Fans of the Dragon Quest franchise haven't had a new game to look forward to since Dragon Quest 10 was announced as an MMORPG for the Wii and Wii U years ago, but today that has changed, as Square Enix announced at a press conference in Japan the existence of Dragon Quest 11.

Not only did Square Enix announce Dragon Quest 11, but they also announced its platforms and furthermore, additional systems for Dragon Quest 10 as well. According to Square Enix, Dragon Quest 10 is being ported to PS4, and there will be two different versions of Dragon Quest 11, one optimized for the New 3DS and the other for home consoles, namely the PlayStation 4. Oh, and apparently, both Dragon Quest 10 and Dragon Quest 11 are coming to the Nintendo NX as well.

While they have since retracted their statement about the Nintendo NX, saying that NX versions of Dragon Quest 10 and 11 are only "under consideration", but the more likely scenario is that Square Enix simply let the cat out of the bag prematurely. In any case, Dragon Quest 10 and 11 can probably be safely considered the first two officially announced games for the Nintendo NX.

However, because Square Enix have since changed their story, technically the potential Nintendo NX versions of Dragon Quest 10 and 11 are just rumors at this point, but they certainly aren't the first rumors to come out about Nintendo's new console. The system is rumored to be releasing in July of 2016, and it may utilize VR technology. Furthermore, a Metroid Prime game from Retro Studios is rumored to be in development for the Nintendo NX as well.

Dragon Quest 10 - Dragon Quest 10 party gameplay

If we assume that Square Enix is in fact bringing Dragon Quest 10 and 11 to the NX and simply made the announcement too early, it actually reveals one very important thing about the console. Dragon Quest 11 is being powered by Unreal Engine 4, which the Wii U is reportedly incapable of running. This would indicate that the NX is likely in the same power range, if not more powerful, than the PS4 and the Xbox One. Maybe we'll actually get to see Pokemon in Unreal Engine 4 one day.

Of course, even if Dragon Quest 10 and 11 are coming to the NX, whether or not they see release outside of Japan is another issue entirely. While Dragon Quest Heroes is being localized, another recent DQ game, namely the 3DS version of Dragon Quest 8, has yet to have a release date announced for western markets, though it has gotten a worldwide release on iOS.

There are currently no release dates for the supposedly planned Nintendo NX versions of Dragon Quest 10 or Dragon Quest 11. However, with the franchise's 30th anniversary in 2016 and the NX console itself planned to be revealed next year as well, smart money is that Dragon Quest 11 will release sometime next year.

Source: VG 24/7