Dragon Quest IX Looks Like a Big Hit

Dragon Quest IX was released in Japan this Saturday and the game looks set to be one of the biggest hits ever put out by publisher Square Enix. Initial reports show long queues where the game went on sales while more than 2 million gamers will be coming up to pick up their pre-ordered copies.

Dragon Quest IX with the subtitle Defenders of the Starry Sky has been created by Level 5, the Japanese developer, which has also worked on bestseller Professor Layton and Curious Village and on Dragon Quest VIII for the PlayStation 2. Retailers have said that the pre-order levels for the newest release have been well over those seen for previous installments in the series.

Nintendo has even released a new version of the DSi, colored red, alongside the game, which means that Dragon Quest IX might be another reason for gamers to upgrade to the new version of the Japanese handheld.

Retailers are predicting that Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky will sell better than Dragon Quest VIII mostly because of the longer tail that Nintendo DS titles have when compared with those released for the PlayStation 2.

The game is unusual because it only allows players to use one save slot on the handheld, with the other one serving as a back up that protects the played content in case of battery failure on the device.

With Dragon Quest IX out and selling well, Square Enix will be directing its full energy to the development of Final Fantasy XIII, the other big Japanese role playing game set to be released this winter. A demo has already been launched and when it comes out, the game will likely dwarf the release of Dragon Quest IX on Western markets, mainly because of the higher profile that Final Fantasy enjoys amongst gamers. In Japan the Dragon Quest series is likely to remain a best seller.