Whenever a new game in the Dragon Quest series launches the whole of Japan seems to come to a standstill for a few days. Millions of copies are bought and several days are spent completing it. But with the release of Dragon Quest X, more than just a few days will be lost to the game.
Square Enix has now confirmed that Dragon Quest X will be released on August 2 in its home territory. The thing that makes this game different from what has come before in the series is the fact it is an online game for the Wii.
Being an MMO it has a few more requirements than your typical Wii title. First of all, the game will ship on two discs and will require a USB memory card with at least 16GB of free space. Square Enix has actually decided to ship two versions of the game because of this–one with a 16GB memory card included, the other without.
As well as paying out for a new memory card, there will be a subscription payment required. 30, 60, and 90 day options are available, which can be paid for using Wii Points or via a credit card. Square Enix has also been quite stingy with the free play time, giving players just 20 days rather than the more typical 30 before a payment is required.
The game is also set to get a release on the Wii U. With the Wii version now confirmed to be released several months before the Wii U is available, it seems likely Nintendo may push for it to be a launch title for its new console. Having a Dragon Quest game for launch would certainly help, especially if it offers a few additions over the Wii version, e.g. clever use of the tablet interface and a major content expansion.
Nintendo will most likely count Dragon Quest X as the last big hit for its ageing machine. As with all games in the series, it will sell millions of copies as well as helping to boost Wii console sales one last time.
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