First game announced for Nintendo’s NX console is Dragon Quest XI
It's a huge game for what should be a hugely important new platform for Nintendo
The Wii U hasn’t been a financial success for Nintendo, especially in the wake of the surprise hit that was the original Wii. But while the company is moving into mobile games, it doesn’t want fans to think it’s done in the console world.
That’s why Nintendo effectively pre-announced its next console, codenamed the NX, in March. We don’t know anything else concrete about the platform, aside from the fact that it’s a “brand new concept,” according to the company’s recently passed president, Satoru Iwata.
Still, that hasn’t stopped one massive game publisher from announcing blockbuster titles for it. At a press conference in Japan early today, Square Enix revealed that Dragon Quest XI – the latest entry in the long-running and hugely successful role-playing franchise – will eventually be released for the Nintendo NX.
Dragon Quest XI will first release on both PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 3DS, with two very different play experiences built upon the same core design. On PS4, it’ll be a 3D game using the Unreal Engine 4 – which the NX version will most likely resemble – with a lush, green nature akin to Nintendo’s new Legend of Zelda game coming to Wii U. The 3DS game, on the other hand, will have a top-down, cel-shaded look that more captures the spirit of classic entries.
Square Enix also plans to release the previous game, massively multiplayer online entry Dragon Quest X, for the NX. However, in a press release, the company walked back its commitment to the new platform a bit, saying it is "considering the launch" of Dragon Quest XI (and presumably, DQX) on NX. Given the scale of both the series and its maker, we don’t really see a scenario in which Square Enix bails on this one now that the cat is out of the bag.
It seems likely that the Nintendo NX – with whatever new gameplay concept it might introduce – will be released in 2017 following its planned unveiling next year, although with Iwata’s untimely death, things could well change. As of this writing, no release date has been announced for any version of Dragon Quest XI.
[Sources: Kotaku, Square Enix]
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
