Famitsu Editor-in-Chief Hirokazu Hamamura has looked into his crystal ball and has opinions about how Dragon Quest IX will do in 2009. And it'll do mega, he forecasts.
According to Hamamura, "March [DQIX's launch month] will be bigger than the year-end sales war. Even side-stories (such as Dragon Quest Monsters) have sold a million copies, and the previous title in the series (DQVIII) sold 3 million plus. It [DQIX] should be expected to sell from 4 million to 5 million copies."
Dragon Quest cuts through such a wide range of gamers in Japan — from casual to hardcore — that Hamamura's prediction doesn't seem like he's pulling numbers out of thin air.
And the DSi definitely looks like it'll benefit from the DQIX juggernaut. Hamamura explains: "During the first half of 2008, DS sales were starting to drop, but then the DSi came out. And with Dragon Quest IX, it was terrific timing on Nintendo's part."
０８～０９ゲーム展望：ドラクエ５００万本で業界を引っ張る 浜村弘一社長に聞く [Mainichi]