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As of last week, Dragon Quest X has sold about 556,000 copies in Japan, since its August 2nd release in the territory.
That isn’t a very good sales figure for your usual Dragon Quest game, but Dragon Quest X isn’t a regular game—it’s an MMORPG. That means its real success is measured in terms of the number of paying subscribers that fork over a monthly fee to keep playing the game.
The Nihon Securities Journal (via Anime News Network) reports that Dragon Quest X has about 300,000 subscribers thus far. Each subscriber pays 1,000 yen (about $13) a month, so that’s 300 million yen (about $3.8 million) in monthly subscription revenues if Square can keep that number stable.
In comparison, Final Fantasy XI, another Square Enix MMO, peaked at about 600,000 subscribers. It remains to be seen whether or not Square Enix can continue to grow the number of paying Dragon Quest X subscribers over the next few years to such a figure.
Dragon Quest X employs an interesting model that allows for limited free play, even if you don’t pay a subscription fee. “Kids’ Time,” which runs from 4pm to 6pm on weekdays, and 1pm to 3pm on weekends, allows two hours of free play each day for children.
Next year, Square Enix will also release Dragon Quest X for Nintendo’s Wii U console. The Wii U version of the game will feature high-definition visuals. Prior to that, a significant update for the game in October will add two new job classes, the Ranger and Paladin.
Additionally, Square Enix are working their way toward a re-launch of their latest MMO, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
