Dragon Quest X Needs the Internet And Extra Money, Too

Dragon Quest IX was the deal of the century. It had something like seventy hours of single player gameplay, checking off two things that Japanese gamers love: meaty RPGs and playing solo. DQX is a different beast.

An official Square Enix FAQ regarding the game noted that while DQX can be played alone, it can only be played offline for the first few hours. After that, it's necessary to play online.