Dragon Quest X Hitting Wii and Wii U 2012

Japanese game publisher Square Enix has announced that the 10th installment in its long-running role-playing game series, Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes will be released for the Wii and Wii U platform in 2012. The Wii U version is said to be graphically superior, though both versions can work together. Dragon Quest X is being developed internally by Square Enix, a first for the series. 

The game was formally  announced by Yuji Horii on December 10, 2008 at a Dragon Quest conference, it has been called "the highest profile third-party release ever announced for the platform" by Nintendo Power. The battle system appears to be menu-based, but whether it is turn-based or with a real-time component remains to be seen. The game is set in a new world featuring five continents and six playable races. The six races are: Human, Ogre, Elf, Dwarf, Pukuripo, and Wedi.

Upon the initial announcement of the game, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata compared the Dragon Quest series to the Brain Age series, which was also seen as unmarketable in the West, and declared that he would like to work closely with Square Enix to raise the series' international appeal. It was also speculated that by MCVUK that it could be released on other formats since Horii never stated that it was exclusive, though noting that the last two Dragon Quest games were exclusive. The Escapist's Keane Ng speculated that because it was announced before Dragon Quest IX's release, it may be along in development. In response to a rumour of being announced on the Japanese variety show Tama Newtown, Kotaku's Michael McWhertor found it suspicious that Square Enix, which according to him announces games "while top executives stand behind podiums in meeting rooms at Tokyo's Imperial Hotel", would announce such a significant title without "more fanfare." Edge's Rob Crossley commented that a multi-console release of Dragon Quest X for both the Wii and DS was a "distinct possibility" due to the "financial allure" of such a prospect.