Dragon Quest XI PS4 Sales are 'Stronger' Than 3DS, Says Square Enix

And peoplr said I was nuts.

Sony is doing well to nab what made the 3DS popular in Japan now their system is hitting its stride and before Switch can.

Most likely due to SE's expectations.

DQXI has sold 1.4mil on 3DS and 1.1mil on PS4 physically. I can only see that the 3DS sold less than what is expected, seeing that there are 5mil PS4s sold there compared to 12 something mil 3DSs.

EDIT: 22mil 3DS's as Derpie1 pointed out below

@BLP_Software I wouldn't honestly say that besides I feel like 3DS the PS4's days are #ed and I think SQEX is makin more money on the PS4 ver because it is more expensive in the yen department... but the 3DS ver has higher #s... although imma say this rn if the attach rate for DQXI on 3DS was 100% that's 22M copies... even 50% yea SQEX prob would be singing a different tune...

although originally it was gonna be a PlayStation 4 exclusive

@get2sammyb PS4 version is more expensive.

Maybe this is relative to install bases? Then again I doubt the 3DS version was held off on by buyers because of the fabled Switch version.

I think we are judt at the point the PS4 becomes the main system in Japan for third parties

I imagine the game has done much better digitally on ps4 as the Nintendo store is a real pain to use. I think if the switch version ever comes out, that will do particularly well in Japan.

@BLP_Software 3DS has a install base of 22M in Japan alone

Cost of making a 3DS game is lower than the PS4

For 3rd parties making a 3DS game is still enticing due to that fact alone

Plus you still have that... 1 trend that won't go away of Mobile is king...

@Derpie1 If it was PS4 exclusive then DQXI would be a failure in SE's eyes. If I remeber correctly past DQs has consistently done 2mil+ at launch. I don't think that they'll even crack 2mil were it a PS4 exclusive title, knowing Japan's favor towards handhelds.

@Rob_230 I think it's less of Nintendo's eShop and more than international fans can nab the game due to the PS4's region free vs the 3DS's region lock personally

@triforcehero thing is if you do some digging around it REALLY was gonna be a PS4 exclusive

The 3DS ver came on LATER in development and the reason it was a thing was due to expanding it

Now some can say it SHOULDVE been a PS4 exclusive

@triforcehero 22M

@Derpie1 I never said it wasn't originally PS4 exclusive. SE probably realized they'd never hit their expectations like that, so they started working on the 3DS version. They're expecting 5 mil sales from DQXI

Doesn't surprise me to be honest. Why would you go out of your way to buy the 'bad' version of a game. Portability or not, a game as hyped as DQXI should be experienced as intended (made for PS4).

It'll be the same story when it comes over to the West. DQXI on PS4 will outsell Switch+3DS.

@triforcehero that's a really good point actually. Imagine there is an element of that

@Fight_Teza_Fight it's more sales expectations, install bases, etc

Japan isn't defined by graphics (they buy Monster Hunter games on 3DS and those games NO ONE will defend graphically...) plus the 3DS ver is more of a nostalgic ver if yer a Retro DQ guy...

Plus you have to consider the importing scene plus respectfulness of Japan as it was initially gonna be a PS4 exclusive but they threw both Switch and 3DS

In terms of the West it honestly depends the Switch base can be as loyal as the Vita base but it is all about quality... if all 3 ver comes out at the same time then yea... also it's about timing release the game during a quiet time in the gaming scene or it may get overshadowed

That was unexpected, it's impressive considering ps4 only sold about 4M+ in japan compared to 3DS 20M+.

Maybe people want to play the best version of their favorite games.

@wiiware there's a lotta factors to em

Importing
Sales expectations
3DS' life which is nearing its end
Stock (Nintendo is notorious for that... Wii, NESC, SNESC, 3DS in 2016's Sun/Moon Holiday craze, and Switch)

Japan isn't defined by graphics (if people play those MH 3DS games which makes the OG NOT N SANE TRILOGY Crash Bandicoot Trilogy look better by comparison yup they'll play anything)

Also I just realized something once 3DS dies (2018?!) Sony practically rules the world... cus PS4 would be top console... everywhere

@Derpie1 The famitsu report only takes into account physical sales:

1.4mil 3DS, 1.1mil PS4.

There are according to vgchartz:

22.8mil 3DS, 4.78-5mil PS4.

At this point I would assume that a majority of Japanese PS4 owners also own a 3DS. So they chose to get the game on PS4. Either way those 3DS numbers aren't great.

@Fight_Teza_Fight ok lemme say this rn

VGChartz is inaccurate... some things they look into can be regarded as educated guesses, or some things are as dated as some Wikipedia sales data on various pages xD...

Btw Media Create just came out

About a near 300K difference from PS4/3DS ver

Tbf like Pokemon some Japanese folk... grow out of Dragon Quest in general or at times Dragon Quest gets as spammed on releases as Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise that some are fatigued they're tired... I think if Pokemon, MH, DQ, etc all took a nice vacation I honestly think then we'll see a return in top tier sales...

Remember while not in main series games we had a ton of spin-offs in DQ Joker, DQ Heroes 1 and 2, DQ 7 and 8 remake, and finally DQ Builders... for outside of Japan we're only tired of a few franchises as long as a franchise at least tries to do something new w/o losing its identity like the Blue Blur then we're fine... creativity can make things feel fresh or new again

....Always a competition.

I think those numbers are good for both systems. Maybe not up to par with historical numbers for the series but in general there are a lot of series that would love to have those sales numbers.

Digital sales are much higher on PS4 I'd imagine. Wasn't the latest report that up to 20 or 25% of the sales are digital these days? Not sure how that number compares to Japan, but the sales of both could be equal if you take digital in account.

@Derpie1 VGChartz isn't any less accurate than Media Create, especially these days, since their numbers are based on other tracking sites and official data (it's the reason why they're weeks behind). Their numbers used to be less accurate in the past, but that's when they extrapolated their own estimates.

It's like saying Wikipedia is inaccurate these days, because anyone can edit the pages. That used to be true. But try and edit a page now and see how long your edit lasts, if it even gets uploaded at all.

As it should be. PS4 version sells for 9,000yen (around $80) while 3DS is around 6,000 (around $55). And of course, PSN is a powerhouse sales-wise, so the digital tally is likely huge. Again, at the $80 price range.

Personally, I'm waiting for news of the NS version.

@Octane tbh tho Media Create is like the best we're getting for Japanese sales...

Then again anything is inaccurate cus say NPD could say Sonic Mania sold 3 Million copies but it just so happens to be 3,099,999 and sold one more copy a minute later yup now slightly inaccurate cus now it's 3.1m

@Octane it ain't still 300K apart...

No surprise. I can't imagine buying the 3DS version of this game. And I live and breathe portability. Still hoping for good results RE: the Switch version.

@Derpie1 Watch the language please!

@Derpie1 @Fight_Teza_Fight @Octane Let's not get into VGChartz territory, their numbers are still completely unreliable.

@ShogunRok The same can be said about Media Create, but you have no problem with reporting those numbers every week

Like I said, VGChartz doesn't extrapolate their own numbers anymore (which is also the reason why they're weeks behind), they get their numbers from official sources and sales trackers like NDP and Media Create.

None of these sites can report the true sales, that's impossible, but if you can accept the fact that they may be slightly off, they're great sources to compare sales data.

@ShogunRok ok.

@Octane Media Create data is reasonably accurate, though - it always has been. VGChartz may have stopped using so much guesswork - I haven't looked into them for a long time - but there's a reason reputable sites generally avoid sourcing them.

If VGChartz really are better these days, then fair enough, but let's not pretend Media Create is or ever has been on the level that VGChartz is known for.

@get2sammyb @ShogunRok Yikes. Sorry no more vgchartz sourcing!

I was just looking for rough estimates, does +/- 5% really matter when your just trying to be in the right ball park? Think that's were @Octane was coming from.

@get2sammyb No, I'm saying it's silly to pretend as if VGChartz is always miles off. When their means of estimating numbers isn't too different from how Media Create does it. Yes, there were a few cases when their numbers weren't correct, at least, so I've heard, but it's not as if all their numbers were off by a significant amount (and remember to do adjust the numbers if official data gets released).

It's like when complain about Metacritic, when all they do is accumulate review scores.

The owner of the site basically left and all the admins can do is wait for other sources and update the numbers accordingly. VGChartz isn't what it used to be without the weekly updates, but it's still the go-to place if you want to compare sales and aren't the mood to spend half an hour looking for official numbers in obscure Japanese fiscal reports.

I'm not making a case for VGChartz, and I certainly don't think you should report their numbers, but I just think it's a bit silly when people pretend all they do is pulling random numbers out of their arse. As long as you're not arguing that game A sold more than game B because it sold 100,020 copies last week and game B only sold 100,000 copies, they are a pretty reliable source. Definitely accurate enough for ball-park figures.

@get2sammyb Then how come the numbers from Media Create, Famitsu and Dengeki are always a bit different? You cannot track every single purchase.

Media Create gets their data from a select number of stores, which they then multiply by several factors to get an estimate for the total sales in Japan (it's the exact same way VGChartz used to operate back in the day). Media Create's sources aren't public however, we don't know where they get the numbers from, but we assume them to be accurate enough.

@get2sammyb The reason may be because Media Create and NPD get their data from a bigger percent of retailers than VGChartz (or at least, when they used to update their numbers every week). So their (Media Create & NPD) numbers may be less off the mark. Still, I see no reason to declare that all of VGChartz's numbers are off. And at times, they're the best source we have. I mean, I can't even check NPD's numbers on their site, and Media Create only covers Japan and they have no quick way of showing the total amount of sales per game.

I don't see these sites as black and white, accurate and inaccurate. Just know that neither can report true sales, all of it are estimates. Just because one is probably more accurate than the other, doesn't mean one is the absolute truth and the other is completely useless.

@triforcehero Its not released in the US and Europe yet that 2million will be passed.

@Derpie1 What are you the defender of Nintendo. Whatever way you look at it a 1/5 adapt rate is way more impressive then a 1/20 simple as that. If Nintendo wants to stay in the stoneage by regionlocking that is there loss.

I'm surprised, but they are likely talking in relation to install base/internal expectations.