Dragon Quest IX For The DS

The industry is abuzz with the recent announcement that Dragon Quest IX will be coming out for the Nintendo DS. Square-Enix has bucked the trend of releasing the next iterations of their flagship series exclusively on home consoles, and has made it clear that handhelds will be a perfectly acceptable fit. This bodes well for Nintendo, who are seemingly receiving a vindication of their strategies. Nintendo has enjoyed breakout success with their DS handhelds in a Japan that appears to be increasingly focussed on the more casual gameplay experience. Nintendo is taking the same approach with the Wii, focussing less on cutting-edge technology and more on creating a system that is instantly compelling in terms of look and interface. The Wii's success is not yet certain, but early indications tend to favor another massive success, with Nintendo most recently breaking console sales records in the UK. The movement of the Dragon Quest series to the DS may come as a slap in the face to Sony, but it makes perfectly good business sense from a publisher standpoint. The DS installed base is simply incredible and the development costs will be far lower than that of a PS3 title. It remains to be seen whether other large franchises will make the jump entirely to the DS in the future, or, perhaps, to the Wii, in a similar fashion.