Square  Enix has announced their financial results for the nine months up to December 31, 2017. Overall, there has been a considerable increase in both operating and ordinary income. Additionally, the specific results of Digital Entertainment business was also detailed.

Although there were some big releases for consoles such as Dragon Quest XI and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, the overall sales had declined as compared to the previous year. This decline of sales was caused due to a lack of blockbuster games released within this period. However, operating income has increased thanks to the many downloads of older titles such as Nier: Automata, and the success of the company’s mobile games. As for their MMORPGS, Square Enix reported strong performance of both Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XIV. 

Overall, the company has had great results during this period with a 66.9% increase in operating profit as compared to the previous year.

The first ever game announced for the Nintendo Switch, back when it was the NX, was Dragon Quest 11– today at the Nintendo Switch presentation, Nintendo confirmed that the game will indeed be coming to the Switch. We still don’t know which version it will be- will it be the 3DS version, the PS4 one, or one all for it? But we do know that the game is coming to it.

We also got confirmation that Dragon Quest 10, the Dragon Quest MMO that originally launched on Wii and Wii U, before launching on PC, 3DS, and PS4 as well, will also be making its way over to the Nintendo Switch. And Dragon Quest Heroes and Dragon Quest Heroes 2 will be launching for the Nintendo Switch as well- in fact, both of them will be available in a double pack at the system’s launch.

So for Dragon Quest fans, especially ones on Nintendo’s previous systems, which have all hosted multiple Dragon Quest games, this is great news.

Dragon Quest X just got its third expansion pack announced at Jump Fiesta earlier today, but surprisingly enough, that announcement came with another one- that longtime series director Yuji Horii won’t be directing it.

Now, before you start freaking out and start worrying about the future of the franchise, calm down. Horii confirmed that he won’t be working on the new expansion pack precisely because of the future of the series- he is currently working on Dragon Quest XI, and that is taking up all his time.

That sounds good to me, especially since it’s further proof that Dragon Quest XI is in fact actually a thing and in production. Of course, we still don’t know what platform it’s for- a while ago, the 3DS seemed like a lock, but right now, it’s not so sure. It could be for anything from 3DS to PS3 and PS4 to even Wii U. Or maybe it will be for all of them.

Dragon Quest X, meanwhile, is available for the Wii, Wii U, PC, and Nintendo 3DS.

Dragon Quest X, the tenth installment in the long running Dragon Quest series, is a bit of a departure from the norm for the traditionally conservative series. It is, you see, an MMORPG. It was launched back in 2012 for the Wii, and then in 2013 for the Wii U, with subsequent releases for PC and smartphones announced. Through it all, the game has been generally successful, and has been considered to have been one of the streams of revenue that have helped Square Enix to return to profitability in recent years.

However, Square is apparently not done milking it- the game will also be coming to the 3DS, allowing players to use the same accounts and characters that they have created on any of the other versions, and it will be using advanced cloud streaming technology to get around the limitations that the 3DS’s hardware poses.

This is the second numbered Dragon Quest game on the 3DS- the first was a remake of Dragon Quest VII that released on the 3DS in Japan early last year. Neither that game, nor this one, have yet been confirmed for localization, and it is unlikely that they ever will be. A new mainline Dragon Quest game has also been confirmed to be in development.

Square Enix sure like to take chances with their established brands, don’t they? After making mainline, numbered entries in the Final Fantasy series (XI and XIV/XIV: A Realm Reborn respectively) MMORPGs, they also decided to make Dragon Quest X, the newest title in a series traditionally highly conservative in its adherence to JRPG design principles, an MMO.

The move seems to have paid off for them- the game, which has released only in Japan, exclusively on Wii and Wii U (also known as a platform that doesn’t move online software and a platform that doesn’t move software period) has sold a million copies already. This is before the PC version has even released.

The game still does not have a western release announced, though the existence of the PC version makes it slightly more likely that it will eventually come over; in the meanwhile, Japan is almost certainly gearing up for a new numbered Dragon Quest game now. Maybe on that 3DS…

Square Enix’s three MMORPGs- Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Dragon Quest X- all of them successful in their own right, will be getting a massive crossover event, reports Siliconera.

A sage from Dragon Quest X will take a great ark and visit the world of Final Fantasy XI, looking for a lost slime. This will initiate a Monstrosity event, where players can play as a Blue Slime. Players will be able to get special Slime gear.

Spriggan, a monster from Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, will also show up in Final Fantasy XI- apparently, moogles can talk to spriggans. Like with the Blue Slime, players will be able to play as a spriggan and get special equipment.

Over in Final Fantasy XIV, Shantotto, the powerful black mage from Final Fantasy XI, will show up in Eorzea; players will be able to join her in a FATE, where if you defeat her, you will be able to recruit her as a minion. Similarly, a golem from Dragon Quest X will show up as a FATE in Final Fantasy XIV, and if you defeat it, it can join you as a minion.

Shantotto will also be showing up in Dragon Quest X, where she puts you on a quest to recover lost items. If you do that, you win a Chocobo hat. Similarly, A moogle from Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will give Dragon Quest X players a quest too. Complete this and players get a Cactaur Mask.

The crossover events start December 11, when content from A Realm Reborn and Dragon Quest X will show up in Final Fantasy XI; Dragon Quest X will have the Final Fantasy XI crossover between January and February 2014. The Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XIV crossover will take place later, between February and March. Finally, the two crossovers for Final Fantasy XIV will take place in the end of January to early February 2014.

Even harsher is the loss of 1.6 billion yen (more than $16 million), with Square stating that, “In response to the latest environmental changes in the game industry, the Company has implemented a change in its development policy, and conducted a comprehensive review on work-in-progress game titles for the three-month period ended June 30, 2013. As a result, the Company has decided to book a loss on evaluation of content (approximately ¥1.6 billion) as an extraordinary loss.”

Net sales are up year on year by 3.3 percent but this loss is nothing to scoff at. The above statement could indicate that Square Enix has recently cancelled some projects which weren’t performing up to expectations. Thankfully, Dragon Quest X seems to be showing a “steady performance”, and might be heading to Western markets soon.

Square Enix has details the reasons for poor revenues last quarter. It also resulted in Yoichi Wada, the CEO of the company, resigning.

They said that their MMO is not performing as they expected and they most likely mean Dragon Quest X by this, because Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn isn’t out yet for the PS3 and PC.

“We have done everything we can do to adapt and respond to the drastically changing environment. However, we have not been able to accomplish satisfactory results since FY2011,” Yoichi Wada said.

“I intended to do what had to be done, but these results came despite my best efforts. We are performing negatively in the Amusement sector, negative in EUR/NA console games, and although Social Media Games are doing well, MMO is not performing to the level we anticipated.

“The seeds that we have planted have by chance, or by necessity, all worked in synch negatively resulting in a huge loss for FY2013.”

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Thanks, Gi.Biz.

Of course, for those who can’t wait to get into the game, Square Enix will also be releasing premium Wii U sets which contain invitations for a beta test to kick off on March 6th for Japan.

That doesn’t include the hardware bundle coming up for the commercial release, which includes a 32 GB SKU, Dragon Quest X, a black controller, prepaid card worth 1000 yen and five super health orbs worth roughly 42000 yen or $452.

Dragon Quest X for Wii U is set to mirror the Wii version in terms of features but will also include improved visuals and the ability to play the game on the Wii U Gamepad thanks to the ever popular gameplay transfer option.

Source: Siliconera

Building on the same cel-shaded art style, character designs and battle systems of famous games in the series, Dragon Quest X will feature traditional turn-based combat as opposed to the fancy systems of other high-profile JRPGs. And since it’s an MMO, you’ll be able to team up with 4 other players to tackle quests and dungeons, collecting randomly generated items and selecting different races with their own unique towns. Though you’ll start the game as a human, you can eventually shift to 5 other races like Ogre, Elf, Dwarf, Puklipo, and Weddie.

Gameplay will take place on Astoltia, which features five continents and thus facilitate a large number of players. While already released for the Wii, Dragon Quest X is scheduled to release on the Wii U in Japan in March 2013.