Water is wet. Sugar is sweet. And Japan loves Dragon Quest. In the least surprising news of the weekend, the latest DQ release drew long lines. At some locations, the game sold out.
The tag on the game reads “完売致しました” (“Kanbai itashimashita”) or “Sold out.” [Image: bakucome_deli]
Website Inside Games covered the Tokyo launch, reporting how over 200 people lined up at the Bic Camera in Ikebukuro. Another 200 people lined up at the Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara.
Some registers were marked “For Dragon Quest 11 Only” to handle pre-orders.
3階にて。さすがドラクエとなれば、専用レジもこの通り。 pic.twitter.com/9pajmD9raF
— ryuto (@yhino_de) July 29, 2017
Shops also did this for Splatoon 2, and it seems like a smart way to prevent those with pre-orders from having to line up for a long time.
Below are photos of the lines:
すげえ列😂😂😂
買えそうで良かった#ドラクエ11 pic.twitter.com/XYwSLMxSFu— たろー (@kenfrkiss) July 29, 2017
Goodness.
ドラゴンクエスト11:5年ぶりの新作、きょう全国で発売開始 東京・池袋の“聖地”に80人の列 https://t.co/SgYWJQ8rsT #ドラゴンクエスト11 #ドラクエ11 #DQ11 pic.twitter.com/7NrtvDGl8D
— mantanotaku (@mantanotaku) July 28, 2017
Here’s the wait at the Bic Camera in Ikebukuro.
#DQ11
軽く出遅れたら、長蛇の列過ぎわろた pic.twitter.com/PGbUSIQW0Y— やす (@yas520402) July 28, 2017
Even at this Geo shop, there was a long DQ11 line.
【ドラクエ11 池袋に200人超列】「ドラゴンクエストXI」が発売となり、「ビックカメラ池袋本店」には、200人以上の長蛇の列。行列を見て、列に並んでいくユーザーなども多いという。 https://t.co/238Jg48imV
— Yahoo!ニュース (@YahooNewsTopics) July 29, 2017
This customer bought the 3DS version at the Bic Camera in Ikebukuro, where the line was over 200 people long.
#7月29日 AM7:00 ヨドバシAKIBA。#ドラクエ11 待機列。
そして、7時ジャストにモニターにPVらしきな物が流れる…。#DQ11 #July29 #July29th pic.twitter.com/3NLWzDFKeh
— にょ@(・ω・) (@Shiho_Elis) July 28, 2017
The Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara at 7:00AM on launch day.
ヨドバシ梅田、ドラクエ11意外にならんでるなぁ。 pic.twitter.com/VGILwG7oye
— shihira (@sige_h) July 28, 2017
The Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda on launch day.
ヨドバシ梅田、ドラクエ11を事前に予約してる人はゲーム売り場の専用カウンターに長蛇の待機列に並ばないといけないのに予約してない自分は他のレジで並ばすに買えるという珍現象が発生中 pic.twitter.com/sra82PbjEW
— ふらぢゃいる (@Fragile1973) July 29, 2017
Inside the Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda.
https://twitter.com/busaikucat/status/890960733902483456
Another store.
https://twitter.com/takaonpu/status/891124073358426114
Another line.
https://twitter.com/M_saika_82/status/891078615240069121
This shop also got a Switch shipment, making the line even longer. (The photo was taken at 7:00AM.)
https://twitter.com/game_matome16/status/891222147657584641
Another shot of the DQ11 line in Ikebukuro.
https://twitter.com/dq10_megppe/status/891067632870342656
Seven am at the Geo store in Fukuoka.
https://twitter.com/dragonquest_jp/status/891551323061051392
At 7:00AM, the DQ11 line at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara was over 200 people long.
5年ぶりの新作『ドラゴンクエスト11』が発売! ヨドバシAkibaでは朝7時から約200人超え https://t.co/kgxx6x6kMk #連載jp #rensaijp pic.twitter.com/mfDHlgtfPl
— 連載.jp (@rensaijp) July 29, 2017
People waiting to buy Dragon Quest 11 at the same Akihabara store.
https://twitter.com/ieirimarch/status/891585098809655297
The game, especially the PS4 version, even sold out at some stores.
PS4版、ドラゴンクエスト11、ヨドバシカメラ上野では売り切れ❗すごいね!#ドラクエXI #勇者はじめました pic.twitter.com/4rUEsictbu
— Minebon™@ネットワークSE兼PM (@minebon1974) July 29, 2017
The PS4 version sold out the Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo’s Ueno.
トイザらスDQ11売り場の土曜と日曜。PS4版は売り切れのようだ。3DS版は潤沢な在庫のようだ。ザラスなら当然か。 pic.twitter.com/yPIZYFDyM3
— SATO, Ryo (@beerlove_ryo) July 30, 2017
At this Toys ‘R’ Us, there were PS4 and 3DS stock on Saturday, but by Sunday, the PS4 version was sold out.
https://twitter.com/riku_dq10/status/891244714199994368
The Yodobashi Camera in Yokohama sold out of the PS4 version. (This Twitter user had already bought the download version.)
ドラクエどこも売り切れ、、
嘘だろう、、 pic.twitter.com/NXGhdVlJIN— 瀬奈 (@senapuu) July 30, 2017
The notice near the penguin character states that the store is currently sold out.
https://twitter.com/bakucome_deli/status/891889611055579136
Both the PS4 and 3DS versions sold out at the Yodobashi Camera in Sendai.
ドラクエは、売り切れだったのに、これだけ買っちゃった、意味なし。 pic.twitter.com/djphMZCF8t
— カープココちゃん🌹 (@CARPCOCO) July 30, 2017
“Even though Dragon Quest was sold out, I ended up buying this. Meaningless.” Just want until this Twitter user learns about the magical world of download codes.

Comments
5 responses to “Long Lines And Sell-Outs For Dragon Quest 11 In Japan ”
In Australia, the only comparable situation is watching kool aid drinking sycophants hollering over new iPhones while the staff fein cringeworthy enthusiasm with high fives and shit
Want for it… want for it… 😉
Were they giving away something with the physical copy or was the digital version prohibitively more expensive? Otherwise just… Why? To each their own I guess, always get the impression I’m in the minority with my ‘digital only’ approach now to games so harder for me to get my head around?
Seems like a bad time to live in Japan if you like video games but hate queues with this/the switch stuff all going on.
People just like collecting shit I guess
No digital download?