Former-Famitsu chief editor Hirokazu Hamamura, who is now the president & CEO of Enterbrain, Famitsu’s publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Corporation, of which he serves as the managing director, shared a few words on his expectations for Dragon Quest XI sales. [Thanks, Mantan Web.]
During a recent developer’s seminar in Tokyo, called “The Present Conditions and Prospects of the Game Industry,” Hamamura made an appearance and shared his expectations of Dragon Quest XI selling over 5 million units in Japan.
He continued by saying that he expects the game to outsell both Pokémon Sun & Moon (currently at about 4 million in Japan) and Final Fantasy XV (about 1 million in Japan). Hamamura added during the presentation that Dragon Quest XI could possibly sell even more than what he expects.
While 5 million sounds a bit too ambitious for any title in this day and age of the Japanese gaming market where giants like Pokémon are topping out at 4 million and Final Fantasy at a million, Hamamura says with the eventual release of the Nintendo Switch version, as well as the influx of new fans gathered from the smartphone titles Dragon Quest of the Stars and Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Lite, he expects to see big numbers.
“The ‘destructive force’ that is Dragon Quest software (sales) is on a completely different level. There will likely be people who buy both PS4 and 3DS versions as well,” added Hamamura.
On a side note, keep in mind that Japan hasn’t had a traditional single-player main-numbered Dragon Quest release since Dragon Quest VIII for PS2 in 2004. That said, a lot of fans have been hungry for something new for quite a while now, and as we all know, the Japanese have a heck of an appetite when it comes to Dragon Quest. It should be interesting to see how Dragon Quest XI performs this summer and beyond.
Dragon Quest XI releases in Japan on July 29, 2017 for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4. The game is in development for Nintendo Switch but a release date has yet to be announced.
