1. http://ds.ign.com/articles/783/783284p1.html Menu-based battles are back in. A lot of the fear over the series' divergence from its roots hurting it in the marketplace, should end here.
2. By the time this game debuts, DS lifetime sales will be in the same range as PS2 lifetime sales in Japan. A franchise this big will have literally never debuted with an install base this big in Japan.
3. DQ8 was starting to gain some traction in the west, shipping over 1 million copies outside of Japan. With a lower price threshold and it could gain even more traction.
All-in-all, this could be the first DQ to hit 5 million copies.
It is interesting that this IPO is getting more interest than the Final Fantasy XIII IPO on Monday. I think FFXIII had substantial risk of going from a console exclusive. With DQIX made for DS, I think it is very unlikely it'll appear on any other system as DS games generally take advantage of the platform. Low risk of cannabilization.
I think Japan's obsession with the DS will shoot this stock up. DQ 8 did pretty well in other areas, and I can see this game following suit. I think starting this off at 4 million copies is alright, but I would have preferred it a little lower.
Deltaneutral, yeah, I agree that the IPO price is to low, but then again the market in the end will decide that, so we'll just have to see how many people agree with that sediment.
I agree Laoldar, this game should be priced at 4 million copies sold over lifetime. First, there is the fact how big a series Dragon Quest is in Japan. Consider that Dragon Quest VIII was the best selling PS2 game over in Japan with 3.6 million copies sold.
Add in phenomenon that the DS is in Japan, the DS holds spots 4-7 on the top 10 best selling games of all time in Japan (the top 3 being the GB and GBA pokemon games) and this game will probably sell 4 million copies over its lifetime, if not more. Also, consider that this game will also be released outside of Japan, possible bumping the total sales up to 5 million if the conditions are right.
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http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=7764
To be honest, I didn't know online play had been announced.