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ULTROS! · Jul 31, 2017

So we know that the DQ series is very popular in Japan, like hitting 2m++ units for mainline titles and 500k++ units for spinoffs/remakes, but why hasn't gained traction outside Japan? Though at least the mainline games post VII have done 1m++ units outside Japan.

Probably one reason I can think of is the design. Though the designs are very simple and cute, might it be the reason why it doesn't make DQ popular in the West? Or maybe it's the gameplay that doesn't make it attractive to others?

Jay Sosa · Jul 31, 2017

There has been one entry on a home console since the PS1 era, if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, make that 2.

Everyone I know loved Journey of the King on the Ps2.. that came out 13 freaking years ago.

TheSporkWithin · Jul 31, 2017

Part of it is that it's just a monolith of nostalgia in Japan. I don't think that there's a single IP that has the same sort of nostalgia factor to it in the west. Maybe Star Wars and/or Star Trek? (talking movies/TV only, not games)

Ahasverus · Jul 31, 2017

It looks kinda generic

Maxinas · Jul 31, 2017

Reused Music.

Toki767 · Jul 31, 2017

I always just kind of thought Final Fantasy just ate its lunch in the west.

Tohsaka · Jul 31, 2017

It's very old-school, and a lot of people don't like Toriyama's art so that doesn't help either.

LowParry · Jul 31, 2017

Well, it's sticking to traditional style of gameplay. Perhaps that style is not that popular?

Edit: Well, it worked for Persona 5 but that's a different beast.

stuminus3 · Jul 31, 2017

It's popular in my heart.

ULTROS! · Jul 31, 2017

Tohsaka said:
It's very old-school, and a lot of people don't like Toriyama's art so that doesn't help either.

But Toriyama did Dragon Ball too and that's popular in the West.

Zap Rowsdower · Jul 31, 2017

Most of the games didn't come over to the States for years and it didn't have a FF7 to catapult it to popularity here.

darkside31337 · Jul 31, 2017

Tohsaka said:
It's very old-school, and a lot of people don't like Toriyama's art so that doesn't help either.

Should just replace the entire cast with DBZ characters. Would boost sales tremendously.

aadiboy · Jul 31, 2017

VIII and IX did well over here, right? There hasn't been a new mainline entry since then. Also, I don't think the 3DS audience in the west took much to non-Nintendo games, which might be why all the 3DS entries sold so poorly here. I really think the PS4 is the key to JRPG sales in the west, which is why DQXI has a real chance to do well here.

TheGamingBox · Jul 31, 2017

no epic cgi cutscenes to use to sell the game in the west, those were the only reasons ff7 took off in the west

t26 · Jul 31, 2017

Missing Dragon Quest V and VI means you got a generation playing Final Fantasy instead.

Rncewind · Jul 31, 2017

rare releases and very bad marketing, in short

as i mentioned in the media create thread the marketing for DQ IX was not good

Dreamwriter · Jul 31, 2017

It is pretty popular, but I think the main reason it isnt *as* popular, is because they stopped releasing them. We got DragonQuest 1,2,3, and a limited released of DQ4 in the US. Then they didnt bring a single one over in the SNES era, so the series never got a chance to really take off, become a true classic series, like the Final Fantasy series did. There was a 9 year gap in the US between Dragon Warrior 4 and the next release, DragonQuest VII. Its even worse in Europe - they got the first game in the series, and then nothing else until DragonQuest VIII!

Tohsaka · Jul 31, 2017

ULTROS! said:
But Toriyama did Dragon Ball too and that's popular in the West.

Yeah it's popular, but not everyone likes it. I've seen plenty of people here on GAF and elsewhere online who've said they're not interested in the series at least partly because they don't like the art style.

James Scott · Jul 31, 2017

It a very basic JRPG and I'm not sure those are still popular in the west.
Didn't like 9 because of it.
8 was the last big budget console release and it's been quite a few years since then made worse by SE's handling of the brand outside of Japan.

Jay Sosa · Jul 31, 2017

Zap Rowsdower said:
Most of the games didn't come over to the States for years.

themagicalkitsune said:
Keep in mind Europe and Australia didn't know what Dragon Quest was until 2006 with VIII. That's barely more than a decade ago. In my eyes it's even impressive that a dedicated fanbase has been built there, and it even helped turn the tides of a few game localizations (VII & VIII on 3DS).

yep.. I mean how can you expect people to like something they can't actually play. There have been a trillion final fantasy and tales of something games in that same time span..

1upsuper · Jul 31, 2017

I think it's the result of a number of missteps -- overproducing DW1, underproducing 2-4, and then pretending the series didn't exist until 7 and Monsters years later. Since then SE hasn't put a lot of effort to advertise the games they do bother to localize.

Toriyama's art is polarizing for reasons I don't understand, but his impact on the games was virtually unknown in the west given the different artwork used in the west for the early titles. Monsters 1's US cover is absolutely abominable.

Blobbers · Jul 31, 2017

gotta be the marketing

the gameplay is sublime, the stories are for all ages, the artstyle is charming. step your game up already, SE

themagicalkitsune · Jul 31, 2017

Keep in mind Europe and Australia didn't know what Dragon Quest was until 2006 with VIII. That's barely more than a decade ago. In my eyes it's even impressive that a dedicated fanbase has been built there, and it even helped turn the tides of a few game localizations (VII & VIII on 3DS).

Mik317 · Jul 31, 2017

its Un-apologetically "old-school" with a lot of what I am sure fans would consider must have features being very much a product of their time. Other JRPGs constantly tried to shed those same tropes and features (while picking up new ones lol) and it worked for a while.

I think thats great tho...now there aren't many games like a Dragon Quest game. Like i didn't grow up with a NES or hell Nintendo consoles period and so I didn't play a dragon quest game until IX...and even I somehow felt nostalgic. Its a part of its charm to me...but that said charm probably doesn't appeal to many and just looks and feels archaic to most i imagine.

MikeE21286 · Jul 31, 2017

Jay Sosa said:
There has been one entry on a home console since the PS1 era, if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, make that 2.

Everyone I know loved Journey of the King on the Ps2.. that came out 13 freaking years ago.

I think this combined with some things that make it very Japanese (such as no voice acting in 2017) and they've never been technical powerhouses compared to the Final Fantasys of the world have held the series back.

Dreamwriter · Jul 31, 2017

themagicalkitsune said:
Keep in mind Europe and Australia didn't know what Dragon Quest was until 2006 with VIII. That's barely more than a decade ago. In my eyes it's even impressive that a dedicated fanbase has been built there, and it even helped turn the tides of a few game localizations (VII & VIII on 3DS).

Im pretty sure Europe got the first game in the series, on the NES...but of course nothing more after that until VIII.

MoonFrog · Jul 31, 2017

It makes no sense to me, personally. Those cute designs are very mainstream cartoon designs. The stories are good and sort of break the mold of gamey-ness, being more generally appreciated story types. The games are super approachable and easy to play.

These are the things I can think of:

-Absent from the west on SNES
-Late to the PlayStation
-Not a grand spectacle like PS FF, although western DQVIII did have great production values in terms of sound and visuals. So...not sure why DQVIII didn't do better...
-Not sure why it didn't take off more on DS. You'd think it is the perfect fit for a Nintendo audience, which loves cartoon-styled games that are all-ages friendly and have classic gameplay. I'd guess that it doesn't manage to break through the "RPGs are for core gamers" stigma like Pokemon does?
-People looking for anime style games are often looking for more niche stuff.
-Bad advertising of an attractive product

dr_p0p7ar7_ · Jul 31, 2017

If there's a way to cross-save PS4 and 3DS in the West with the game it will absolutely have my full attention.

Stefarno · Jul 31, 2017

Well, I don't think they released any in Europe at all until VIII and that was about 6 months after the US version.

Then IX was advertised like this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttpK7IJar4

clay_ghost · Jul 31, 2017

Jay Sosa said:
There has been one entry on a home console since the PS1 era, if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, make that 2.

Everyone I know loved Journey of the King on the Ps2.. that came out 13 freaking years ago.

DQ9 sold better than DQ8 so it's not because it's not on consoles. It's because they only market the new mainlines games and not the spinoff and remakes.

Bitanator · Jul 31, 2017

carries a stigma of a grindy old school jrpg and probably turns a lot of people off for being authentic to a fault. Not a lot has changed in its core mechanics, it has nostalgic music but it is not really memorable on its own as final fantasy music.

I love the series wish a million other americans did as well

Aeana · Jul 31, 2017

Maxinas said:
Reused Music.

The series didn't start reusing music until 9...

Jaded Alyx · Jul 31, 2017

Jay Sosa said:
There has been one entry on a home console since the PS1 era, if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, make that 2.

Everyone I know loved Journey of the King on the Ps2.. that came out 13 freaking years ago.

Ok so? IX on DS still sold over a million in the West so I don't think the platform of choice is a major issue.

MoonFrog · Jul 31, 2017

dr_p0p7ar7_ said:
If there's a way to cross-save PS4 and 3DS in the West with the game it will absolutely have my full attention.

There is a password system to do this sort of thing.

Zap Rowsdower · Jul 31, 2017

Tohsaka said:
a lot of people don't like Toriyama's art so that doesn't help either.

It definitely is not this because of lot of people loved Dragonball and Chrono Trigger is considered a beloved classic by American fans.

andymcc · Jul 31, 2017

Ahasverus said:
It looks kinda generic

Dragon Ball is huge in America.

Monster design shits all over other famous RPGs imho

Sgt.Pepper · Jul 31, 2017

I think it is maybe because it is really traditional series that lacks what modern gamers like relationship building, dating, etc.

TriForce Hero · Jul 31, 2017

Probably because Dragon Quest is the complete oposite of what FF became after 6.

themagicalkitsune · Jul 31, 2017

Dreamwriter said:
Im pretty sure Europe got the first game in the series, on the NES...but of course nothing more after that until VIII.

I wasn't around back then

P) so I did a quick check here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dragon_Quest_media

Doesn't look like DW1 on the NES made it to Europe - PAL land got official access to the first Dragon Quest game in 2014 through mobile!

LowParry · Jul 31, 2017

Is having it on PS4 be something of a positive push for the series?

jjasper · Jul 31, 2017

It was completely absent during the RPG boom (late SNES-PS1 era) in the US outside of a few GBC games. By the time VII came out it was too late. It is a series that bulids on nostalgia but never built it here due to that.

dracula_x · Jul 31, 2017

hmm, let's see:

1995 – Dragon Quest VI (SNES), released only in Japan
2000 – Dragon Quest VII (PS1), not released in Europe and US release date was October 31, 2001
2004 – Dragon Quest VIII (PS2)
2009 – Dragon Quest IX (DS)
2012 – Dragon Quest X (multiplaform), MMO and available only in Japan

^ so it's pretty clear why

Rncewind · Jul 31, 2017

Stefarno said:
Then IX was advertised like this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttpK7IJar4

oh the memorys

Teriyaki Blues · Jul 31, 2017

Sporadic games in the series and spinoffs not being localized for five to ten years at a time leading to the series dropping out of mindshare, long localization delays for the games we do get, poor game localization selections (Heroes I & II instead of Monsters Joker 3 and Rocket Slime 2/Slime Mori Mori 3 what? - not that one kept the others from getting released but the latter are better games), and zero to low advertising in the Western world.

Add in extremely nitpicky so-called "hardcore fans" that will loudly boycott the second that anything less than optimal happens with the next localization and you have a recipe for disaster.

The few games which were advertised more heavily sold pretty well, if I recall correctly.

1upsuper · Jul 31, 2017

andymcc said:
Dragon Ball is huge in America.

Monster design shits all over other famous RPGs imho

Yeah, if we're talking more modern DQs, Toriyama's art is the exact opposite of what I'd call generic -- that's why it's so easy to attribute to him. And his monster designs in DQ especially are top notch. That was a strange post.

PK Gaming · Jul 31, 2017

Dreamwriter said:
It is pretty popular, but I think the main reason it isnt *as* popular, is because they stopped releasing them. We got DragonQuest 1,2,3, and a limited released of DQ4 in the US. Then they didnt bring a single one over in the SNES era, so the series never got a chance to really take off, become a true classic series, like the Final Fantasy series did. There was a 9 year gap in the US between Dragon Warrior 4 and the next release, DragonQuest VII. Its even worse in Europe - they got the first game in the series, and then nothing else until DragonQuest VIII!

This

Momentum is everything, and DQ never got to take off

Pancake Mix · Jul 31, 2017

Too aggressively oldschool outside of DQVIII and DQXI PS4.

The time travel mechanic in DQVII (for example) does not change how insanely old school that game was and still is on 3DS.

Hasemo · Jul 31, 2017

Aside from the few reasons mentioned here before, listening to the Western comments about Japanese JRPGs in the last few years makes me think that unless the turn based system has a "gimmick" to it like Persona's weaknesses, SMT's press turn, bravely/default in Bravely Default etc., the mainstream audience won't be interested. Unless it's Pokemon.

To make things worse, DQ games probably have a "stigma" of being super long (they're not, except for VII). I've seen people complaining about NieR being ~30+ hours long, so the imagined length of DQ games probably doesn't do them any favors.

Jay Sosa · Jul 31, 2017

clay_ghost said:
DQ9 sold better than DQ8 so it's not because it's not on consoles. It's because they only market the new mainlines games and not the spinoff and remakes.

Jaded Alyx said:
Ok so? IX on DS still sold over a million in the West so I don't think the platform of choice is a major issue.

My point is that in Europe.. which is the part of the world I currently live in, the first (mainline) title available was Dragon Quest 8..while everyone is familiar with eg Breath of Fire and Final Fantasy since the SNES days.

Pretty self explanatory why it isn't more popular here I think.

Tohsaka · Jul 31, 2017

Zap Rowsdower said:
It definitely is not this because of lot of people loved Dragonball and Chrono Trigger is considered a beloved classic by American fans.

I personally like his art (and am waiting for my import copy of DQXI to arrive), but he tends to be very sameface in his designs, which can be off-putting to some.

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