Square Enix has brought two Dragon Quest games to the West this year, Dragon Quest Builders for PS4 and Dragon Quest VII for the Nintendo 3DS, and while they may have gone under the radar compared to other titles, the game publisher is committed to continue bringing the franchise to the West.
In an interview with MCVUK, Dragon Quest Builders producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto spoke about the game and the franchise in general. He noted how the franchise is doing in the West and confirmed Square Enix’s commitment to making Dragon Quest a household name.
Fujimoto noted while Dragon Quest is "not as well known in the West as we would like, [the franchise] really plays an epoch-making role in the console gaming history." The publisher sees a great opportunity to now expand the series to a larger audience who "may be surprised to the sheer breadth of the universe, in terms of variety and depth."
Citing Dragon Quest Builders as a great first step in that direction, Fujimoto added that Square Enix is "committed to bringing more Dragon Quest titles in the West," and the publisher "believe[s] it truly has potential to succeed even better."
Dragon Quest Builders was released in October in the West and has sold more than half a million copies in Japan since its release in January. However, Dragon Quest VII, a remake for the Nintendo 3DS, debuted at number 12 in the UK back in September and has made a significant impact in sales since.
With all that said, Square Enix’s commitment to bring the Dragon Quest series to Western audiences is a testament to the franchise’s success over the years and perhaps that will begin to show in regions outside of Japan.
The next title in the franchise will be Dragon Quest XI, which will release on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and 3DS. There is no firm release date for the game in Japan, but Square Enix is hoping to release the title before May 27, 2017.
What do you think of more Dragon Quest games coming to the West? Sound off in the comments section below.
