Next 'Dragon Quest' Game to Launch With Nintendo's Wii

LOS ANGELES – Japanese video game maker Square Enix Co. Ltd. said on Monday it will offer the latest installment of its hugely popular "Dragon Quest" series in time for the launch of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s new Wii console.

The game is expected to benefit Nintendo's next-generation machine since having a wide range of popular software available at the time of the launch is considered crucial for success in the game console market.

Nintendo plans to release the Wii by the end of the year, setting the stage for a three-way battle with Microsoft Corp's (MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s (SNE) upcoming PlayStation 3.

The title of the blockbuster role-playing game is "Dragon Quest Swords," and a video clip shown at a news conference ahead of this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo showed players swinging Wii video controllers.

A key feature of the Wii is its one-handed controller that looks like a television remote control and has motion-detection sensors so players can control the game by wielding it like a sword, waving it like a conductor's baton, or swinging it like a baseball bat.

Square Enix also said it is developing its "Final Fantasy XIII" for PS3, which will be launched on November 11 in Japan and on November 17 in most of the rest of the world.

"Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy" are two of Square Enix's most popular software titles.

"As long as we put the name Final Fantasy on it, we are determined to make it something that extracts the full potential of the console," Yoshinori Kitase, a Final Fantasy producer, told reporters.

Sony's PS3 will be powered by ultra-fast microprocessor Cell, dubbed a "supercomputer on a chip" and co-developed with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Toshiba Corp.

Square Enix's corporate planning department head Michihiro Sasaki said "Final Fantasy XIII" is likely to be developed only for the PS3 and for mobile phones.

However, he did not completely rule out the possibility of a version for Xbox 360.