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

Darius

Banned
Horii seems quite nervous and concerned, so far I haven´t seen him ever be this talkactive and actually also kind of pathetic with paraphrased comments like "the savior of console gaming". It seems the decisions maybe even some deals? were made before PS4s performance in Japan were known., right after its good performance in USA.

2008: 980k
2009: 1.7 million
2010: 1.5 million
2011: 1.5 million
2012: 1.2 million

XIII played a big part in this and marked a long period of improved sales for the system.

Here also the numbers for 2007.
2007: 1.2 million

2009 also had the launch of the first PS3 revision, alongside Tales of Vesperia and a decent price drop, not just FF13. This explains the slightly better performance compared to the following years.

PS3 sales have been pretty much consistent with 2008 beeing the only outlier, before the start of the current generation with WiiU. And to have all yearly "complete year" sales so far:

2013: 850k
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
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.

I'd be to the moon with joy if we got a console DQ with Ni No Kuni-level visuals...
 

OmegaDL50

Member
I doubt it is going to be exclusive. Probably multiplatform.

I think it's more likely it being a PS3 + PS4 project rather than just PS4.

I mean at least the PS3 has considerable userbase in Japan, which is Dragon Quest's primary audience to sell to.

If Horii wants to release a console Dragon Quest, then he will need to go half-way in the sense of releasing on a console that has substantial userbase that exists in Japan, as well viable to market in the west.

Considering the trend DQ tends to sell on the platform with the largest userbase, taking this at the console angle, the PS3 outpaces the Wii U in this regard, and the West, the PS4 currently is fits that role.

This is why I think a PS3 + PS4 title may be the most logical.

As for those who complain about cross gen, Dragon Quest is not a series that pushes graphical boundaries, considering it's art style. Considering anime-style celshaded titles on the PS3 such as Ni no Kuni, or the Naruto Ninja Storm titles, it's not like DQ can't be represented well on the PS3 without detriment to the PS4.

You think SE can announce and release this game in the same year?

An announcement doesn't mean a game just started development. It just means it's bringing the games existence to the attention of the public.

PS3 will probably wind down by late 2016, but doesn't prevent releases for to happen, as example with the PS2 which had games coming out for even after the PS3 being available for 2 full years.
 

wmlk

Member
boom

bam

botta-bop

bom

pow

3eg3pfl9er8bu69lv3aanxn5c.320x240x71.gif


overreaction general
 

KoopaTheCasual

Junior Member
I think he's wrong.

Home consoles will never return on Japan. The use of portable consoles (and now smartphones) fit better with the modern lifestyle. Specially now that portable and smartphones are powerful enought to fit all videogame genres and experiences (even sandbox games) without problems.
The very existence of Smash 3DS proves you wrong. The amount of content and scope cut from the Wii U version, just to get it to run on a handheld, seems like a "problem".
 

wmlk

Member
The very existence of Smash 3DS proves you wrong. The amount of content and scope cut from the Wii U version, just to get it to run on a handheld, seems like a "problem".

That's negligible when you have Monster Hunter, Yōkai Watch, Pokémon, and DQ on handhelds.

The stuff that matters.

Heck, Smash 3DS is going bonkers in Japan right now.



Personally, I could care less about how powerful a game is supposed to be as long as I think it's worth buying. All those games I listed are limited by their hardware, but people definitely bought them because they thought it was worth it.
 
Hey guys remember the video game crash in the 80's? Games were dead and Nintendo brought them back. Smart phone games are shallow and I think if developers support home consoles, gamers will respond.
 

Kenai

Member
Dedicated handhelds are far more likely to die first (vs. home consoles). But I would think everything would just end up on smartphones.

In Japan? I just don't see it.

I think if consoles are going to be relevant again they are gonna have to better support the handhelds when the users get back to the house/apartment somehow.
 

wmlk

Member
Dedicated handhelds are far more likely to die first (vs. home consoles). But I would think everything would just end up on smartphones.

Nintendo's supposed hybrid system could be really interesting since it sounds like a risky venture.

I really hope they do well with that one. If that's a dud, handhelds are dead in Japan.
 

thuway

Member
DQ11 isn't coming out next year. 2016 is the anniversary, and almost certainly when it'll be released.

Would it be that hard to port this thing to every major platform? I imagine if they are cutting their teeth on a cross-generational title such as Dragon Quest Heroes; they'd have no issue making it for Wii U, PS3, PS4, and PC.
 

KoopaTheCasual

Junior Member
That's negligible when you have Monster Hunter, Yōkai Watch, Pokémon, and DQ on handhelds.

The stuff that matters.

Heck, Smash 3DS is going bonkers in Japan right now.
But mine and his comment have absolutely nothing to do with sales. They're strictly about how well all genres translate. And some genres don't translate at all, and some games like Smash, end up gimped.

Obviously the gimping will be less of an issue in the future, but some genres like fighting games are just straight up inferior on handhelds.
 

Kenai

Member
But mine and his comment have absolutely nothing to do with sales. They're strictly about how well all genres translate. And some genres don't translate at all, and some games like Smash, end up gimped.

Obviously the gimping will be less of an issue in the future, but some genres like fighting games are just straight up inferior on handhelds.

Consoles probably won't outright die but a lot of the games that lose out a lot by appearing on handhelds (like shooters, fighters and MMOs, for example) are pretty niche in Japan iirc outside of maybe one or two select titles. Considering how small the PC market in Japan is too i don't think that's going to be a very strong pillar to rely on.
 

wmlk

Member
But mine and his comment have absolutely nothing to do with sales. They're strictly about how well all genres translate. And some genres don't translate at all, and some games like Smash, end up gimped.

Obviously the gimping will be less of an issue in the future, but some genres like fighting games are just straight up inferior on handhelds.

The gimping is due to hardware constraints. Like you said, that gets better over time and I think it's gotten to a point where it's negligible.

Smash on 3DS is restricted, yes, but there's a reason why Sakurai wanted the 3DS game out first. There's more work put into the Wii U version. Sakurai basically admitted as much.

My point was that it really doesn't matter how 'gimped' games may be as long as people have an option to play it on their preferred hardware.
 
Going console only would be such a risky move at this juncture. I'm not sure Dragon Quest as a series could survive such a thing. The audience is certainly not there in Japan to sustain such a venture and single player console RPGs in the West don't do as well as they once did. The odds are certainly stacked against Hori.
 

Fraxin

Member
Would it be that hard to port this thing to every major platform? I imagine if they are cutting their teeth on a cross-generational title such as Dragon Quest Heroes; they'd have no issue making it for Wii U, PS3, PS4, and PC.

I don't think there is any reason to port it there. The game might actually bomb, given the Japanese audience lack of interest in PC gaming.
 
I gotta say I agree. Honestly I just dont think mobile gaming has the staying power of consoles/true portable gaming devices. Remember facebook gaming? Yea where is it now? Zynga who? Even now Rovio/angry birds are no where near as popular as they used to be. The mobile crowd tends to be pretty fickle. Mobile gaming is incredibly limited. No matter how pretty your graphics are handheld touch gaming just can't compete and eventually people will simply lose interest in it or it'll be a gateway device to actual gaming systems. Honestly mobile gaming reminds me of those cheap tiger electronic games. They were simply quick and cheap to play but could not completely capture the actual feeling real gaming.
 
Nintendo's supposed hybrid system could be really interesting since it sounds like a risky venture.

I really hope they do well with that one. If that's a dud, handhelds are dead in Japan.

There is no supposed hybrid system.
There never was one.
And there won´t be one in the next 6-10 years.
You just took an internet hoax for a real story.
 

RamzaIsCool

The Amiga Brotherhood
The gimping is due to hardware constraints. Like you said, that gets better over time and I think it's gotten to a point where it's negligible.

Smash on 3DS is restricted, yes, but there's a reason why Sakurai wanted the 3DS game out first. There's more work put into the Wii U version. Sakurai basically admitted as much.

My point was that it really doesn't matter how 'gimped' games may be as long as people have an option to play it on their preferred hardware.

Maybe Horii has a vision of the next DQ that simply isn't possible on the 3DS? You guys can talk sales and stuff all you want, but if it isn't possible it isn't possible. They axed the previous gen versions of FFXV because of that very same reason.
 

Paracelsus

Member
Lmao at people thinking this is a good idea. (it's really not)

I'd be okay with 3DS only if DQXI on it could push the same amount of polygons and a similar scope as DQVIII. No chibi anything under the pretense it's cute. I don't know if it can, maybe tech-gaf knows.
 

wmlk

Member
There is no supposed hybrid system.
There never was one.
And there won´t be one in the next 6-10 years.
You just took an internet hoax for a real story.

You mean the Fusion? Out with that noise. I don't mean that crap.

I meant what Nintendo's board has been alluding to. The unification of handheld and console development.

I don't see whatever it is coming out in 3 years because of the n3DS, but whatever it is, I don't think it's gonna be a run-of-the-mill handheld.

Maybe Horii has a vision of the next DQ that simply isn't possible on the 3DS? You guys can talk sales and stuff all you want, but if it isn't possible it isn't possible. They axed the previous gen versions of FFXV because of that very same reason.

If Horii has some noble intention like that, then sure, that's awesome. I'll just have to see it to believe it. DQ never pushed any limits so I'm not exactly sure if it's something like that.

And FFXV's situation is totally different. It's not like they let the game sit for 6 years waiting for a better console. It just wasn't viable to release it on PS3 given the timing.

Sure, Nomura can say all he wants regarding the PS3 not being able to keep up with the car or whatever, but SE was still adamant in releasing it for PS3 until the eleventh hour. It just never happened.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
I'd be okay with 3DS only if DQXI on it could push the same amount of polygons and a similar scope as DQVIII. No chibi anything under the pretense it's cute. I don't know if it can, maybe tech-gaf knows.

At the same size and scope that Dragon Quest VIII was, probably not. N3DS most likely considering that is getting a port of Xenoblade.

But in all seriousness if you want another DQ on TV in similar scope that VIII was then probably best likely decision would be a PS3 + PS4 as I said in my previous post.

A DQXI on PS4 on it's own won't push the same audience expectations in Japan compared if it was on the PS3.

The PS3 already has built up a sizable userbase in Japan, which is why I feel a PS3 + PS4 release would be the best bet for a console release for all the reasons I've mentioned previously.
 
You mean the Fusion? Out with that noise. I don't mean that crap.

I meant what Nintendo's board has been alluding to. The unification of handheld and hardware development.

I don't see whatever it is coming out in 3 years because of the n3DS, but whatever it is, I don't think it's gonna be a run-of-the-mill handheld.

They commited to at least one more handheld and home console. They just unified the software development for it. I expect the next handheld to interact much more with the then fully established nintendo ecosystem but i will be just that - a handheld.
 

Seventy70

Member
Many people are satisfied with getting their gaming needs on mobile and I can't see that stopping anytime soon. I think the mobile market will continue to grow and game companies will begin to move over to mobile as the profits for mobile games increase. However, that doesn't mean console gaming will die. As long as there is some demand for consoles, they will exist. That doesn't mean they will be the main focus though.

Anyone saying that mobile gaming will die and won't take a bit out of the console market is in denial.
 

wmlk

Member
Level 5 has been hiring for some big game, and who knows what it is? After Ni No Kuni in 2011 they've stuck to handhelds for the most part, and their anticipated PS4 game was the half-baked Wonder Flick.

I dunno, in some alternate reality they could be serving as code-monkeys for the next DQ game like DQVIII and DQIX. I certainly hope so. SE's internal staff are taxed as it is.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
Who cares about the aesthetics as long as it plays good?

It's not so much aesthetics but rather world size and scope. Which are gameplay considerations in terms of content.

DQVIII as a whole had much more do in terms of exploration, locales, world design compared to than semi-online centric DQIX with it's randomized grotto quests taking up a significant portion of the post game, after the rather short main quest.
 
It's not so much aesthetics but rather world size and scope. Which are gameplay considerations in terms of content.r

DQVIII as a whole had much more do in terms of exploration, locales, world design compared to than semi-online centric DQIX with it's randomized grotto quests taking up a significant portion of the post game, after the rather short main quest.
It's part of what SE intended for the gamplay design, DQ 7does that without pushing the ps1 hardware at all.
 

Kyoufu

Member
Next Years DQXI announcement Thread will be glorius, DQIX Thread redeemed.

The long-awaited return of kermit.gif

Don't think it'll be announced next year though unless they have no problem with splitting attention with FFXV. Aeana seems to think it will be released by the anniversary in 2016 so I'm probably off the mark here.
 

wmlk

Member
The long-awaited return of kermit.gif

Don't think it'll be announced next year though unless they have no problem with splitting attention with FFXV. Aeana seems to think it will be released by the anniversary in 2016 so I'm probably off the mark here.

I really think this only works if it's shipped to another development house like Level 5.

SE has too many AAA games on their plate as it is right now.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
It's part of what SE intended for the gamplay design, DQ 7does that without pushing the ps1 hardware at all.

Yes but I don't think anyone is realistically expecting DQXI to look like a PS1 game.

Matching the aesthetics of Toriyama's non-chibi artstyle, while retaining the large scope of the world in terms of exploration and quest length can we honestly expect the 3DS not being a detriment in achieving in something on similar to DQVIII on it's scale and exceeding / improving upon that.

That remains to be seen.
 
Lmao at people thinking this is a good idea. (it's really not)

well if it means we get a beautiful and massive dragon quest game on consoles again and the creator gets to fulfil his creative desires then......yeah it is a good idea.

The long-awaited return of kermit.gif

Don't think it'll be announced next year though unless they have no problem with splitting attention with FFXV. Aeana seems to think it will be released by the anniversary in 2016 so I'm probably off the mark here.

If its coming 2016 I would think an announcement would be made in 2015.
 
well if it means we get a beautiful and massive dragon quest game on consoles again and the creator gets to fulfil his creative desires then......yeah it is a good idea.



If its coming 2016 I would think an announcement would be made in 2015.


Well SE did changed DQ9 based on Japanese Fans reaction so he still have to gauge on what the Japanese Fans wants vs his desires (Not that I think they don't want a HD DQ but it's very likely a lot of them want to play it on portables too.)
 
Dedicated handhelds are far more likely to die first (vs. home consoles). But I would think everything would just end up on smartphones.
Explicitly in the Japanese market?

Home consoles will be all but dead this generation. The entire market for home consoles is going to be a struggle to reach 10 million units. I don't think they will. I'm thinking the marketshare for all three combined will be well under the 8 million unit mark. Given how low the weekly floor for sales are across all three platforms.

Handhelds will still be in the 20-25 million unit range.
 
Yes but I don't think anyone is realistically expecting DQXI to look like a PS1 game.

Matching the aesthetics of Toriyama's non-chibi artstyle, while retaining the large scope of the world in terms of exploration and quest length can we honestly expect the 3DS not being a detriment in achieving in something on similar to DQVIII on it's scale and exceeding / improving upon that.

That remains to be seen.

DQVII exists on 3DS, and it's beautiful.


The long-awaited return of kermit.gif

Don't think it'll be announced next year though unless they have no problem with splitting attention with FFXV. Aeana seems to think it will be released by the anniversary in 2016 so I'm probably off the mark here.

DQIX and FFXIII were released during the same fiscal year: the former in July, the latter in December.
 
Well SE did changed DQ9 based on Japanese Fans reaction so he still have to gauge on what the Japanese Fans wants vs his desires (Not that I think they don't want a HD DQ but it's very likely a lot of them want to play it on portables too.)

Platforms are already decided if the game is coming out in 2016.
 
Something a lot of people in this thread have problem with

Being on home console does not necessarily mean being "beautiful and massive". I vastly preferred DQIX over DQVIII, and DS and 3DS remakes were gorgeous, and easily superior to the PS2 game (though being originally released on home consoles). Also, SQEX has proven to be highly capable on handheld platforms, in particular when it came to DQ.
 

Game Guru

Member
Nintendo's supposed hybrid system could be really interesting since it sounds like a risky venture.

I really hope they do well with that one. If that's a dud, handhelds are dead in Japan.

Nintendo is not and will not be making a hybrid system... What they are planning to make is a console and handheld that can run the same OS and software so that while Japan can continue to be happy with its handheld future, those outside Japan who prefer console gaming over handheld gaming can play those same games on Nintendo's console.
 
Something a lot of people in this thread have problem with

For me personally, I just don't see the point.

They will have completely switched MO by releasing it on assuredly the smallest marketshare device if they release exclusively on any home console this generation. If they release it for PS3/PS4/WiiU in 2016 they are still going to be releasing it for a smaller userbase than 3DS alone and one infinitely smaller than phones. Leading to what would be the lowest selling mainline entry into the series.

It makes very little fiscal sense.
 
Platforms are already decided if the game is coming out in 2016.
Which is why I don't think they will rule out mutilplatform for this game.

Make game on big screen that can still be supported by 3DS. They may go the 3DS DQX route again too although I doubt so.



Edit

Online streaming DQX for those who are unsure.
 
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