Is Dragon Quest really unpopular with Western gamers?

It's that lovely time again: a new Dragon Quest game is coming, and Square-Enix is making asinine comments about the viability of the franchise overseas. "We're thinking about it," Horii says again: meaning, of course, that Square-Enix has zero plans to localize any Dragon Quest titles outside of Japan....

...While these hopes may be misguided, they DO speak to an increasingly common assumption among Western fans of Dragon Quest--that these wonderful games, despite their profound popularity in Japan, simply aren't very popular overseas. If there was a market for Dragon Quest outside of Japan, surely Square-Enix would work tirelessly to meet that demand. That is, after all, how a free market is supposed to function.

But is this assumption accurate, or misguided?

[Tdmd]

The last one I've played was DQVIII, back on ps2. To this day, it remains one of my favorite rpgs ever, right beside very different titles, like diablo 2 and demons souls.

[3-4-5]

Dragon Quest 9 is one of my favorite games of all time, and the reason I was hooked on the series.

* I've yet to play 7,8 & obviously 11, but those are 3 of my most wanted games.

* There is a certain level of charm in DQ games that certain other games lack.

DQ isn't the only IP with that charm, but it's one of the few that gets it nearly every time.

There is something more pure,true & basic about Dragon Quest compared to FF....it has less flash and worse music, but the simplicity of Dragon Quest is IMO a lot easier to get into than SOME FF games.

* The demand for Dragon Quest in USA is most likely a lot more than people think. It's not that far behind Final Fantasy.

[blackblades]

Yeah same here, it was my 1st and last one I played. I didn't like it at 1st, I wasn't 100% into jrpgs, but I came around enjoyed it later on. It came with a demo of FFXII which that was my 1st FF game.

[Clarence]

Definitely

[feraldrgn]

Dragon Quest is a pretty fantastic series.
Played (not finished) 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 & 9 so far, 8 being my favourite.
I think it's a popular franchise for the older RPG gamers.

[ZeekQuattro]

It sure feels like it. Now all we seem to be qetting for the forseeable future is DQ Heroes which needless to say is far from the traditional entry but I intend on buying it for the PS3 because I like Musou crossovers. Its kinda like Gundam games. They release them quite frequently but all we get is the crossover Musou ones.

[africanphoenix]

Got some bad news for you, DQ heroes is not coming to the PS3 in the west.

[ZeekQuattro]

The PS3 is isn't region locked so.....

[Spotie]

It might be more popular with more exposure.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I didn't even know about Dragon Quest until 2004 and online shopping wasn't commonplace for me until another 6 or so years. Even then I didn't see much in the way of ads nor did anyone seem to have it displayed on their shelves (otherwise I might have brought it).

[slappy508]

Well I haven't played any DQ yet but I'm quite eager to jump on the upcoming one for ps4

[_LarZen_]

Same here..never heard of it before I saw some Japanese people stream it on PS4. I was sold relative fast...

[TheColbertinator]

DQ is a great franchise. SE needs to advertise it better

[tweet75]

im an old school gamer. My introduction to rpgs was dragon warrior(aka dragon quest) in th 1987 on the NES. To me there is no greater rpg experience. Dragon quest games have something special that no other rpg series has. I hope and pray we can get a surge of dragon quest rpgs. timeless rpg fun.

[Tzuno]

I love Jrpg's any one of them is welcome.

[mydyingparadiselost]

Sadly it is very under appreciated in the west, but hopefully with the small resurgence of JRPGs it seems like it's happening it can get the much needed interest it deserves.

[G3n3raL86]

I got 8 and 9 and i wanna pick 4,5 and 6 on DS:)

[CanadianTurtle]

Might want to get an R4 for that. Those games are insanely expensive because they're out of print

[G3n3raL86]

That or i'll search for used copies:)

[dorron]

DQ VIII is IMO one of the best RPGs of all time: Amazing art style, great gameplay, great story, incredible length...

[Meryl]

DQ is lighthearted and fun, ok it may not have the best gfx ever, but the gameplay always makes up for it.
Here's one fan that will be buying DQ Heroes for ps4:)

[GateCrasherUk]

They need to bring a new Dragon Warrior Monsters out for PS4 and make it available worldwide.

[FallenAngel1984]

Third party games don't sell well on Wii U, and Japanese games on Xbox platforms do absolutely terrible. PS4 is the only logical choice for Square Enix, along with PC.

[RPGrinder]

DQ IX on DS is the highest selling DQ ever in the West. Sold over 500k units. DQ is popular. Square has mismanaged it.

[dmonee]

Craziness. Release in the U.S.

[Nerdmaster]

I tried DQVIII and DQIX. Both of them lost me when common enemies were too hard and gave too few experience points, and I saw myself having to hunt for those annoying metal slimes to get stronger.

[DiscoKid]

That's what really got me into DQ8. The fact that the enemies were hellishly difficult. I was curious just how much I can overcome it.

Not much. :C

[Last_Boss]

I think Nintendo should have helped expose more of the series during 2-4. The series needs a bigger push like what Final Fantasy got. Redo the the series for Vita, put 10 on another console, or even scrap the online part. I think what stagnated the series in the states & possibly the UK, is the art style. A lot of factors into its success & failures.

[blackblades]

Square has the 3 main jrpgs, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Star Ocean all with different style of gameplay. FF is the most popular on both sides, DQ is the second so if SO is coming Westside DQ would to.

[TuxedoMoon]

I'd say Japanese games in general don't do so hot over here, especially when some Japanese companies are aiming for that COD numbers. Western tastes are just different from the Japanese and since we have a lot more western developers these days, they fill that need for REALISM. JRPgs are just too weird for people and those that tend to sell well MUST be marked with the Final Fantasy brand. You know how hard it is to get those Final Fantasy Fanatics to at least TRY to play other Jrpgs like Xenoblade and Bravely Default? The only success story I have is getting someone to play Bayonetta off from playing God Of war. It took a couple months, but they finally played it and loved the ever crap out of it.

[Melankolis]

1. Mediocre graphic (some say it's bad, except Level 5 being the dev)
2. Repeated musics
3. Similar (if not the same) NPC designs
4. Monotone level designs

But deep inside, it's a very delicious RPG!.

Mainstream J-RPG gamers are difficult to "understand" how charming this series is and what the creators wanted to tell.

If they want to make DQXI success in the west, first of all i think they should partner with Level 5 as a developer.