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Long Lines And Sell-Outs For Dragon Quest XI In Japan 

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.

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 XI Only” to handle pre-orders.

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:

Goodness.

Here’s the wait at the Bic Camera in Ikebukuro.

Even at this Geo shop, there was a long DQXI line.

This customer bought the 3DS version at the Bic Camera in Ikebukuro, where the line was over 200 people long.

The Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara at 7:00am on launch day.

The Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda on launch day.

Inside the Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/890960733902483456

Another store.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891124073358426114

Another line.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891078615240069121

This shop also got a Switch shipment, making the line even longer. (The photo was taken at 7:00am.)

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891222147657584641

Another shot of the DQXI line in Ikebukuro.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891067632870342656

Seven am at the Geo store in Fukuoka.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891551323061051392

At 7:00am, the DQXI line at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara was over 200 people long.

People waiting to buy Dragon Quest XI at the same Akihabara store.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891585098809655297

The game, especially the PS4 version, even sold out at some stores.

The PS4 version sold out the Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo’s Ueno.

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/embed/status/891244714199994368

The Yodobashi Camera in Yokohama sold out of the PS4 version. (This Twitter user had already bought the download version.)

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891584281851469824

The notice near the penguin character states that the store is currently sold out.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891889611055579136

Both the PS4 and 3DS versions sold out at the Yodobashi Camera in Sendai.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/891593660298440704

“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.


Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

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