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[Ray Down]

Well according to Verendus there are 2 more unannounced DQ for Playstaiton series, with probably one more to be announced in a future. WIth him denying any of those to be DQH3, I don't think all of those 3 games will be spin-off.

That being said I don't think SE will "abandon" 3DS install base either. Why do people think if DQXI gets released platform(s) X then it won't be coming to another one?

1. Dragon Quest X: The one for the future its been rumored to come to Playstation, there might be some exclusivity length they have to wait out for X.

2. Dragon Quest V HD: One of the two announcements, an HD remaster that is based on the PS2 Version.

3. Dragon Quest XI: Last one

 

[Snakeyes]

Why are we expecting a DQV remake over any other games in the series aside from VII and VIII?

 

[Reveirg]

Why are we expecting a DQV remake?

-Verendus hinted at an HD remake of an older DQ title.

-DQV is arguably the most popular title in the franchise.

-When asked if another DQ title could be remaked, Hori & co. "laughed" and said "some things could happen". Which is basically the same reaction they had when asked about DQ7 and DQ8 localization...and we know how that ended up.

Nothing concretely points out to V though.

 

[Saphirax]

-Verendus hinted at an HD remake of an older DQ title.

-DQV is arguably the most popular title in the franchise.

-When asked if another DQ title could be remaked, Hori & co. "laughed" and said "some things could happen". Which is basically the same reaction they had when asked about DQ7 and DQ8 localization...and we know how that ended up.

Nothing concretely points out to V though.

Weekly Jump is going to have a big game reveal and they hinted it'd be DQ V related.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

Weekly Jump is going to have a big game reveal and they hinted it'd be DQ V related.

DQV for Shinra (SE's magic cloud)

 

[jiggle]

Why are we expecting a DQV remake over any other games in the series aside from VII and VIII?

Verendus said it's a remaster
And V(ps2) is the only one left that's remasterable...

 

[Hypereides]

Imo DQ XI coming to PS4, or another current playstation platform, is looking probable. The current release pattern of new/fresh DQ spin-offs is similiar to that of the Wii's history. There was a string of fresh/new DQ spin-offs which ultimately lead up to DQ X online on the Wii.

Not a guarantee, but, there seems to be a pattern.

 

[Majmun]

SE seems to invest a lot in the Ps4.

Three DQ games are already announced for the platform. DQXI going to Ps4 doesn't seem illogical. It's the only console out there that can make DQ happen in the west.

The 3DS isn't the hottest chick in town anymore.

 

[Bots are better than you]

Imo DQ XI coming to PS4, or another current playstation platform, is looking probable. The current release pattern of new/fresh DQ spin-offs is similiar to that of the Wii's history. There was a string of fresh/new DQ spin-offs which ultimately lead up to DQ X online on the Wii.

Not a guarantee, but, there seems to be a pattern.

Hm, i think you can't directly compare those situations.

Yes Wii did get a DQ spin-off rather early in it's life, but the next mainline entry was on DS, where several more spin-offs were released before the one on Wii. Wii did get DQX so late in the gen, it was already about to be buried.

That's why some people, including me, thought that DQXI is for 3DS, while SQEX gears up the fanbase for the next system that's getting DQ12 then, which (imo) would absolutely be the PS4.

SE seems to invest a lot in the Ps4.

Three DQ games are already announced for the platform. DQXI going to Ps4 doesn't seem illogical. It's the only console out there that can make DQ happen in the west.

The 3DS isn't really hot anymore.

Well, the PSone being rather dead and the PS2 making insane numbers did not stop them from releasing DQ7 on PSone.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

Fularu and Sammy with that bad decision nonsense. I've said it many times already, but if Square Enix thinks that putting Dragon Quest XI on consoles makes sense for where they want to take the franchise then no one is in their right to tell them that's the wrong decision or a bad one at that.

Making the game Xbox One exclusive would be a bad decision, but putting it on a console family with a proven track record for having a healthy market for Japanese RPGs in order to take the brand in a certain new direction isn't wrong at all.

3DS is the most sense in terms of raw sales and profit, sure. It'd mean a game that's cheaper to make and that would sell to a big established audience. There's no doubt about that. But maybe Square Enix is thinking of the broader picture beyond just chasing DQIX sales. Profit and potential aren't mutually exclusive. If they see and opportunity for the franchise on Playstation then it's a good decision for them to attempt to take advantage of that.

 

[Majmun]

The 3DS would be the perfect choice for huge profits on short term. But the market has changed with all the remasters and HD versions etc.

It would be much easier to do a remaster or a 4k/8k version of a Ps4 game than a 3DS game.

If DQXI comes to Ps4, then I'm sure they're going to release 4k and 8k version for the next next gen consoles. You can't really do that with a 3DS version. That's why I think that a home console version will be much more profitable in the long term.

 

[Arkeband]

Your image has me going like this:

Too damn small, can't see it!

If you click it, it gets bigger!

 

[crinale]

Well DQB thread got locked so I'll just write it here. Just saw the scan but it looks cool.
I thought story is after protag has defeated the Dragonlord, but it actually isn't.

 

[JuanLatino]

i remember the CEO of Square Enix saying, how they have plans to make DQ more popular in the west.

Dragon Quest Builder is the Answer.


After seeing how beautiful Ni No Kuni looked on Ps3, i would love to see DQ11 on home consoles

 

[Jessmo111]

Im calling it now, X-bone exclusive!


.... It would likely be the only game to save X-box in japan.

 

[Palette Swap]

considering type-0 and final fantasy xv were originally final fantasy xiii agito and final fantasy versus xiii i think it's going to take a final fantasy xvi to truly break away from the ffxiii world. and it needs to be a hard break with a completely different aesthetic than future-past world by nomura. something more like what ix and xii were in their time.

Just release a trailer for a medieval fantasy FFXVI, with Yoshida character art while the bridge theme plays and everything will be forgiven.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Fularu never denied DQXI for PS4, he is just saying it doesn't make any sense, and he is right.

doesn't make sense to who? Doesn't make sense to you.....well sure. We can't see a lot of important factors that go into these decisions.

His post was 100% accurate.

I think you are the only one being "salty" here.

There's a big difference between "I want DQ on the 3DS" and "DQ would sell more on the 3DS".

an who said sales were the be all end all? There are numerous other factors that people have talked about.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Aye I think people forget the last mainline Dragon Quest game on consoles was a PS2 game. Even getting a PS3 level upgrade at 1080p on PS4 would look fantastic.

And even if it were next generation only I doubt it'd be taking advantage of the hardware any way. It'll be a big step up from DQ VIII and IX. That's all that matters.

The main reason people have issues with cross-gen titles the issue of performance and graphical fidelity holding the newer gen system back. Dragon Quest isn't going to be that sort of game that pushes any substantial technology.

Even if It was developed strictly on the PS4, it's not like the game would visually push the hardware in a meaningful way that the people would expect of a PS4 title. Dragon Quest was never a series that pushed graphical envelope anyways.

Getting something slightly better then what Dragon Quest VIII represented or something similar to CC2's Naruto games visually is a fair expectation for a PS3 / PS4 Dragon Quest title.

 

[Kikujiro]

Just release a trailer for a medieval fantasy FFXVI, with Yoshida character art while the bridge theme plays and everything will be forgiven.

Directed by yours truly and only

Spoiler

janitor

Hiroyuki Ito.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Directed by your truly and only

Spoiler

janitor

Hiroyuki Ito.

Either Hiroyuki Ito or Yoshinori Kitase....Both of them contributed to FF6 in on the directorial / scenario writing angle.

In fact Kitase also had partial directorial duties and contributed to the story in Chrono Trigger as well, alongside Masato Kato.

So if Ito can't do a medieval fantasy FFXVI, Kitase is a reasonable replacement.

 

[Pennywise83]

Fularu and Sammy with that bad decision nonsense. I've said it many times already, but if Square Enix thinks that putting Dragon Quest XI on consoles makes sense for where they want to take the franchise then no one is in their right to tell them that's the wrong decision or a bad one at that.

Making the game Xbox One exclusive would be a bad decision, but putting it on a console family with a proven track record for having a healthy market for Japanese RPGs in order to take the brand in a certain new direction isn't wrong at all.

3DS is the most sense in terms of raw sales and profit, sure. It'd mean a game that's cheaper to make and that would sell to a big established audience. There's no doubt about that. But maybe Square Enix is thinking of the broader picture beyond just chasing DQIX sales. Profit and potential aren't mutually exclusive. If they see and opportunity for the franchise on Playstation then it's a good decision for them to attempt to take advantage of that.

Wut? We're here to discuss companies business decisions all the time.

You can think a broad picture also by releasing the mainline game on 3DS, which later can be ported through an HD ver. on all current home consoles, and on mobiles as well.

It's funny how you think that SQEX is thinking of the broader picture right now, and you completely dismiss the fact that the company itself built an audience on 3DS already by means of plenty DQ titles, and the lack of a mainline 3DS games would also mean that plenty of gamers that were expecting the game over there will be disappointed.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Wut? We're here to discuss companies business decisions all the time.

You can think a broad picture also by releasing the mainline game on 3DS, which later can be ported through an HD ver. on all current home consoles, and on mobiles as well.

It's funny how you think that SQEX is thinking of the broader picture right now, and you completely dismiss the fact that the company itself built an audience on 3DS already by means of plenty DQ titles, and the lack of a mainline 3DS games would also mean that plenty of gamers that were expecting the game over there will be disappointed.

You never answered my question by the way.

You said the following

Of course. In my humble opinion, it does not make sense to bet on Western markets - at this point, DQXI on 3DS and then on mobile if no other traditional platform will take off in Japan.

Consider the deluge of jRPGs coming out in this year, and 2016 and 2017, such as Tales of Zestiria, Persona 5, Xenoblade X, SMT X FE, Star Ocean 5, Tales of Berseria, Final Fantasy XV, and eventually Final Fantasy 7:R

At what point do you think should the Dragon Quest series to focus on the Western market? 2018? 2025? When?

If SE doesn't at least give a mainline DQ on console a chance, then when should they? Horii, Toriyama, and Sugiyama aren't exactly young anymore. In fact I'd say the reason why the recent multiple DQ announcements and releases planned is because they are considering on slowing down and handing the reins over to a successor.

 

[Kikujiro]

Either Hiroyuki Ito or Yoshinori Kitase....Both of them contributed to FF6 in on the directorial / scenario writing angle.

In fact Kitase also had partial directorial duties and contributed to the story in Chrono Trigger as well, alongside Masato Kato.

So if Ito can't do a medieval fantasy FFXVI, Kitase is a reasonable replacement.

Kitase is my favorite director, he had a big impact in FFV too, but sadly he said he doesn't want to direct anymore (a big loss for S-E since his three directed FFs are the most popular and sold the most).

 

[Pennywise83]

Consider the deluge of jRPGs coming out in this year, and 2016 and 2017, such as Tales of Zestiria, Persona 5, Xenoblade X, SMT X FE, Star Ocean 5, Tales of Berseria, Final Fantasy XV, and eventually Final Fantasy 7:R

At what point do you think should the Dragon Quest series to focus on the Western market? 2018? 2025? When?

If SE doesn't at least give a mainline DQ on console a chance, then when should they? Horii, Toriyama, and Sugiyama aren't exactly young anymore. In fact I'd say the reason why the recent multiple DQ announcements and releases planned is because they are considering on slowing down and handing the reins over to a successor.

Perhaps you didn't get my point. I'm not saying SQEX should not release DQ games in the West anymore; I'm just saying that in my opinion (given prior data and current market trends), DQ will never gonna be a mainstream IP in Western markets; that means that if SQEX is betting on PS4 because of Western markets (sacrifying sales in the internal market), it doesn't sound the right choice (always in my opinion - I hope I'm allowed to have one).

Even if SQEX is focusing on DQ in Western markets, I cannot see the game selling more than the usual 1m units on PS4 alone (even if multi with PS3/PSV, we can see SQEX releasing the game exclusively on PS4 over here); would this be enough to offset the likely loss in sales in Japan and the way higher development costs?

 

[QuackkAttack]

Perhaps you didn't get my point. I'm not saying SQEX should not release DQ games in the West anymore; I'm just saying that in my opinion (given prior data and current market trends), DQ will never gonna be a mainstream IP in Western markets; that means that if SQEX is betting on PS4 because of Western markets (sacrifying sales in the internal market), it doesn't sound the right choice (always in my opinion - I hope I'm allowed to have one).

Even if SQEX is focusing on DQ in Western markets, I cannot see the game selling more than the usual 1m units on PS4 alone (even if multi with PS3/PSV, we can see SQEX releasing the game exclusively on PS4 over here); would this be enough to offset the likely loss in sales in Japan and the way higher development costs?

I don't think this choice is about sales. I know that's been said throughout the thread, but it's Dragon Quest, it'll make its money back and still have good profits.

The choice is more likely an attempt to keep home consoles relevant in Japan. If Japan truly abandons home consoles then SQEX is divided by two huge market segments. Would they alienate their Japanese fans by continuing to put Final Fantasy(and other games) on console or alienate the West by putting them on handhelds? Especially handhelds that can't exactly compete on a technical level, which is important to a lot of the Western audience.

 

[OmegaDL50]

That entirely depends if you think the sales trends for a 3DS DQXI would be the same as DQIX. The 3DS is not the DS.

Also it's a big assumption to that the development costs would even be a detrimental factor. Remember DQ isn't a series that pushes graphical tech like other games. Even if they did something comparable to DQVIII with a bit more polish would be acceptable.

It's not a factor of the short term either, there could very well be long term plans as well. When the NX comes out, the 3DS may be even less of a factor if it's a successor to it. There also the N3DS to factor as well. A PS3 / PS4 is a less division of the market compared to say the 3DS / N3DS / and potentially the NX.

We also can't rule out the possibility of the Wii U in Japan. As it is a console and is currently leading over the PS4 in Japan. However looking in the long run, the PS4 still has more growth potential since it's relatively newer in terms of hardware release, and a successor isn't planned in the immediate future, unlike the NX being a possible Wii U successor (or 3DS even) for Nintendo, there is little information to say what the NX will be.

We do know however there has been multiple Dragon Quest announcements / releases planned for Sony hardware recently, so extrapolating on that tells a much broader picture of other future announcements that could possibly happen.

 

[AmyS]

Bottom line, 3DS is not a home console.

If we take what Yuji Horii said at face value, Dragon Quest 11 won't be on that platform.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Bottom line, 3DS is not a home console.

If we take what Yuji Horii said at face value, Dragon Quest 11 won't be on that platform.

It's not like Horii doesn't have enough influence over the DQ series to get what he wants. His relationship with SE is mainly for exclusive publishing, and series history has shown that his studio Armor Project was always involved in development with an outsourcing company of the entire mainline of Dragon Quest titles released, only one of them was ever developed internally in-house at Square-Enix, that being Dragon Quest X. The rest was always Chun Soft, Heart Beat, ArtePiazza, and Level 5 as outsourcing companies alongside Armor Project.

 

[MagnaderAlpha]

Either Hiroyuki Ito or Yoshinori Kitase....Both of them contributed to FF6 in on the directorial / scenario writing angle.

In fact Kitase also had partial directorial duties and contributed to the story in Chrono Trigger as well, alongside Masato Kato.

So if Ito can't do a medieval fantasy FFXVI, Kitase is a reasonable replacement.

As well as Matsui and Tokita. People tend to given them the shaft regarding CT.

Kitase is my favorite director, he had a big impact in FFV too, but sadly he said he doesn't want to direct anymore (a big loss for S-E since his three directed FFs are the most popular and sold the most).

I find it sad considering he went to film school. You'd think he'd want to continue to have a direct hands-on position directing games and injecting some of that education in making more cool games.

 

[Crawl]

Quick question: Was dragon quest 8 on PS2 a huge failure in japan and the west? Is that why they gave up home console versions of DQ after that? I was always under the impression DQ8 did well on PS2. Or did nintendo pay for exclusivity?

 

[StormKing]

The 3DS would be the perfect choice for huge profits on short term. But the market has changed with all the remasters and HD versions etc.

It would be much easier to do a remaster or a 4k/8k version of a Ps4 game than a 3DS game.

If DQXI comes to Ps4, then I'm sure they're going to release 4k and 8k version for the next next gen consoles. You can't really do that with a 3DS version. That's why I think that a home console version will be much more profitable in the long term.

PS4 has no games that sold a million plus in Japan. 3DS has approximately six games non Nintendo games that have sold that amount. 3DS is undoubtedly the best platform for maximising profit on DQ XI.

 

[StormKing]

Quick question: Was dragon quest 8 on PS2 a huge failure in japan and the west? Is that why they gave up home console versions of DQ after that? I was always under the impression DQ8 did well on PS2. Or did nintendo pay for exclusivity?

The platform policy for dragon quest was to put it on the best performing platform to maximize sales. When DQ8 was released that platform was PS2, when DQ9 was released that platform was the DS. I can't comment on whether DQ8 was a failure in the west or not. Maybe it failed to meet Square's high sales expectations.

 

[Jigorath]

PS4 has no games that sold a million plus in Japan. 3DS has approximately six games non Nintendo games that have sold that amount. 3DS is undoubtedly the best platform for maximising profit on DQ XI.

What games have released for the PS4 that should have sold a million?

"PS4 has no million sellers so it's a bad platform for Dragon Quest" is a rather poor argument.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

Wut? We're here to discuss companies business decisions all the time.

You can think a broad picture also by releasing the mainline game on 3DS, which later can be ported through an HD ver. on all current home consoles, and on mobiles as well.

It's funny how you think that SQEX is thinking of the broader picture right now, and you completely dismiss the fact that the company itself built an audience on 3DS already by means of plenty DQ titles, and the lack of a mainline 3DS games would also mean that plenty of gamers that were expecting the game over there will be disappointed.

Poor choice of words on my part. But my point being that I don't see how you can honestly say putting DQ on PS3/PS4 and maybe Vita over 3DS is a bad business decision, especially if Square Enix wants to inject some life into the Japanese console market, as they've said multiple times and if they potentially want to give the series another shot aboard.

I'm not dismissing the fact its built an audience on 3DS at all. Of course they have, but , markets change and goals change. I don't think putting this on PS3/PS4 is anywhere near as bad as you're making it out to be. A bad decision would be making it Xbox One exclusive, or even PC exclusive, but not PS3/PS4.

As I've said numerous times, 3DS makes sense if they're looking to hit or surpass DQIX sales and make loads of profit on a relatively cheap to make game. No doubts about that. However, if they have other objectives in mind with Dragon Quest IX, then it makes no sense to dismiss the validity of other systems at all.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

Haven't been keeping up with this thread. Are people still not accepting that DQXI is going to be a PS4/PS3/Possibly Xbox One like every other major square production lately?

 

[Jigorath]

Haven't been keeping up with this thread. Are people still not accepting that DQXI is going to be a PS4/PS3/Possibly Xbox One like every other major square production lately?

You lost me at Xbox One.

Dragon Quest? On Xbox? Like, the world would explode.

 

[Zophar]

Why are people clinging to a 3DS release so badly? He said outright it'd be on a home console.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

Why are people clinging to a 3DS release so badly? He said outright it'd be on a home console.

Nintendo fanboys can't possibly imagine that one of the biggest Japanese IP may skip Nintendo's hardware.

 

[Shin]

I gotta say Square is killing it these days, I'm liking the current direction they are taking.
So happy with all these big Japanese games/companies shifting back more focus on home consoles.

 

[mothball]

There's a big difference between "I want DQ on the 3DS" and "DQ would sell more on the 3DS".

as long as everyone with a sudden profound concern for square enix's financials keeps ignoring the mobile elephant in the room, no, there really isn't

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

You lost me at Xbox One.

Dragon Quest? On Xbox? Like, the world would explode.

Final Fantasy? On Xbox? Like, the world would explode.
Kingdom Hearts? On Xbox? Like the world would explode.
I only said it's a possibility because their other two major games are coming to Xbox.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Why are people clinging to a 3DS release so badly? He said outright it'd be on a home console.

Cause 3DS still dominates sales in Japan and everything else is on life support, cause it's a translation from Japanese to French that likely was originally something like "terebi game" that could mean home console or portable, cause a home console version doesn't mean a 3DS/PS3/PS4/WiiU multi-release isn't possible, cause it isn't actually announced yet.

 

[DNAbro]

Haven't been keeping up with this thread. Are people still not accepting that DQXI is going to be a PS4/PS3/Possibly Xbox One like every other major square production lately?

Well PS4/PS3. Xbox probably isn't happening. Much like most of Square's console games.

 

[Jawbreaker]

Why are people clinging to a 3DS release so badly? He said outright it'd be on a home console.

There's always a sort of weird reaction when we talk about mainline Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter on home consoles here.

 

[Pennywise83]

That entirely depends if you think the sales trends for a 3DS DQXI would be the same as DQIX. The 3DS is not the DS.

In Japan, 3DS is the only dedicated platform able to host 4m+ games; last year, it had 5 multi-million sellers in the span of 5 months, an unprecedented record; YW2 sold more than 5m units considering all 3 versions. DQVII sold on par with DS remakes, and the fanbase is clearly there. A 3DS DQXI will likely not sell 4.3m units, but 4m are not that out of reach all things considered.

Also it's a big assumption to that the development costs would even be a detrimental factor. Remember DQ isn't a series that pushes graphical tech like other games. Even if they did something comparable to DQVIII with a bit more polish would be acceptable.

If SQEX wants to increase the likelihood of DQ succeeding in Western markets, the game should be graphically gorgeous - and possibly with some open world-map. I don't think a HD DQVIII would be enough for the PS4 fanbase to care en masse.

It's not a factor of the short term either, there could very well be long term plans as well. When the NX comes out, the 3DS may be even less of a factor if it's a successor to it. There also the N3DS to factor as well. A PS3 / PS4 is a less division of the market compared to say the 3DS / N3DS / and potentially the NX.

We also can't rule out the possibility of the Wii U in Japan. As it is a console and is currently leading over the PS4 in Japan. However looking in the long run, the PS4 still has more growth potential since it's relatively newer in terms of hardware release, and a successor isn't planned in the immediate future, unlike the NX being a possible Wii U successor (or 3DS even) for Nintendo, there is little information to say what the NX will be.

We do know however there has been multiple Dragon Quest announcements / releases planned for Sony hardware recently, so extrapolating on that tells a much broader picture of other future announcements that could possibly happen.

Again, since my first posts in this topic I've been saying that DQXI will be at least on PS4. It's not a matter of if but of discussing whether this is the right choice. Again: if DQXI is a traditional game targeted for a 2016 release, 3DS should be the option (even considering future HD versions); if DQXI is a traditional game targeted for a 2017+ release, then mobile is even better because PS3/PSV will be dead and PS4 will hardly have a sizeable userbase for the game.

 

[Wynnebeck]

Fularu and Sammy with that bad decision nonsense. I've said it many times already, but if Square Enix thinks that putting Dragon Quest XI on consoles makes sense for where they want to take the franchise then no one is in their right to tell them that's the wrong decision or a bad one at that.

Making the game Xbox One exclusive would be a bad decision, but putting it on a console family with a proven track record for having a healthy market for Japanese RPGs in order to take the brand in a certain new direction isn't wrong at all.

3DS is the most sense in terms of raw sales and profit, sure. It'd mean a game that's cheaper to make and that would sell to a big established audience. There's no doubt about that. But maybe Square Enix is thinking of the broader picture beyond just chasing DQIX sales. Profit and potential aren't mutually exclusive. If they see and opportunity for the franchise on Playstation then it's a good decision for them to attempt to take advantage of that.

Preach.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

There's always a sort of weird reaction when we talk about mainline Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter on home consoles here.

Yup, it's this weird 'no, it's our franchise' sort of protectionist tone whenever it's suggest.

 

[Infernostew]

Final Fantasy? On Xbox? Like, the world would explode.
Kingdom Hearts? On Xbox? Like the world would explode.
I only said it's a possibility because their other two major games are coming to Xbox.

Those were announced before the Xbox shit the bed in Japan. Hell, Star Ocean 5 isn't even coming to Xbox and the previous installment was a timed exclusive.

 

[Newtype-001]

There's always a sort of weird reaction when we talk about mainline Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter on home consoles here.

The fear
https://youtu.be/BAd4ZgLnb0A

 

[Jigorath]

Okay, here's my summarized thoughts on Square's business decisions with Dragon Quest. At this point I don't think it's going to be a PS4 exclusive. I think it's PS4/PS3/Vita. Combined those systems have a userbase of roughly 16m in Japan which isn't too far below the 3DS' 18m base. So it's not like it's going to fail in Japan.

With the PS4's massive success in the US along with many European and Asian countries (many markets that Nintendo has failed to break into), Square might see this as a good opportunity to push Dragon Quest outside of Japan so it doesn't have to be a one country franchise anymore. This doesn't mean Dragon Quest is automatically going to become a mainstream franchise everywhere in the world but if Square sees an opportunity for expansion then I don't see why they shouldn't take it.

The arguments aren't just:

"Square wants to revive consoles in Japan"

or

"Square wants this to become a massive franchise in the US"

The world is bigger than those two countries. Basically, I think there are more variables at play here then people are willing to consider.