Report: Dragon Quest IX Topping 2 Million Pre-Orders In Japan

Dragon Quest IX looks to become a major hit when it launches in Japan this Saturday to 2 million preorders, topping the previous installment in Square Enix's major RPG franchise, according to media reports. Japanese news reports translated by website Andriasang show retailers reporting preorder levels of over 2 million, with numbers "stand[ing] out even over past DQ games." The game will launch alongside a red DSi, and is even expected to drive trade-ups to the new hardware for DS users. The game, whose full title is Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky, is developed by Japanese independent Professor Layton publisher/developer Level-5, the firm which also created Dragon Quest VIII for the PlayStation 2. Andriasang also translated a Mainichi sales column from merchandizer Taketo Matsuo, of popular chain retailer Tsutaya, who finds that although preorders for DQIX at his retailer are at similar levels as PS2's Dragon Quest VIII, DS games "have a tendency to be long sellers even with low pre-orders." Not only does Matsuo believe DQIX sales will definitely top DQVIII's with help from its lower price, he says it could be "the biggest hit in history."