Dragon Quest IX sells 2.3 million copies in two days

by JC Fletcher on Jul 13th 2009 10:30AM

Japanese consumers eagerly grabbed up copies of Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX over the weekend, putting to rest any concern that the move to a handheld system would bother fans in the least.

Enterbrain reports that the game sold 2,343,440 copies in its first week -- its "first week" actually being two days. Media Create reports a similar total of 2,318,932 copies. This beats the first-week record set by ... Dragon Quest VIII, of course! Media Create reports a sell-through rate of 81.56%, suggesting (according to Andriasang) that it probably sold out in some locations.

There's something very comforting about reading stories of massive Dragon Quest sales in Japan. It's a reminder that some things in the gaming world are just like we remember them, even after decades. After the break, you can watch the game's intro movie as you begin the long wait for localization.

[Image via GAME Watch, video via Gemaga]

Source

Tags: DQ9, dragon-quest, Dragon-Quest-9-Sentinels-of-the-Starry-Skies, dragon-quest-ix, DS, enterbrain, JRPG, Level-5, media-create, Nintendo, rpg, sales, square-enix

Reader Comments (60)

Good gravy they love their Dragon Quest games! I like them...but not THAT much. There's just too much grinding for not enough story in those games for me.

Between this and Monster Hunter 3, Nintendo will be doing A-OK.

Similar numbers to Halo 3, GTA4 and SSBB... that's very impressive...

Makes me wonder just how big the eventual Starcraft II launch will be in South Korea...

Yeah... The Pirate Bay is going to crash a lot that day...

=p

Too bad Pirate Bay went legit, and is now owned by some company who is making it like what Napster is now.

The Pirate Bay? The world is going to crash when Starcraft II comes out!

by the time starcraft II comes out at this rate, we'll be able to directly download it into our brains...

i must be like the only korean who hates blizzard games. no offense.

Those people look too young to be fighting monsters. They look like kids to me.

What? But that guy's got a (slightly crumpled) business shirt and smart trousers and everything, pretty sure he's an adult... In fact I don't see a single kid in that queue.

:)

I am amused that the previous record was also held by the last DQ game. Predictable = entertaining.

Tell me about it, blurry heads look soooo immature.

I believe he is talking about the characters IN the game

@george: yes he was... but that content was so pathetic (and teeth-grindingly predictable) that it was more interesting to answer it the other way.

NO SHIT sHERLOCK

So what I got from the opening scene of the game is that you fight a dragon and then go to a local watering hole to enjoy several steins of mead while girls spin in circles. The end?

Game of the Year material for me.

Skips all the boring parts, gets right to the wam bam thank you ma'am.

Every time I see pictures of people lining up for video games, I just have to shake my head and hope for a better tomorrow.

Don't worry. The line has a security check point where it must be confirmed that you are unable to a)produce sperm or b)carry child for protection of the human race.

I see what you're saying, but are you also saddened by people in line at theaters, or lines for CD releases, or the moroons that line up to get the latest iphone/pod, or any number of a thousand different things?

If the lines are outside the building, then yes.

Every time I see you post a comment to an article on a blog about video games, I just have to shake my head and hope for a better tomorrow.

The Japanese just like queueing.
When the macdonalds quarter pounder came out a couple of months ago there was a queue 100's of people long. Same for Burger Kings debut. Apparently that getting to the front feeling is worth it.

Canadians like to queue as well. I've seen people stand in a straight line for no reason at all, outside, during blizzards.

I heart Dragon Quest theme... =p

I don't know which version I prefer... the original 8-bit one or the orchested one... anyway, both are awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__BiCY6tyZc

PS. Is orchested a word?

=p

WINterfang

Huh?

Orchested, orchestrated, close enough for the internets.

i watched the trailer and thought this was for the ps3, then i saw that it was for the ds, and now i have no idea what it would actually look like.

This is a preemptive apology for the offense this question may cause, I'm sorry;
What rock have you been living under that you didn't know that DQ IX was for DS?!

the rock that usually skips over dragon quest posts.

OK OK OK haha I accept that ;)

This isn't much of a surprise .

Now Wii Sports Resort is a surprise, since it hasn't sold millions like it was expected. I guess it's a slow burn like Wii Fit and Will sell out over months and months and Dragon Quest will probably get all the sales in first month.

1/3rd of a million opening week is far above average for Japan, considering that the top-selling title for the year before that (Mario and Luigi 3) had only sold 2/3 of a million all year

This is far and away the exception. Your GTA, your Halo, etc.

Grind away guys, grind away.

blurryhead army invades!

Is this 2.3 million PLUS the 2 million pre-orders?

No, those are included (the 2 million count was pre-orders from retailers, presumably on behalf of customers who they have now sold the game to).

Siiigh, never change Japan. Never change.

Is it a bad thing that Dragon Quest sold this much?

Depends on your viewpoint. If you're ok with Japan liking the same games and making the same games they have for a decade and a half now, then I guess it's a good thing. But if you're like me, and you're waiting for them to stop ramming their head into the wall and changing so they can compete with the west again, then this is a bad thing.

It's merely a question of divergent tastes. Western devs are going back to their PC-centric roots, which is fine for them, but not for Japan, and clearly not for the mass market either (and i certainly wouldn't like to see their brand of gaming overtake everything else), but the question of competition is perhaps the wrong way to look at it

I sure as hell don't want to see the Japanese devs try and clone the westerners. It never winds up well. When they do their own thing, it comes off better, and gives us more variety

Are you aware that the same thing happens here in USA?

The hyped games here are shooters (first and third person) just like in Japan are the RPGs, with very few exceptions (just like Japan also has few exceptions)...

And also, are you aware that most of the big sellers, best reviewed games in USA are also sequels? You have God of War 3, Uncharted 2, a new Ratchet, Gran Turismo 5, and a new one, Heavy Rain, as the upcoming PS3 line-up...

And you complain about them not trying different things, but as soon as someone wants to create a unique game (several DS and Wii titles, Natal, etc...) you bash them because they don't use traditional gameplay.

And I'm also aware that all of the innovation and new IPs (well..good ones) come from the west. Japan's still making the same jrpgs they have since the ps1 era, while we got Mass Effect, Fallout 3 (different enough and long enough away from 1 and 2 to be a whole new game pretty much). Sony's made a bunch of new IP's this gen, and just about all of the top rated games are from the west.

What's the next big game from Japan? FF-13. Never change Japan.

@ tmacairjordan87

To be fair to Dragon Quest, it's one of those games that fans like me don't want to change, atleast not to much. Especially since an old-school RPG like this is actually so uncommon anymore.Think of DQ as a sort of "comfort food" jrpg for a lot us big rpg fans. We all go on about the disappointment at the monotony within FF and other JRPGs, and it's true. Despite how much I love FF, you can often see me bitching about ridiculous melodrama and the like that's so common in JRPGs.

But I can go and play DQ and have a fun and charming world with no pretenses, just good, clean, fun. It's not the typical JRPG (at least not by todays standards) and thats the best part. I don't have to deal with overly dramatic and pretentious plots, or an overly convoluted story that makes less sense the more you play it. DQ is all about the charming and imaginative world, and it should stay that way. I don't need any angsty beltandzipper types in one of the only refuges I have left when it comes to rpg gaming.

Some things shouldn't try and change too much, and DQ is one of them. But that's my opinion and I'm probably in the minority.

I would rather the US give up shooters and start competing with the Japan market. I don't think I'll ever get tired of saving the world while facing impossible odds. I do, however, realize that I am in the minority. :(

You save the world in shooters too. You should say "I'll (n)ever get tired of saving the world while facing impossible odds by person X selecting an attack and pressing X again!"

Alright, I apologize in advance to the jRPG lovers, to each his own, seriously.

War,war never changes

The game is getting trashed on Amazon user reviews for some reason

http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=89063

Just trolls complaining it isn't in HD on a Console. Same thing happened with FFXII. Every single person I've talked to who has played the game first-hand is simply raving about it. Looks like it's probably one of the better games in the series.

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Dragon Quest IX sells 2.3 million copies in two days

Reader Comments (60)

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