Square Enix considering Wii U-compatible Dragon Quest X [update]

During a shareholder meeting, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada noted that Square Enix is considering a Wii U version of its upcoming Wii RPG Dragon Quest X. According to a transcript of the proceeding, an investor asked Wada if he believed it was time to make the game for Wii U instead of the original Wii.

Instead of releasing it only on the successor system, however, Wada said that Square Enix was in the midst of "technical investigations" on how to support Wii U, and stated that the company "must consider" compatibility with both systems.

While the Wii might be on its way out, Enix's SOP with the series has always been to wait for an established, high-selling platform to emerge, and then put the game on that. A multiplatform release would be enough of a break from that tradition; we wouldn't expect Square Enix to stray so far as to launch the game only on a new platform.

[Update: The blog that provided the transcript has since clarified the statements, reporting that Wada was talking about Wii U experiments separate from Dragon Quest X, and not DQX on Wii U.]

Reader Comments (23)

annnd this would be the way to make wii u sell gangbusters in japan

You'll forgive me if I don't hold my breath on the promises of Square Enix.

@koehler83

I can still trust Square-Enix to do the right thing when it comes to Dragon Quest. I mean they haven't pulled a Final Fantasy and run the series into the ground... yet...

On the contrary, I would think being the premiere launch title on WiiU might drive adoption in Japan. I can understand SE not wanting to put all it's eggs in the WiiU basket but having the game as a WiiU launch title after having released on Wii first feels redundant because of the backwards compatibility of WiiU. Point is they'd have to really make sweeping changes to convince people to buy it again.

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell

It would certainly drive adoption, although it is a little a-typical for a DQ game. Generally they are released on systems with a established (very large) user base.

Seems like a no-brainer to me. Square can sell to the Wii's HUGE install base and potential buyers of the Wii U.

Honestly the only reason I upgraded to the Wii from my Gamecube was because Twilight Princess was an enhanced version of the game. As a pretty big Dragon Quest fan, I wouldn't mind purchasing a Wii U if DQX is an enhanced version of the Wii game.

Seems like a good idea.

1. The Wii-U needs a AAA exclusive third party title to be taken seriously.

2. The Wii-U hasn't been hacked (yet) so piracy wouldn't affect sales the way they seem to do for the third parties on the Wii.

That slime looks weird. Like the right half is warped or something.

Man, A game like Dragon Quest VIII on the Wii U would be amazing. That game is still one of my all time favorites, and I'm glad they're going back to that style for X.

It would move a lot of Wii U...es?

I think it should make the full move to the Wii U so it will harness the full power of the system.

After the slow start for the 3DS, Nintendo needs a strong seller in Japan. This needs to be a Wii U launch title FOR SURE.

is it me or does the controller seem to be the main focus. even more than the actuall wii u console

@psnshe69mee

Didn't you see the Nintendo E3 conference?

@psnshe69mee

Haven't you heard anyone else talk about it on any forum since it was unveiled? Because, yeah, it's not just you.

Funny thing is, even if they don't change anything, the game will still be compatible with Wii U.

They shouldn't use the word 'compatible' since all Wii games will be compatible with Wii U.

@Soiden I think they meant that they'll take advantage of the wii u's controller.

@dakoe3

Yes, I know, what I mean is that using the word 'compatible' is a little confusing or incorrect.

@Soiden
Yeah, but Wii U doesn't upscale graphics of Wii games, so what's the point of playing it on Wii U? It's still gonna be SD and to be honest, I can't really think of anything that screen will do that would make me want to drop a classic controller and use it instead.

Am I the only one that think this may be the sign that the DQ series is finally about to go multi-platform? This makes perfect sense as their FF series hasn't been doing the gangbuster sales it's accustomed to. If square wants to survive they need to do this. Last I checked they weren't doing so hot, financially speaking, and to put this out on the Wii (which is getting pretty dated and spends a lot of time collecting dust, in my case) or the Wii U (which frankly looks like it's gonna go the path of the gamecube) seems narrow minded. If they have a Wii U version, it should be able to be ported to PS3 and 360 as well, right?

@Brett from Atlanta
Well... it was on the PS2, so I don't see why not. Or are you saying they'll be on multiple platforms at once (not the idea of being a console-exclusive series)?
I think it has to do more with the fact that the US isn't crazy about the DQ series just yet - so they usually stick to one platform at a time.

@blahblah55
They usually go with the largest install base in a console. That's why it was on the PS2, and then again why IX was on the DS. But if its is on the Wii AND the Wii U that breaks that tradition, as it would technically be on 2 different consoles at the same time. My thinking is that if they can port it to the Wii U, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to port it to the other consoles as well. The Wii U has already been said to be able to run the same third party games as the 360 & PS3, so it shouldn't be too outlandish of a notion. The only roadblock would be if the Wii version of DQX is riddled with waggle controls (which it better not be, Square!). I say they should go for it. The DQ series has been superior to the FF series for the last 2 console generations now IMO, it just doesn't carry the same weight in the states. Though to it's credit, it hasn't been pushed nearly as hard here. A multi-platform release could be just what it needs to break through over here, especially if it's just porting which would be way more cost effective than developing from scratch for the other platforms.

Considering? LOL - space filling topic.

Wake us up in 2013.

http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=161530

I wonder how many gaming media sites will do the responsible thing and correct this story.

I wonder how many will just let their audience go uninformed..... hmmm...

Dragon Quest X

Square Enix considering Wii U-compatible Dragon Quest X [update]

Reader Comments (23)

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 10:04AM shabby329 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 10:05AM koehler83 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 12:47PM The Joy of Painting w Bob Ross said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 10:14AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 12:25PM vidjagamer said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 10:20AM NaeemTHM said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 10:24AM Horsebird said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 10:56AM romevi said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 11:23AM Pipp said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 11:30AM ItsameMatt03 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 11:40AM MatthewBlackwell said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 11:44AM psnshe69mee said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 12:26PM Soiden said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 3:20PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 12:27PM Soiden said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 12:36PM dakoe3 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 1:28PM Soiden said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 1:29PM Brett from Atlanta said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 1:26PM Brett from Atlanta said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 4:43PM blahblah55 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 5:32PM Brett from Atlanta said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 3:07PM JCat said

Posted: Jun 23rd 2011 3:46AM CrashMan said

Dragon Quest X Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is a stranger in a strange land

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW