Kotaku
As we reported last night, Square-Enix is bringing its top-selling RPG franchise Dragon Quest to the Nintendo DS. The real one. Not another slime adventure. And not a spin-off. The genuine article.
This came as quite a shock to pretty much every console role-playing game fan and nearly every console fanboy who aligns himself or herself with a single company. Following a Nintendo Inside story that Square-Enix would announce a new DQ title yesterday, speculation ran wild, with Xbox fans praying for Eastern salvation via another RPG exclusive. Nintendo fans followed suit, hoping that DS-like success would transfer to the Wii, netting the company a proper Dragon Quest game, not a Wii-mote slashing spin-off. The PlayStation crowd sat smugly, waiting for the impending PlayStation 3 announcement.
Then Squenix carpet bombed the brains of Dragon Quest fans and message board trolls with the facts: Dragon Quest IX. Nintendo DS. Network play. End of 2007. Total brain annihilation.
So why did the company go in that direction? And what does it mean to the success of the PlayStation 3 in Japan and the future of Dragon Quest? Nintendo's... damnit, I keep doing that... Wired's Chris Kohler takes an insightful look at the impact of this RPG megaton announcement and how it benefits Square-Enix. It's a good read, so read it.
