A post for those interested in the two series.
The franchises are much closer this gen than previous generations (I included all remakes and sub-franchises as well; I wish I had downloadable title numbers, because there are more Final Fantasy titles including FF7, FF8, FF Tactics, FF4 AY, FF1, and FF4). Final Fantasy appeared on all major consoles, while Dragon Quest appeared only on DS, PSP, and Wii:
Dragon Quest: 7 releases on DS for 12.5 million, an additional 900K for 2 games on the Wii, and 110K for 1 game on PSP.
Final Fantasy: 3 releases on Wii for 630K, 6 releases on 360 for 2.3M sales, 1 release on PS3 for 4.26M, 8 releases on DS for a total of 6.85 million, 7 releases on PSP for a total of 6 million.
Totals:
Dragon Quest = 13.5 million
Final Fantasy = 20 million
Total releases:
Dragon Quest = 10
Final Fantasy = 31
Average sales:
Dragon Quest = 1.35 million
Final Fantasy = 646K
My thoughts:
Final Fantasy has been a very used name since its inception, spawing sub-series almost immediately; Dragon Quest since about DQ4 when they released a side-game based on DQ4. So don't be surprised by the number of different releases in the franchise. As I see it, Final Fantasy has two major releases left (FF13-2 on PS3 and also on Xbox 360) and Dragon Quest has two (Dragon Quest X, and Dragon Quest VI), with Dragon Quest's releases having the greater sales potential; although this generation is effectively approaching its close. I expect both series will have their strongest appearance in the next generation on the 3DS.
Final Fantasy, despite winning in total sales, seems to be the weaker brand nowadays. Dragon Quest 9 is on its way to selling 5 million very soon (currently at 4.85 million and selling ~25-30K per week), whereas Final Fantasy 13 sold 4.26 million on PS3, and 1.35 million on Xbox 360 for a total of about 5.61 million. Final Fantasy is still much stronger outside of Japan, but Dragon Quest is not doing terribly, with 1.3 million sales in the west this generation.
The irony is that Dragon Quest was actually originally made with the idea of having a greater appeal to western audiences than Japanese audiences (DQ is largely focussed on medieval western fantasy themes, whereas Final Fantasy focuses more on Japanese sci-fi themes). I would guess that Dragon Quest will have a greater western audience on 3DS; DQX looks as though it could potentially fall after the release of Nintendo's next console (which I expect for release in 14 months), which will negatively impact its success over here.
The franchises are much closer this gen than previous generations (I included all remakes and sub-franchises as well; I wish I had downloadable title numbers, because there are more Final Fantasy titles including FF7, FF8, FF Tactics, FF4 AY, FF1, and FF4). Final Fantasy appeared on all major consoles, while Dragon Quest appeared only on DS, PSP, and Wii:
Dragon Quest: 7 releases on DS for 12.5 million, an additional 900K for 2 games on the Wii, and 110K for 1 game on PSP.
Final Fantasy: 3 releases on Wii for 630K, 6 releases on 360 for 2.3M sales, 1 release on PS3 for 4.26M, 8 releases on DS for a total of 6.85 million, 7 releases on PSP for a total of 6 million.
Totals:
Dragon Quest = 13.5 million
Final Fantasy = 20 million
Total releases:
Dragon Quest = 10
Final Fantasy = 31
Average sales:
Dragon Quest = 1.35 million
Final Fantasy = 646K
My thoughts:
Final Fantasy has been a very used name since its inception, spawing sub-series almost immediately; Dragon Quest since about DQ4 when they released a side-game based on DQ4. So don't be surprised by the number of different releases in the franchise. As I see it, Final Fantasy has two major releases left (FF13-2 on PS3 and also on Xbox 360) and Dragon Quest has two (Dragon Quest X, and Dragon Quest VI), with Dragon Quest's releases having the greater sales potential; although this generation is effectively approaching its close. I expect both series will have their strongest appearance in the next generation on the 3DS.
Final Fantasy, despite winning in total sales, seems to be the weaker brand nowadays. Dragon Quest 9 is on its way to selling 5 million very soon (currently at 4.85 million and selling ~25-30K per week), whereas Final Fantasy 13 sold 4.26 million on PS3, and 1.35 million on Xbox 360 for a total of about 5.61 million. Final Fantasy is still much stronger outside of Japan, but Dragon Quest is not doing terribly, with 1.3 million sales in the west this generation.
The irony is that Dragon Quest was actually originally made with the idea of having a greater appeal to western audiences than Japanese audiences (DQ is largely focussed on medieval western fantasy themes, whereas Final Fantasy focuses more on Japanese sci-fi themes). I would guess that Dragon Quest will have a greater western audience on 3DS; DQX looks as though it could potentially fall after the release of Nintendo's next console (which I expect for release in 14 months), which will negatively impact its success over here.
-Insert Inspiring Quote-