Dragon Quest X for the Wii U Fails to Pick Up as Console Sales Drop Again in Japan

Giuseppe Nelva from DualShockers.com continues to analyze the performance of Dragon Quest X and the Wii U in Japan after a second week of disappointing sales.

[majiebeast]

LETS BLAME EIDOS! /S

[Abriael]

What does have to do with it? :D

I don't really remember anyone blaming "Eidos", if you read the investor report everyone's raging about, what's being blamed is the market, not Eidos.

[AsimLeonheart]

I think he was being sarcastic about how Nintendo fans blame the most unrelated things for poor Wii U performance.
Anyway everybody rational knew that this was going to happen and only Nintendo fanboys were blind to the reality. DQX's first week performance and the minimal Wii U sales bump were actually worth worrying and not celebrating. I wonder where are the guys who argued that DQX only got 1 day of sale in the first week and predicted to see the REAL sales this week? I would like to hear their argument now.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

Blame ps4 hype.

[3-4-5]

Once Wii U get's it's actual good games things will pick up.

There are 5-7 titles that combined could boost Wii U sales by over a million units.

[lilbroRx]

Or you could simply blame the fact that is just a lazily ported, upscaled Wii game that cost even more than the Wii version which was already available to people who actually wanted it.

They didn't enhance this game enough for people to justify the purchase of a new console when they can get it for the one they already have.

Though a serious question. When exactly is this trend of people rushing to post off topic comments at the head of major Nintendo articles going to stop?

[--Onilink--]

not to mention the Wii game wasn't even that popular, being a subscription based MMO that no one really asked for

[LOL_WUT]

"With no new and strong titles in sight for a while, sales of the Wii U are probably destined to drop further, and with the release of a Dragon Quest game this kind of numbers definitely confirms what said last week: the Wii U is struggling to be accepted as a valid option in its home country and that is a rather large problem for Nintendo."

Not even ports are helping. Thats why Nintendo should had released this year when it had games that actually matter to their fanbase. ;)

[Yodagamer]

Lazy Ports haven't sold consoles for a long time. Most of the people who wanted to play the game probably had it for the wii already and play it on wii u. Plus the subscription fee on a series that traditionally didn't have them killed any momentum.

[Dj7FairyTail]

No let not blame no one.
why because it stupid.

How stupid is this article.

The Wii Version of the game came out August 2012.

[FinalomegaS]

didnt this already release on the wii last year with a larger install base?

think they should of delayed it and release it on both systems at the same time.

[Abriael]

It's still a Dragon Quest title, with remade graphics and all the bells and whistles. While it'd be unrealistic to expect it to sell several millions, this is really too little for the franchise.

edit: below. It sold very well on the wii, so "the fans" didn't exactly hate it. Always a mistake to confuse what you want with what "the fans" want.

Also, it's not an HD port, all the assets are purpose-made for the Wii U, and the game includes plenty Gamepad functionalities.

[FinalomegaS]

the mmo version that went where the fans didn't really want it go? = fail sales

if they kept it offline, and kept it turn base single player ala JRPG, \i'm sure the sales would be different.

all the bells and whistle... you mean ...it's in HD?

[booni3]

Actually, I'm thinking that's what's really hurting the Wii U version of the title. Well, that and the fact that there are so few games in the console's library in general.The Wii U definitely has that whole "greater later" angle going for it, but what about now? What about early adopters?

[Root]

Thats what you get for making it an MMO

[VsAssassin]

Well they released it on Wii, so probably a lot of Japanese gamers wouldn't buy it on Wii U. A simple graphical bump I guess won't convince most Nintendo fans to buy the Wii U.

On a different light: I am not a Nintendo gamer, but I don't want Nintendo to suffer. Competition is always a good motivator. Let's just hope Wii U picks up steam come E3.

[profgerbik]

I think this is the best assumption yet.

[lilbroRx]

There wasn't even the significant graphical bump. They did the same thing that Capcom did with Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate.

Everything is pretty much exactly the same, except is now outputs at 1080p and costs more money. Seeing low res textures at a higher resolution does not appeal to me and I doubt it appeals to most others. It certainly doesn't make me want to pay 20 more dollars when I can get the same thing with 3D cheaper.

[MasterCornholio]

Well thats understandable since the Wii U cant handle high resolution textures at 1080P with a game like this.

Well that what it sounds like from your comment because if it could the game would output at 1080P with high resolution textures.

[lilbroRx]

No, the point of that was that the game was ported lazily. Games don't make themselves. They don't magically upgrade by putting them in stronger hardware.

A game will do what developers make it do. If the effort isn't made to replace the textures with higher resolution, more detailed textures then there will be none. That has nothing to do with power. The Wii U version is a straight port of the 3DS game. 1080/60 FPS is just something the console naturally adds to it with no effort.

The Wii version of Monster Hunter Tri has better graphics than the Wii U.

[profgerbik]

What is with people constantly yapping about this MMO aspect? Japanese love MMO's. You obviously are missing something if you think they don't.

They get tons of MMO's we still have yet to see here and because there are even more released in Asia in general, they are very popular in that region.

PSO 2 is doing just fine, so is Blade & Soul.. RaiderZ.. I can't even remember all the other fucking MMO's I have played that were Japanese.. all very Popular.. hell even the old ass Dragonball Online still is..

[FinalomegaS]

true about MMos, BUT this is DQ not some Korean micro transaction game.

[izumo_lee]

Once again Squarenix proves they have no idea what the hell they are doing this generation.

I wonder how long will it be for Squarenix to finally realize what they are doing is NOT working. Not surprised the financial issues they are facing....funny the difference from them 10 years ago..

[dungeonboss]

Hopefully SE learns that this is because no one wants to play an MMO on a console that has a 4-month old install base and hopefully they don't attribute it to a lack of interest in the Dragon Quest series in general like this article points to it as.

Oh well, Dualshockers got my click, which is what the title was baited for.

And unlike the author, I really don't want to DQX to come to America. I'm not a big fan of forced online and I wouldn't pay a subscription fee. One of the big reasons I like MH3U is because the game does not require any online to enjoy the game, and on Wii U, they allow 100% of previously online-only quests to be enjoyed offline.

[gedden7]

This sux but maybe people are tired of dragon quest idk...???

[wishingW3L]

DQ is literally the biggest video game franchise in Japan and if that fails to help boost Wii U sales then....

[GABRIEL1030]

Basically Dragon Quest X is the same PS2 version of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. There is not much difference in technical terms, the graphics, designs, the gameplay are the same. Since the fusion between Square and Enix their games are recicled. The rivalry between Square and Enix promoted the innovation and quality.

[koehler83]

It will be fine once it makes the logical leap to PC.

If for some reason this isn't possible, such as a contract restriction with Nintendo, then it's probably not going to be fine.

I've been gobsmacked with the Wii(U) exclusivity since it was announced and it's playing out exactly as I would have expected.

[Roper316]

Nintendo is getting what they deserve for targeting that non gaming audience with the Wii & WiiU.

Sorry Nintendo but that crowd bought their 1 system for the next 20 years and the core gamer doesn't really feel the need to buy inferior hardware to whats coming later in the year from Sony & MS so they will patiently wait for those offerings.

So essentially Nintendo does not have a market at this point in time imo. All I can say is good luck Nintendo hope it all works out for you.

[Allowen]

DQ fans did not want a mmnrpg game!
The DQ8 on the PS2 and DQ9 on the 3DS were epic games and we all wanted DQ10 to have a real story.... and a coop mode offline or online would then not hurt the fan base.

Any ways Sega 's Phantasy Star franchise went from 1P to online/coop and it worked well.
Even the PSV s version of PS online2 sold more then 350k on its 1st week in Japan.

Maybe DQ11 will do better in sells if it is online... and comes to other consoles and PC.

[koehler83]

Do yourself a favor and don't talk on behalf of very large groups of people.

[chukamachine]

JUMP OUT

[FinalomegaS]

here is the reason to DQ going MMO ( it's a long term money making plan)( I am not a fan of he idea but read on)

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Dragon Quest IX was a single player game that, at last count, has sold well over 4 million copies in Japan. Dragon Quest X is an MMORPG that has only sold close to 600,000 copies so far. Understandably, some have questioned Square Enix’s decision to make the latest game an online-only multiplayer game.

The answer to why Square made Dragon Quest X an MMO is simple. Final Fantasy XI, Square Enix’s last successful MMO, has earned the company nearly 40 billion yen ($484.7 million) in its ten years of operation. That’s about 4 billion yen ($48.4 million) in revenue per year from a single game.

“People said a lot of things about FFXI when it came out in 2002,” Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada, recalls. “At a time when game consoles were still at their peak, we needed to exceed 2 million units to be considered a success in the [Final Fantasy] series.”

However, Square Enix’s initial shipment of Final Fantasy XI was a mere 120,000 copies. Ten years later, though, Final Fantasy XI is the most profitable game in the entire series, owing to its monthly subscription fee.
Read more at http://www.siliconera.com/2...

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Sales look bad when they are compared to the short term sales of the offline versions.

[Dj7FairyTail]

The game came out for Wii in August 2012.

Wii U install base in Japan is only 869.030

Wii Install Base in Japan is 12.666.819