Nintendo has confirmed that Dragon Quest XI is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2017. This confirmation applies to Japan only, as no confirmation of a Western release date has been announced yet for Dragon Quest XI.
This news comes via a blog post on Nintendo’s official Japanese website. “It should be noted that this title is also planned for release on Nintendo Switch,” reads the post.
Square Enix has committed itself to releasing Dragon Quest games in the West, especially since the recent success of Dragon Quest Builders and Dragon Quest VII. In an interview with MCV , series producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto stated:
“2016 marks the 30th anniversary of Dragon Quest series. It’s not as well known in the West as we would like but it really plays an epoch making role in the console gaming history. If gamers were to ‘discover’ Dragon Quest now, they may be surprised to the sheer breadth of the universe, in terms of variety and depth. But they would also have instant access to something that has taken us 30 years to build.”
Dragon Quest XI is scheduled for a March 2017 release date in Japan on the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4 and now, Nintendo Switch.
In a round-table discussion between Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii, Pokemon series producer Junichi Masuda, and Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai, Horii discussed the difficulties of releasing on three platforms:
“The use of hardware is different for each system, so it’s quite a challenge…. However, we’re making the 3DS version in both 3D and 2D. I asked my staff, ‘Is that something we can do?’ And they said, ‘We’ll do it.’ So we decided, ‘then let’s do it.’”
Regarding the release of four versions across three platforms, Horii added, “There are a lot of difficulties because of that. Each one has a different look to it, and there’s also a PlayStation 4 version, so if we make a small fix then we have to fix it across every version.”
He also discussed the release date, saying, “Spoilers will emerge if we release one version earlier.”
Are you hoping for a Western release date for Dragon Quest XI? Feel free to talk all things Dragon Quest in our comments section below.
