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DQ's Hori, "once the smartphone boom settles, home consoles will be the focus again"

T

Theognosis

Member
True. As indication, my family purchased a ton of games for iOS and Android from 2011 to 2013. Now only my wife is into it (Castle Clash and Candy Crush). I've uninstalled all games on my device save for Virtual Pool. Everybody else has moved on to Steam, Wii U, 3DS and PS4.

Mobile gaming could end up like Facebook gaming which is on life support. Developers of mobile games should switch to traditional consoles before it's too late or they will go the way of Zynga and Rovio.
 
M

Mr. RPG

Member
Dragon Quest XI is definitely going to be on consoles. He's been hinting at it all year.

Question is, PS4 or Wii U, or both?
 
S

SparkTR

Member
Theognosis said:
Mobile gaming could end up like Facebook gaming which is on life support. Developers of mobile games should switch to traditional consoles before it's too late or they will go the way of Zynga and Rovio.
Click to expand...

A lot of the big mobile developers, especially in Japan, just recently switched or expanded from consoles to mobile.
 
T

Talax

Member
Mr. RPG said:
Dragon Quest XI is definitely going to be on consoles. He's been hinting at it all year.

Question is, PS4 or Wii U, or both?
Click to expand...

DQ usually goes to the highest selling console in a gen. Judging by that, the probable option is PS4 but 3DS may also be an option for now.
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
Mr. RPG said:
Dragon Quest XI is definitely going to be on consoles. He's been hinting at it all year.

Question is, PS4 or Wii U, or both?
Click to expand...

It would be a smart move to do multi-platform to be honest. But Japan is a weird place, so we'll see.

I'm hoping for at least Wii U, PS4, PS3. Xbox as well if they feel it's worth it. There's really no reason for third party titles to be console exclusive anymore.
 
È

装甲悪鬼村正

Banned
I don't know about the resurgence of consoles but I'm fairly certain that the mobile market as it is right now in Japan is not very "future-proof". There will be a breaking point where the same shitty gachapon F2P mechanics will stop drawing in big audiences, it's kind of inevitable.
 
P

Psycho_Mantis

Banned
DQ11 should be coming out in 2016, so I'm not certain PS3 is getting it. I'm sure PS4 will get it. 3DS sounds like a safe bet as well.
 
G

gundamkyoukai

Member
Eteric Rice said:
It would be a smart move to do multi-platform to be honest. But Japan is a weird place, so we'll see.

I'm hoping for at least Wii U, PS4, PS3. Xbox as well if they feel it's worth it. There's really no reason for third party titles to be console exclusive anymore.
Click to expand...

That really depends on game and the resources the devs have .
 
C

crinale

Member
I still think 3DS is the most viable option for DQ11 but Horii has been teasing console version all along, so maybe multiplatform release?

1. 3DS Exclusive
2. 3DS-PS4-PS3 multiplat
3. PS4-PS3 multiplat

This is my current guess of possibility, highest to lowest. Now where WiiU fits in here is very difficult.. I was going to say WiiU is included in multiplat before knowing about DQH.
 
E

Earthpainting

Member
While I can see the mobile bubble bursting, and Dragon Quest moving back to home consoles, but I do disagree with him a bit on handhelds. The cat's out of the bag with that one in Japan. It's simply more compatible and convenient with certain lifestyles, and I just don't see that changing any time soon. Livingspaces are modest in size, commutes are common and long, and their most popular genres are perfectly suited for the smaller screens.

Though I suppose he has been hinting at a multiplatform and thus possibly home console version of DQ11 for a while now, plus his parent company is heavily banking on home consoles, so it's not a shock he would say such thing in interviews. I doubt the interview would have been allowed to get published if it wasn't at least somewhat on message.
 
S

Shengar

Member
Chezzymann said:
Eh, I disagree. I feel that once the smart phone boom settles the market will mature and we'll get out of this free to play craze, allowing for developers to make more traditional games at a higher price and result in much higher quality titles. Combine that with attachable controllers (hopefully) becoming standardized and eventually I see smart phones being looked upon as the default gaming device to the general population, just like how consoles replaced arcades as the default gaming device.
Click to expand...

Really? Console will rise again is highly unlikely that's for sure, but smartphone replacing it as default gaming device? Does PS2 DVD compability renders standalone DVD player obsolote? It isn't right? They key word is the main purpose of the device.

And we've into second or third year since Smartphone and there isn't any controller that manage to take off. Also playing a smartphone with controller add-on is killing what makes it popular in Japan in the first play: the ability to play it with only one hand while commuting.
 
F

FyreWulff

Member
Talax said:
DQ usually goes to the highest selling console in a gen. Judging by that, the probable option is PS4 but 3DS may also be an option for now.
Click to expand...

The largest current gen install base in Japan is the Wii U, however.

There's a reason you're still seeing new Japanese PS3 games announced exclusive to that system. It has the largest HD install base there.

So if they announce it for PS4, they better be releasing it in the West as fast as possible, otherwise I have no idea what they are doing..
 
D

Dark_castle

Junior Member
YaEiokx.gif
 
S

Shengar

Member
SparkTR said:
A lot of the big mobile developers, especially in Japan, just recently switched or expanded from consoles to mobile.
Click to expand...

Games which dominates the top earner still from mobile-centered developers though. Big developers usually just scrap the sides of the barrel despite their huge effort.
 
H

hidys

Member
If he is talking about the Western markets then lol.

If he is talking about Japan then double lol, christ console gaming is on its last legs there and I don't think it will experience some kind of mass resurrection.

I wouldn't get any big ideas if I was him.
 
S

Shengar

Member
clay_ghost said:
SE is doing quite well so far.
Click to expand...

Yeah SE is come in mind, especially with their card game Shingeki no Bahamut doing well.
But if you make expectation on size alone, other big companies namely Capcom should doing good as well, at least as much as SE. The truth is the top earner still dominated by mobile centered publishers such us Gungho and, uh I forget its name. Their size (don't know their current size but I assume before they game went hit) isn't comparable to those giants and yet they dominate the market.
 
F

FourMyle

Member
Would be amazing to get a DQ with PS4 level visuals. Would be even more amazing if they also released it on PC!

Hoping for that but still expecting a 3DS game since the PS4 is selling so horrendously in Japan.
 
P

Psycho_Mantis

Banned
hidys said:
If he is talking about the Western markets then lol.

If he is talking about Japan then double lol, christ console gaming is on its last legs there and I don't think it will experience some kind of mass resurrection.

I wouldn't get any big ideas if I was him.
Click to expand...

too late :p

Whether or not this increases is what we will be working hard towards in the future.
Click to expand...
 
L

Longsword

Member
In the ideal world, we'd have a situation where all the platforms are healthy, be it console, PC, mobile and handheld. But really it is the consumer behavior that will determine what games the publishers fund. Japan needs a massive home console financial hit from a new IP in order to re-ignite the investment in home console development.

As the financial results of SQ showed, their revenue comes increasingly from mobile, and that's where they will invest in. Hopefully the new FF bucks the trend -variety is good.

Still looking forward to the DQ!
 
Z

Zekra Dezivad

Member
crinale said:
I still think 3DS is the most viable option for DQ11 but Horii has been teasing console version all along, so maybe multiplatform release?

1. 3DS Exclusive
2. 3DS-PS4-PS3 multiplat
3. PS4-PS3 multiplat

This is my current guess of possibility, highest to lowest. Now where WiiU fits in here is very difficult.. I was going to say WiiU is included in multiplat before knowing about DQH.
Click to expand...

I'm starting to think that DQ11 is far far away. 2016 at the earliest or 2017, I think.
3DS sales worldwide are already collapsing, Japan will follow because the platform ha already reached its peak.
I don't understand what is the problem, and why they don't have a DQ11 3DS already on the market or coming in less than a year, but I think that the project is very early and is hard to see a viable healthy japanese-only option for a mainline DQ11 two or three years from now.
 
F

Fraxin

Member
GhostTrick said:
I'd be surprised if it didn't released on 3DS or next Nintendo handheld. Now... surprises aren't surprising anymore :p
If it's set to be released on home console, then I hope that we'll see a PC version too, as DQX did get one.
Click to expand...

Dragon Quest X is an MMO, so its a totally different case. Just like I mentioned in a previous thread, I don't see a point of releasing it on PC due to the sales of PC games in Japan. Dragon Quest is a franchise that tries to appeal to the Japanese audience first and foremost.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
If mobile gaming succumbed to fad status the way motion controls did, that would be spiffing indeed. Unfortunately, I get the nasty feeling that this "smartphone boom" will linger a lot longer than waggle ever did.
 
K

kurahador

Member
Shion said:
Looks like he wants to resurrect the Japanese console industry.

That's quite an ambitious plan.
Click to expand...

Well, DQ is big in japan. It can make toaster a viable gaming platform there if it comes out on it.

Hori saying this can only means great news to us gamers.
 
O

Oregano

Member
He is wrong and honestly if he's targeting a console only release of DQXI then he is going to be lucky to sell half of what DQIX did. Even worse if it's a PS4 game.

It will not affect the quality of the game and it will likely be the best looking console game out there but he has to know going in that he is sacrificing success for quality.
 
K

Kenai

Member
That's only a viable plan if it's multiplat. He might be hoping Wii U or PS4 take off but I don't see them outpacing the 3DS in Japan, let alone smartphones. Certainly not this gen anyway. Otherwise they are gonna have to stick to portables (or break tradition and go with a niche platform I guess)
 
C

curlyfriski

Banned
Horii: Ah, Grand Theft Auto. This was the first game that employed the open world system. Instead of being forced down a certain path they put you in an open world and let you do whatever you want. This seems to be the genre most popular in the foreign market. Doing whatever you want in a game that doesn't give you instructions requires a certain talent, a playing talent; And if you don't have it you really have no idea what to do in an open space that doesn't tell you were to go. I think this is one of the reasons most Western games don't hit big in Japan.

Horii: The ability to play sounds like a pretty good way to describe it. People who aren't really good at games seem to stay away from them. This seems to currently be the problem with adults in Japan. In terms of Japanese core gamers how many do you think are in Japan?
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm gonna take everything he says with a grain of salt.
 
KiTA

KiTA

Member
Talax said:
DQ usually goes to the highest selling console in a gen. Judging by that, the probable option is PS4 but 3DS may also be an option for now.
Click to expand...

Eh. Your logic doesn't hold up unless we're disqualifying both the 3DS and the WiiU, as both have outsold the PS4. Heck, the 3DS across it's 3 versions is selling something like 125k units a week, way higher than the PS4's 8-9k.

If it's not the 3DS, then I'm kinda in the mutliplatform camp -- at the very least, if it's coming for PS4 there will be a PS3 version.

Actually... That makes me wonder if we'll ever see a "WiiU / 3DS" simultaneous release of a big name title. The game game, except the WiiU version uses the Gamepad as the second screen (and better graphics, of course).

Bonus points if you can sync save games between the two -- like when the 3DS sees itself in range of the WiiU it uses something akin to streetpass ("Syncpass?") to make sure both have the latest save file. That would be kinda interesting, you'd get Horii's desire for big screen along with the 3DS sales and portability. You'd have to do the graphics and engine twice, though... Hm...
 
J

Jigorath

Banned
His quote isn't true in Japan, they're only going to get more smartphone focused as time goes on. Though this does imply the next DQ is going to PS4/PS3 which makes me very happy. Square might be trying to make the franchise more popular in the West and if that's the case PS4 is the best route to go. Or maybe they'll pull a Smash Bros and make two different games, one for 3DS and one for PS4.
 
K

Katana_Strikes

Member
I'm praying DQ finally returns to console. Not just for the fact that jRPGs are thin on the ground, but DQVIII was heavenly and I want that experience again with bigger production values on the big screen, in glorious HD.

No reason why they can't run it alongside a handheld too for Japan. Level 5 managed it with NiNoKuni.
 
T

Talax

Member
KiTA said:
Eh. Your logic doesn't hold up unless we're disqualifying both the 3DS and the WiiU, as both have outsold the PS4. Heck, the 3DS across it's 3 versions is selling something like 125k units a week, way higher than the PS4's 8-9k.

If it's not the 3DS, then I'm kinda in the mutliplatform camp -- at the very least, if it's coming for PS4 there will be a PS3 version.

Actually... That makes me wonder if we'll ever see a "WiiU / 3DS" simultaneous release of a big name title. The game game, except the WiiU version uses the Gamepad as the second screen (and better graphics, of course).

Bonus points if you can sync save games between the two -- like when the 3DS sees itself in range of the WiiU it uses something akin to streetpass ("Syncpass?") to make sure both have the latest save file. That would be kinda interesting, you'd get Horii's desire for big screen along with the 3DS sales and portability. You'd have to do the graphics and engine twice, though... Hm...
Click to expand...
I was talking about worldwide base but now that I think about it, DQ mainly sells in Japan so that was a wrong comparison. WiiU and 3DS would probably be the better standalone options as you said.
 
P

Philippo

Member
I first though DQXI would be PS3/4, but since the game will be out in 2016 at the earliest, by then PS3 will be pretty much dead and FFXV, MGSV, BloodBorne, P5 and other 2015 and 2016 will sure push a considerable amount of next-gen units.

But then there would still be the risk that PS4 install base would still be too low in comparison to SE expectations, so what, a PS4/3DS release?
But how would that work? Two completely different versions, two dev teams, same plot/characters/systems etc. but different graphics/others? Wouldn't that still be more expensive than developing a PS4 version alone? Sure, that could allow to sell way more units, but to me that just seems like focusless.

PS4/WiiU maybe? Where WiiU substitutes the og PS3 version, while still being healty in 2016 opposite to the latter.

Agh now i'm just curious, when do you think we'll get an announcement?

At least i'm quite confident it'll come to PS4, that's what matters to me :)
 
sublimit

sublimit

Banned
Yuji: All together regardless of genre, I think there's about 500,000 core gamers in Japan. Whether or not this increases is what we will be working hard towards in the future.
Click to expand...

More signs that the next DQ could be a home console game.
 
H

hoos30

Member
This prediction is less likely to come true than any I have read in months, even years.

Even if lifestyles were to somehow revert to pre-mobile tendencies, does Japan even have the demographics to support such a switch?

I put this in the category of "good luck".
 
T

Triplicates

Member
A one-off game won't do it; it's not possible without a concerted effort. On the whole, Japanese publishers have shown neither the will nor the talent to keep current with console technology. When Japan figures out a reliable way to make money on mobiles (make no mistake, this is on the verge of happening), the console focus will not return.

Another dimension less frequently discussed is human resources. It's rather telling that the high profile console developers of Japan are the same ones from the 1980s-1990s. Even if these companies wanted to restore a capacity for console development that could radically alter Japanese trend lines and sustain itself on the back of a rapidly shrinking market, I'm not convinced there are even enough software developers left in the country, who have the interest and requisite years of training and experience, to lead such an effort.
 
S

Shengar

Member
By the boom ends, it means that the growth become stagnant/not as rapid like the current situation, which of course will eventually happened. The thing is, the Japanese demographic couldn't reverse the trend back to console. Heck, one might argue that the same negative demographic also the one will cause smartphone boom in Japan hit its limit faster.
 
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