Dragon Quest 10 has been in development for over six years now

by Mike Schramm on Sep 11th 2011 4:30PM

Back in April, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest 10 was "almost done," and then last week, we finally heard about the game itself, due out next year in Japan, via a reveal announcement. But if you thought that was fast, not so -- apparently the title's been worked on for over six years already.

That makes the whole venture a little more interesting. Today, console MMOs and persistent Internet connections are fairly prevalent, but six years ago, that obviously wasn't the case. And this also means that DQ10 ran alongside development of Dragon Quest 9, with Level 5 and Square Enix presumably working on the portable title and the online game at the same time.

We'll have to see how the final game turns out -- fans are skeptical, to say the least, of turning the series into an MMO. But at least we know the game wasn't thrown together overnight.

Source: Game Informer

Tags: development, dragon-quest-x, japan, level-5, nintendo, square-enix, wii

Reader Comments (51)

Is this the first MMO on the Wii? I can't think of another one, but I may just be forgetting. Either way, given SEs recent MMO venture, I wouldn't hold my breath on this one.

@bensmith91
Indeed, it would be the first. Unless you consider Monster Hunter 3 an MMO, too.

Also, this game was in development since 2005... which is before the Wii was released. I can only guess there was a platform switch involved. My guess it is was either originally planned for 360 or PS2.

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam

MH3 kinda is like an MMO, without the user fees (for Western gamers) and the whole constant updates thing. They pay for the service in Japan, but hey.

I think the reason Wii hasn't played host to MMORPGs is that those kinds of games are for the obsessive, hardcore players who lose hours of sleep to those kinds of games, and the Wii is decidedly not tailored to that kind of experience in general.

@Red Runner

The obvious reason that MH3 didn't have fees here is that our market would never support it, and I hope the same goes for DQ10.
But I would never consider MH3 an "online game". From my understanding there was no real server you all connected to to play online. Sure the lobbies might of been, but actual missions? It all depends on other peoples connections, not yours or their connections to some server, which meant if some guy lagged like bloody hell and you had to rely on his connection to kill oh... lets say Rathalos, you might end up eating a fireball thanks to lag and monster-warping.

And now they expect us to trust an already weak online service not for just 4, but 10s of players? It's a bloody joke. I mean, shoving online into a single-player game is one thing... but to make it the only way to progress more than a few hours in just guarantees nothing more than a rental. I already regret buying the dump of a game that DQ9 was.

@bensmith91
What makes this really weird is that Square previously refused to put FF11 on the Wii, first with the ludicrous and patently untrue claim that the hardware couldn't handle it, then saying the online infrastructure made it too difficult. This bit of news means that DQ10 would have already started development at the time those statements were made.

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam Doubt the PS2 unless they were banking on PS3 backwards compatibility. I mean even if this is well later than they originally wanted, it still couldn't have come out before 2008 for an MMO.

And I can't see Dragon Quest thinking to move to the 360.

@bensmith91 It's not an MMO.

It's not an MMO. It's *not* an MMO. Repeat that to yourself, cause you're going to hear it for the next ~2 years or so until it's released in the West, and we all need to keep that in mind.

The term "Online" refers to the Nintendo WFC. DQ10 expanded on DQ9's local co-op by adding NWFC co-op to it, almost as a direct result of the Western market not having the kinds of mass transit that makes Local Co-Op work so well on DQ9. It's a logical next step in the DQ9 model.

That's it. That's the "MMO" part. If you're expecting a Everquest or Ultima Online style experience with DQ10, you're going to be severely disappointed.

The cheering on bit is an extraneous thing, the logical extension of the tag mode system from DQ9. From what we know so far, it's no more a MMO than Demon's Souls was.

I'd say "no more than Monster Hunter" but it's really starting to blur things at that point.

I also say "from what we know", because there are rumors that the "offline" mode is only going to be a glorified tutorial, requiring that you go online for the bulk of the gameplay.

But, keep repeating that to yourself, cause calling it a MMO is too easy a sound-byte for the media to let go:

It's not an MMO.

@houser
Thing is, Dragon Quest always went to the most popular system. Always. What was popular in 2005? PS2 still. At the time, 360 was the only 7th generation system out, so S-E may have felt its early launch would help it leap ahead the competition in sales (which it didn't).

@KiTA
While it may not be an MMO like WoW, there is the fact that they are considering a monthly fee to pay for it. In line with console games, this could place it's online structure somewhat similar to Phantasy Star Online, Monster Hunter 3 (in Japan), or Final Fantasy XI.

@(Unverified)

I'm getting pretty sick of the rampant misappropriation of the term "MMO." DQ10 is just the latest culprit.

The Guild Wars 2 hype has really been getting on my nerves, as everyone declares it an MMO, even though it's just the same Diablo 2 multiplayer RPG system that we've seen before, albeit repackaged well enough to fool the trusting.

@Chareth Cutestory I don't think the Guild Wars 2 hype has anything to do with it being an "MMO" but rather because it looks like a really good game. If anything the "MMO" status some people put on it is holding it back.

@Chareth Cutestory Correct me if I'm wrong but Guild Wars 2 is an MMO. Persistent world, massive multiplayer, tons of players running around in the same huge map.....

What part of this is like Diablo 2?

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam WQell companies know months if not years before releases of new consoles that they're coming and get tools to develop for them. Square Enix especially.

@Thunderhead People don't like calling it that because the actual quest areas are instanced. So you form a team, go to the area and only your team is there. You won't run into others.

The only part of the game where you'll run into a ton of people are the hub zones, which are basically towns with no danger... they're where you'll form your party, generally.

Personally, I don't think the average person needs or cares to differentiate. You still have the ability to interact with and play with "massive" amounts of people who are all on the same server as you.

@Chareth Cutestory

Aww, how cute, an idiot with an eye-patch edited into his picture to make himself look "hip". GW may, and I repeat this, MAY fall somewhat vaguely in line with what you claim, if not for the fact that gear is pretty much style only, substance comes with how its enhanced (dungeon grind unneeded). By your logic, WoW must be "just the same Diablo 2 multiplayer RPG system that we've seen before, albeit repackaged well enough to fool the trusting." as well.

And Kita, that isn't a rumor. An interview had said that the first few hours will be offline, the rest will force you to go online only in order to progress through the story even if you use NPC team mates. This is no extension of the bullshit system in DQ9, if it was then they wouldn't force a Single-player only game to go multiplayer, they would of added it as an extra option.

@Softserve

Again, not GW2. You're thinking of Guild Wars 1, there is a difference here people, and even just cursory glances would tell you that.

I'm going to wait until I'm playing the game to comment on how good the game is.

@byaboy

Yeah same here. I feel like this game is getting way too much hate considering we really don't know THAT much.

In fact, when Dragon Quest 9 was announced it too was met with a lot of hate. But the co-op was good and the game itself turned out to be yet another awesome DQ adventure. I'm hopeful the same will be true for DQX.

@byaboy

Most of the hate was because it was going to change the traditional battle style to something more action-based. Look at this original footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aAoSkV5Kc4

Six years to make the equivalent of a PS2 game? Wow! Color me impressed. I don't think it took them that long to make Final Fantasy XI and they managed to put that game on multiple platforms that include both PCs and consoles. Plus, it was FAR superior to XIV.

I just don't think that DQ X will make a huge splash in Japan, or anywhere else for that matter. If anyone is doubting me, just look what happened when Capcom put Monster Hunter on both the Wii and Xbox 360. I don't think either game manage to sell anywhere near the numbers of the last PSP version, even when you combine the numbers from both consoles.

Sorry, S-E, but this one is going to hit the bargin bins faster than Final Fantasy XIII did a month after it was released in Japan.

@FinalFantasyXIIIsucks
MH3 sold better than all the PS2 MH games combined. It even sold better than the first PSP MH. Even so, the MH series has been a bigger success on portables than home consoles.

Dragon Quest is one of the most popular franchises in Japan. I think DQ10 will do fine, really.

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam I love how everyone keeps pointing out that the Wii version Monster Hunter sold better than the PS2 version. So did the PSP version. It sold more than the PS2, Wii, and Xbox 360 versions combined. But the thing is, I never brought up PS2 version, so I don't know why you did.

Why I think that Dragon Quest 10 will fail is that it will stray way too far from standard DQ formula. Don't forget that that series hasn't really changed that much since the first game. Granted, 9 did have multi-player, but S-E didn't charge a fee for it nor did the game require a constant internet connection.

Another reason why I think the game will bomb hard is because 3rd party games in general bomb on the Wii. What was the last 3rd party game on Wii that lit the world on fire and sold millions copies worldwide? Monster Hunter didn't do it. Mad World didn't do it, either. Nothing on the Wii, save for Nintendo's own properties, exercise "games", and dance "games", have done really well on the system.

Another thing that will hamper the game's sales is the fact that Dragon Quest has never been popular outside of Japan. Because of that and Nintendo's reluctance to publish a certain trio of JRPG's, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't see the game over here, so whether or not the game does well is moot.

@FinalFantasyXIIIsucks
MH3 sold 1.89m copies worldwide. While not a runaway success, it certainly did well for being a "core" game on Wii. I stated myself that all but the first Monster Hunter Freedom sold better than MH3.

I bring it up because of the difference between MH's success as a portable game compared to a console game. Online gaming isn't as big of a deal for Japanese gamers, since they mostly prefer local multiplayer, so they can actually see their opponents. And then, MH isn't a big deal outside of Japan. The PS2 ones had online support, too, but it just didn't really catch on.

@FinalFantasyXIIIsucks
If you think there is any conceivable factor that can stop a new main-series Dragon Quest from finding its way into the hands of millions of Japanese gamers, you must not be too familiar with Japan or Dragon Quest. They would buy a million copies if each box came with a spring-loaded fist to your face.

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam I also love how people justify it by saying that "the game did well for a core title". You shouldn't have to say that in order to justify low global sales of a supposed big name title.

@gatotsu911 I don't know. Like I've said before, Monster Hunter has generally sold really well in Japan, yet it didn't do all that hot on the Wii. Putting Dragon Quest X on the Wii and making it an MMO is probably one of the worst ideas ever. I know people like to say that S-E only puts Dragon Quest on the most popular console, but the Wii is dying harder than my dreams of seeing a good Star Wars sequel, and the system has never, NEVER been 3rd party friendly.

Plus, even if the game does well, don't expect to see it outside of Japan. Given the way NoA handled The Last Story, Pandora's Tower, and Xenoblade, Dragon Quest X's chances of making it over the Pacific are slim to none. Granted, the game might make it over in Europe, but we all know how much Nintendo loves region free hardware.

@FinalFantasyXIIIsucks
Even as a Nintendo fan, I know that with a few exceptions, "core" games have had a hard time selling on Wii. There's no denying that the so-called "hardcore gamers" refused to by the system or its great titles due to lack of HD visuals, poor online infrastructure, or seething hatred for motion controls.

The MMO/Japanease version of Duke Nukem Forever? I hope it doesn't turn out to be a generic WoW clone with a DQ skin.

(Cause DNF was a Generic CoD clone? With a DN skin?...I'll be quiet now)

Six wasted years.

@Red Runner There are millions in Japan the beg to disagree with you.

@MystcLazrDragon

But Japanese finance/stock markets DO agree with me.

It's a smart move that they went with cell shading, it ages very well which is good for a game that took 6 years to develop.

@GiantGamer
Prey was in development since 1995, released in 2006.
Too Human was in development since 199, released in 2008.

Just sayin'...

@GiantGamer 6 years doesn't really compare to what 14 for DN? plus DN's problem was more the hype behind the game. This game was just announced recently so the 6 years shouldn't be that big of a deal because no one was actually waiting 6 years for the game unlike Duke Nukem.

I still don't understand how some game companies can be so poorly managed and still turn profits.

Very few seem to hit the sweet spot. Some are over-managed, some under, and others just terribly. Are there absolutely no good producers in the industry that can keep a project on track, on time and still good?

@Mmmmz

Duke Nukem Forever, StarCraft Ghost (before it was cancelled), Blizzard in general, for that matter, FF Versus-XIII, Team Ico, and many others...kinda validate your point.

@MystcLazrDragon Actually, the game was announced for the Wii way before Dragon Quest 9 was even released. Everyone, except for you, knew about this game for at least two years before S-E announced that the game was nearly finished back in May. Dragon Quest X is old news. The only thing we didn't know was that it was going to be an MMO.

I'm buying this game for WIi U, online RPGs are fun, as long as the developer can keep supporting it with some content addition (SE has some experience with this).

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam
Wow, I didn't even know they made games back in 199.

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/09/06/sakura_dragon_quest_online/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

And I damn well agree with him.

@blahblah55
Haha, typo. 1999 for Too Human.

6 years? That looks like a gamecube game. they should have released it 5 years ago.

@SuperWoody64 very Wii game looks like a Gamecube game.

@SuperWoody64
It's two GameCube games glued together!

Dragon Quest: Forever

...but I'm fairly certain it won't follow the same fate. It's freakin' Dragon Quest.

man o man i never liked the way they went with for the art style i mean seriously still sticking with dragon ball z has really turn me away from the series. would better to just call it dragon ball quest 10

I am not paying to play online to pay to play online

What I find bizarre is that their defense is apparently suddenly now "we need to do new things with this series!"

I've bought every game in this series. I even own complete copies of the Famicom versions. I grew up on Dragon Warrior practically.

And if nothing else, this series is practically noted for its insistence on keeping things "old school". Even Dragon Quest VIII, which was gorgeous, did not originally feature voice acting in Japan, used NES-style sound effects and kept the traditional ugly black and white dialogue boxes.

Then when DQIX was announced, some of you might remember that it was originally going to be an action RPG. The outcry over that was so large that they literally changed the game to what it is now -- exactly the same as all of the other ones, but prettier.

I get doing new things, but it seems odd to do that with this series when its Japanese fans seem so dead set against it. Particularly when you're planning on making this an official release in the series... It's not like this is a side thing like DQ Monsters.

Personally I don't care that it's a MMO (or an online multiplayer title, for those who seem to be stuck in semantics) in and of itself. But I am concerned given Square Enix's track record with these types of games and the general insistence by this company that these games have as many barriers and convoluted ideas as humanly possible. FFXIV might be from another team, but I'm still concerned. The rest of Square had plenty of time to fix that before release, they're scrambling to do it now -- going so far as to change the leaders of the team itself.

Tack on a fee to that and it gets even more silly. Particularly if I'm not supposed to consider this a "MMO". In that case they might as well just set up some lobbies and let me play via peers for free.

I'm not excited for this one at all. Maybe it'll turn out to be awesome. And while MMOs maybe were not as common when this game was conceptualized, it's not exactly a wonder even for its development time. It implies to me that Level 5 might have taken True Fantasy Online (anyone remember that??) for the original Xbox and used its lessons from that for this.

@Softserve I did want to add that this concept so far seems a LOT like White Knight Chronicles. A lot of people without that game don't seem to know that a lot of its appeal is that you can play it online with others.

So far this seems no more or less complicated.. yet WKC is free and this is not. Is it simply because they know people would pay?

The battle music—and that alone—is about the only thing I really love about Dragon Quest. Not sure why. The cel shading in VIII was really well-done, but I HATE what's-his-face who does the art style, the stories are always extremely bland and shallow, and the whole game is goofy...

Yet, it has some killer turn-based awesomeness to it, so I guess it can't be all bad.

@LucasTizma
You make it sound so condescending it pisses me off. The DQ franchise it's one of the best of the genre. period!

While Square lays Final Fantasy titles without giving it much tough (and delays the ones everyone is waiting for), Its good to know the Enix part of the company at least takes a reasonable time to deliver a great game without ridiculous stunts and hype (see Versus XIII).

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Dragon Quest X

Dragon Quest 10 has been in development for over six years now

Reader Comments (51)

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 4:39PM bensmith91 said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 4:56PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:59PM Red Runner said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 6:58PM DevilSei said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 7:29PM gatotsu911 said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 8:01PM houser said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 9:03PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 10:20PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 10:57PM Chareth Cutestory said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 12:56AM Enigma7ic said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 2:04AM Thunderhead said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 4:37AM riesza said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 10:31AM Softserve said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 1:41PM DevilSei said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 1:42PM DevilSei said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 4:45PM byaboy said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:10PM NaeemTHM said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 6:22PM rayonic said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 4:53PM FinalFantasyXIIIsucks said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:04PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:57PM FinalFantasyXIIIsucks said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 7:29PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 7:35PM gatotsu911 said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 7:48PM FinalFantasyXIIIsucks said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 7:55PM FinalFantasyXIIIsucks said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 10:23PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 4:59PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:21PM Red Runner said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:31PM MystcLazrDragon said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:43PM Red Runner said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:30PM MystcLazrDragon said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:32PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:33PM MystcLazrDragon said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:49PM Mmmmz said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 5:57PM Red Runner said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 6:01PM FinalFantasyXIIIsucks said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 6:23PM tchuks said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 8:17PM blahblah55 said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 8:19PM blahblah55 said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 10:36PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Sep 11th 2011 11:18PM SuperWoody64 said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 1:22AM Cafecito said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 4:11AM antelope said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 12:51AM DarkBlast47 said

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Posted: Sep 12th 2011 10:11AM Retrofraction said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 10:19AM Softserve said

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Posted: Sep 12th 2011 1:57PM LucasTizma said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 6:03PM Asakura H said

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