Dragon Quest guru finds Revolution controller 'exciting'
DQ 'might be next Harry Potter'.
Speaking at a European launch event for Dragon Quest VIII in London yesterday, project lead and series producer Yuji Horii revealed his excitement about Revolution's controller and hinted at his global ambitions for the top-selling Japanese RPG.
"When I was making Manga, I met up with the technology of computer games," he told journalists. "I loved the fact that it was interactive, that you do something and you get feedback. I thought that an interactive story where you get feedback and rewards from everything that you do would be interesting. I like the idea of interactivity with the hardware, so there, where you mention the Nintendo controller, it's a new interface, and it's exciting to have that reaction. You do something, and it reacts to you. It's human nature that to have some feedback from your actions it rewarding."
On sheets given to the press before interviews yesterday, the question, "Are they any plans to release this title on different platforms or game consoles?" was listed next to an ominous, "TBD".
The Dragon Quest series has sold more than 40 million units in Japan alone. Horii was in London to promote the European release of the eighth game in April, which has been renamed Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King for PAL territories, the number being dropped as this is the first Dragon Quest game to hit Europe.
Horii was stoical about the possibility of achieving the status of "cultural phenomenon" in the west - his words to describe the way the series has integrated into Japanese life - but remained open-minded of its chances.
"It might just catch on and become the next Harry Potter, we'll just see how it goes," he said. "We just did the best we could. From meeting you guys and other [Europeans], I know now that fans of Dragon Quest in the west are huge otaku, that they're big fans, so I want to give them more chance to play the game."
Check back on Monday for the full interview with Horii and Dragon Quest The Journey of the Cursed King's producer, Ryutaro Ichimura. For now, check out the shots we took yesterday.