Dragon Quest IX Becomes Best Selling DQ Ever

Square Enix announced today that domestic shipments for Dragon Quest IX have crossed the 4.15 million mark.

An announcement for 4 million would be understandable. An announcement for 4.5 million, sure. But 4.15 million?

The reason this particular figure was chosen is because it represents the point where DQIX became the number one best selling (well, shipping) Dragon Quest game ever.

Previously, the record was held by Dragon Quest VII, which hit the PlayStation in 2000. As a comparison, here are the shipments for all past numbered DQ games, as shared by ITmedia back in June (based off data from the 2008 CESA White Paper):

• Dragon Quest: 1.5 million
• Dragon Quest II: 2.41 million
• Dragon Quest III: 3.77 million
• Dragon Quest IV: 3.04 million
• Dragon Quest V: 2.79 million
• Dragon Quest VI: 3.19 million
• Dragon Quest VII: 4.14 million
• Dragon Quest VIII: 3.68 million

Since its release in July, Square Enix has been continuing to promote Dragon Quest IX, both through television commercials and new content. The game sees new download quests every week, a program Square Enix has said would continue for a year following the game's release.

Previously, Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada has said that he expects the game to top the five million sales mark.