last year. This announcement has come as part of that trend, and I'm extremely pleased."
"Portable gaming has been moving into the main stream. This announcement has come as part of that trend, and I'm extremely pleased."
Iwata also mentioned the choice of the DS is mainly due to its wide user base. Dragon Quest creator, Yuki Horii, said that he recognizes the challenges and limitations of a portable console like the Nintendo DS (which has the approximate graphics capability of the Nintendo 64), but that his team will be pushing the system to its limits with Dragon Quest IX. The company will also take advantage of some of the Nintendo DS' advantages, such as the Wi-Fi connectivity that will enable group adventures and battles in the game's world.
Horii wanted to make clear the nature of this announcement, that this is indeed the next title in the main Dragon Quest line. "The DS version is not a side-story, but a true part of the series," he explained.
The game will be developed by Level 5, who also developed Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2.
The title of the game is Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora No Mamori Hito, which roughly translates to Guardian of the Starry Skies. No release date has been set for the game, but Square Enix hopes to have it out by mid 2007 in Japan.