Earthbound, Dragon Quest 9, and Secret of Mana news

[Julius Seeker]

I am not sure how reliable EGM is as a magazine. They have stated some interesting info:

The first is a major one for the Japanese market; that is that Dragon Quest 9 will be be a Wii exclusive. That would be a major blow to Sony since the Dragon Quest series is the top videogame series, not on a handheld system, in the country.

The second is one, which I am VERY interested in, is that the Earthbound series will be coming to DS and will include a DS compilation of the previous titles upgraded to include DS functionality. I would hope that this would include a completed Earthbound 64.

The third one is an online Secret of Mana title.

[Zeus]

There's almost no chance on the DQ9 exclusive unless Nintendo paid dearly for it. Look at the sales of DQ on PSX (over 3 million) and PS2 (over 4 million). Why would they give that up for a system no one's sure is going to even have that installed userbase in the first year and a half in Japan not ot mention that many people that'll buy it

Hopefully that will explain why the heck we haven't gotten the three Mother games for the GBA. I want....now. And I wouldn't count on 64, they never finished it and parts of it became 3.

Yeah, heard about online Mana. I GUESS it could be neat, but it can't just be another FFXI clone

[Julius Seeker]

There's almost no chance on the DQ9 exclusive unless Nintendo paid dearly for it. Look at the sales of DQ on PSX (over 3 million) and PS2 (over 4 million). Why would they give that up for a system no one's sure is going to even have that installed userbase in the first year and a half in Japan not ot mention that many people that'll buy it

Hopefully that will explain why the heck we haven't gotten the three Mother games for the GBA. I want....now. And I wouldn't count on 64, they never finished it and parts of it became 3.

Yeah, heard about online Mana. I GUESS it could be neat, but it can't just be another FFXI clone

PS3 is not PS2 or PSX though, that is the thing. PS3 is more like the next Saturn than the next PSX/PS2. The Japanese audience actually seems to be less excited about the PS3 than they were about the Saturn.

You also got it mixed up, DQ7 sold 4 million, DQ8 sold 3 million.

Heh, the Online Seiken Densetsu game will probably blow considering Square can't make action games worth shit =P

[Kupek]

There's almost no chance on the DQ9 exclusive unless Nintendo paid dearly for it.

Ya know, maybe not. Consider that in general, the DQ games have never been graphical powerhouses. So there's really no need for the superior PS3 hardware. Further consider that due to the price, the PS3 might not have the same penetration as the PS and PS2. I actually think it's likely. Sony might be fucking up, we'll see. The XBox wasn't popular in Japan, so the XBox 360 is out as a platform. Wii will probably be easier to develop for, have larger penetration, and meet their hardware needs. So they really might not be sacrificing much by being Wii exclusive.

This is all speculation, but I think it's reasonable.

[Torgo]

There's almost no chance on the DQ9 exclusive unless Nintendo paid dearly for it. Look at the sales of DQ on PSX (over 3 million) and PS2 (over 4 million). Why would they give that up for a system no one's sure is going to even have that installed userbase in the first year and a half in Japan not ot mention that many people that'll buy it

A Famitsu poll showed that around 70% of Japanese gamers are looking forward to the Wii. Only 21% voted for PS3, and in a separate poll, 88% said that it was too expensive. I think all Nintendo had to at the negotiation was slide the contract across the table.

[Zeus]

At the end of the day, Sony has won - handidly, I might add - the last two generations and that entire time, they have been known to be the system for RPGs. There's no way Squeenix would commit the flagship game of its biggest franchise to the Wii unless they know the Wii has the penetration. So, if they commit, I don't think it's going to be until after a year and only if Nintendo is ahead.

We're more than likely going to see it on both or just PS3. Regardless of price, PS3 will sell like crazy in the beginning. And Squeenix has become quite rich from them, so you're almost assuredly going to see it on the PS3. It's whether or not you'll see it on the Wii that's the question.

[kali o.]

The first is a major one for the Japanese market; that is that Dragon Quest 9 will be be a Wii exclusive.

The likelihood of Square moving their main franchise to a new, yet unproven system has a zero percent chance of being true. You are a severe retard if you think this is a remote possibility at being true.

Could it happen in the furture, especially if Wii overtakes the PS3 quickly? You bet.

[Kupek]

The likelihood of Square moving their main franchise to a new, yet unproven system has a zero percent chance of being true. You are a severe retard if you think this is a remote possibility at being true.

I think the PS3 "new, yet unproven." The PS3 has a lot of ifs. I think it's the riskiest console of this next generation. DQ has always come out for the system with the largest user base. I think that Wii will have a larger user base than the PS3.

See, no retardation necessary.

[Julius Seeker]

The likelihood of Square moving their main franchise to a new, yet unproven system has a zero percent chance of being true. You are a severe retard if you think this is a remote possibility at being true.

1) Dragon Quest is Enix's main franchise. Square's main franchise is Final Fantasy. They are two different development entities.

2) PS3 is even more unproven than Wii; every system using a PS3 price model has failed. PS3 is also well behind Wii on the Japanese anticipation polls. Japanese Arcade has proven that Wii style games are quite popular in Japan. If this is about brand name, look at any weekly chart since last August and tell me what name appears most on those lists. Not to mention, if the franchise is to remain on a "proven" system, then that system would have to be PS2. I can guarantee you that it will not be a PS2 game.

3) As for people being severely retarded for thinking the possibility remotely true: I find it highly unlikely that a "severe retard" could so easily show that your whole post has no basis and is quite innacurate. Then again, I could be wrong, in that case: cheers to severe retardation!

[kali o.]

The likelihood of Square moving their main franchise to a new, yet unproven system has a zero percent chance of being true. You are a severe retard if you think this is a remote possibility at being true.

1) Dragon Quest is Enix's main franchise. Square's main franchise is Final Fantasy. They are two different development entities.

2) PS3 is even more unproven than Wii; every system using a PS3 price model has failed. PS3 is also well behind Wii on the Japanese anticipation polls. Japanese Arcade has proven that Wii style games are quite popular in Japan. If this is about brand name, look at any weekly chart since last August and tell me what name appears most on those lists. Not to mention, if the franchise is to remain on a "proven" system, then that system would have to be PS2. I can guarantee you that it will not be a PS2 game.

3) As for people being severely retarded for thinking the possibility remotely true: I find it highly unlikely that a "severe retard" could so easily show that your whole post has no basis and is quite innacurate. Then again, I could be wrong, in that case: cheers to severe retardation!

1) Squeenix is one in the same. I'm pretty sure DQ is the main series for Japan.

2) Wii more proven? The PS has dominated sales since the 90's. A business isn't going to move one of their premier franchise over pre-launch, at least 1.5-2 years early of development completion to a new (and risky platform) because a few tools at gamefaqs and 200+ random people in phone poll skew the numbers in Nintendo's favor. It's that simple.

3) Enjoy your retardedness. High-Five!

[Eric]

http://angrysonyfanboy.ytmnd.com/

[Julius Seeker]

1) You wrote "Square" not "Sqeenix" and Square and Enix, like Namco and Bandai, are different game development entities even if they are the same business entity. It is similar to how Rockstar games and Firaxis (Sid Meier) are two different entities, even though they exist under Take 2 games.

2) I suppose people have been buying too many DS games and systems in Japan as well, skewing the numbers in Nintendo's favour... Well, the truth of the matter is, PS3 is not PS2 or PSX, it is something else and it does not look like it is going to follow the buzz that the PS2 had in Japan. Just look at the Japanese market now, they are all buying Nintendo DS stuff, and that is how it has been for almost a year now; the PS brand is not doing very well over there at all anymore. Brand name recognition is not as major of an issue in Japan, Sony and Nintendo both have it very strongly in Japan. Also, the polls on Famitsu cannot be skewed, unless someone buys A LOT of extra subscriptions in order to skew those polls, which I doubt would ever happen.

Lastly I should just add, whether there is truth to this or not depends on how reliable a source EGM is. That is why I asked about it earlier.

[kali o.]

1) You wrote "Square" not "Sqeenix" and Square and Enix, like Namco and Bandai, are different game development entities even if they are the same business entity. It is similar to how Rockstar games and Firaxis (Sid Meier) are two different entities, even though they exist under Take 2 games.

2) I suppose people have been buying too many DS games and systems in Japan as well, skewing the numbers in Nintendo's favour... Well, the truth of the matter is, PS3 is not PS2 or PSX, it is something else and it does not look like it is going to follow the buzz that the PS2 had in Japan. Just look at the Japanese market now, they are all buying Nintendo DS stuff, and that is how it has been for almost a year now; the PS brand is not doing very well over there at all anymore. Brand name recognition is not as major of an issue in Japan, Sony and Nintendo both have it very strongly in Japan. Also, the polls on Famitsu cannot be skewed, unless someone buys A LOT of extra subscriptions in order to skew those polls, which I doubt would ever happen.

Lastly I should just add, whether there is truth to this or not depends on how reliable a source EGM is. That is why I asked about it earlier.

1) No, the relationship is not at all akin to Take2/etc. However, since it is a stupid point, and I fail to see why you are arguing, I'll let it drop.

2) There are a bunch of points here...but since I'd rather be brief:

- Handheld's are not systems. If one was indictive of the other, Nintendo most certainly wouldn't be in last place in the console game.

- Companies do not move their major products on the shoulder's of Famitsu's prelaunch speculative polls (if that is a "poll" in question).

- If you look at the tenative release list for the Wii, no matter how thick your fanboy glasses, Nintendo is only securing fringe or new IP/spinoff titles. It is NOT a platform publishers are going to be confident in for a variety of logical reasons. Sony is making mistakes, Nintendo is getting some good hype. Pre-launch that amounts to jack squat from a business point of view.

The bottomline is this "rumour" doesn't stand a chance at being factual at this point in time. Can it happen down the road, pre-DQ completion if Sony tanks and Nintendo soars? You bet. But right now, if anyone believes this - in my opinion you'd be a retard. But believe what you like, doesn't bother me none and this back and forth is pretty stupid anyway