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Dragon Quest Monsters confirmed for 3DS release
A remake of 1998's Game Boy Color title Dragon Quest Monsters is officially heading to the 3DS, Square Enix has confirmed. The 3DS version will include all of the beasts from Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, as well as some new monsters and stories. Dragon Quest Monsters is expected to hit the 3DS in Japan in 2012.
The Last Story, Pandora's Tower due in Europe in 2012, more Euro releases dated
The Wii does have a lifespan beyond 2011 -- in Europe. Nintendo of Europe sent out a list (PDF) of upcoming titles today, including the two other games for which Operation Rainfall is campaigning: Mistwalker's The Last Story and Ganbarion's Pandora's Tower. Both are slated for 2012 in Europe now, and have yet to be announced in North America. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be released in Europe November 18 while Kirby's Adventure Wii is coming in December. The release list also provides November and December windows for Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 on 3DS, respectively. Super Pokemon Rumble will also be released in Europe this December. On DS, DQ Monsters Joker 2 is coming October 7, Kirby Mass Attack is due October 28, and Professor Layton will answer The Spectre's Call in November. Cave Story will finally come to DSiWare in Europe in Q4. A few standout downloads listed: in Q4, the 3DS Virtual Console will see releases of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Metroid II, and the Game Boy Bionic Commando game. Nintendo previously blocked the NES version from Virtual Console.
Round up Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 in August
Nintendo's E3 roster was so cavernous, and so quietly announced, that we still have at least one more new game to mention: Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2. Almost completely imperceptible in Nintendo's booth except for the piped-in Dragon Quest theme, the DS role-playing spinoff will draw near to North American stores on August 28. Joker 2 has players taming wild Dragon Quest beasts and training them in turn-based battles. It has over 300 of the series' signature critters, and can even obtain monsters via Tag Mode with Dragon Quest VI and IX! Speaking of other Dragon Quest games, Nintendo is really serious about this Dragon Quest thing, huh? It published Dragon Quest IX last year, then VI early this year -- and Dragon Quest characters are in both Mario Sports Mix and Fortune Street (also announced at this E3). We never expected to see any Western publisher care this much about Dragon Quest, much less Nintendo.%Gallery-125884%
Square Enix profits plummet, but loss avoided to close out 2010
The potentially lucrative holiday quarter -- Q3 of Square Enix's fiscal year -- didn't bring a slowdown to the publisher's sinking profits. Instead, the company slid closer to landing in the red as 2010 came to an end. For the nine months ending December 31, 2010, Square Enix today reported a net income of ¥1.821 billion ($22.33 million), a 76.6 percent decrease in profits from the same period the year before. When the iPhone port of Secret of Mana is perhaps your most significant release during the holidays, what more can you expect? Accordingly, net sales in the nine-month period were also down year-over-year (though just by 27.5 percent) for the business, which (aside from games) includes amusement, publication and merchandising products. Speaking of games, the holiday quarter didn't push any additional Square Enix titles into coveted "million-seller" status -- only Kane & Lynch 2 and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (Japan only) have reached a million in sales during the company's current fiscal year (ending March 31, 2011), and both had done so by the end of last September. "Responding to intensifying competition in the console game market, the company has implemented organizational changes in the third quarter while also working to better select and further strengthen our most competitive titles," Square Enix president Yoichi Wada offered in a short statement accompanying the financial report. "In other platform areas including PCs and smartphones, we have created successful examples of new content such as Nicotto Town and Sengoku Ixa," Wada added. "By pursuing these two independent markets, we are raising our ability to succeed in diverse business models." So diversified has Square Enix become, in fact, that this is the first we've ever heard of these two "successful" projects! [Pictured: Nicotto Town; image source: nifty.co.jp]
Square Enix profits down, but not out as familiar franchises keep sales alive
If you think we're going to explain that mess of scribbles above -- fuggedaboutit! What we have parsed from Square Enix's six-month financial report (April–September 2010) is a rather slight net income: ¥1.723 billion ($21.4 million). While any company would take pocket change over a loss, Square Enix profits are indeed down 36 percent from the same period last year, and software sales for the first half of this fiscal year have relied heavily on "contribution from highly profitable carryover sales of major titles released in March" -- in other words: Final Fantasy XIII picked up the slack. And who were the slackers? Square Enix highlighted five "major titles" released during the period: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (DS) - 1.28 million units sold (Japan-only) Final Fantasy XIV (PC) - 630K units sold (worldwide) Just Cause 2 (multiplatform) - 560K units sold (worldwide)* Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (multiplatform) - 1.12 million units sold (worldwide) Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP) - 510K units sold (worldwide)* *Title released in some regions prior to April 2010; sales only reflect those recorded in the six months ending September 30, 2010. Finally, Square Enix heralded its recent partnership with Chinese online games publisher Shanda Games; a deal indicative of two of the company's three proclaimed growth strategies: globalization and becoming "network centric." As for the third? Square Enix's three-pronged attack also stresses "strengthening our own-IPs." So when's that next Final Fantasy coming out again? [Image: Year-over-year comparison of monthly revenues from existing outlets; source: Square Enix]
Square Enix reports increased fiscal Q1 sales, lists upcoming games
Square Enix's net sales were up 11% year-over-year in its fiscal Q1 (which ended June 10), from ¥29.4 billion ($341.5 million) to ¥32.5 billion ($378.2 million). It's a phenomenon that president Yoichi Wada attributes to the million-plus copies sold of Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 in Japan, and continued sales of Final Fantasy XIII and Just Cause 2 in the west. Operating income jumped 814% in the same period, from ¥594 million ($6.9 million) in Q1 2009 to ¥5.43 billion ($63.14 million). That can be attributed to the fact that Square Enix didn't buy any major publishing companies this year. The earnings presentation for the quarter (PDF) lists the company's current publishing plans for the near future, including the surefire Wii hit Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory for Japan only, as well as the Parasite Eve sequel The 3rd Birthday with a "This Winter" date in Japan and a "TBD" date in North America and Europe. The slides also reveal that Square Enix will handle Japanese publishing duties for Call of Duty: Black Ops, like it did for Modern Warfare 2.
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 to be Japan's next hit DS game
With Dragon Quest VI in stores in Japan for almost one whole week, Square Enix wasted no time in announcing another upcoming Dragon Quest game for DS. The latest new announcement is Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2, a sequel to the Pokemon-like DS Dragon Quest spinoff from 2007. The new sequel, out April 28 in Japan, will feature over 300 catchable monsters and online multiplayer for up to eight people. And in a post-Dragon Quest IX Japan, with millions of people happily playing online, this game would seem to have a built-in audience. [Via Andriasang]
