Let me start by thanking everyone for patiently waiting for news about Drakengard 3. We’ve been quiet for a long time, but today, we’re dropping some huge news — the silence is no more!
Let’s start big: we’ve got a release date. Drakengard 3 is coming out on May 20th, 2014, for $49.99 on PS3. Mark your calendars, and keep that pen out, because there are a couple more dates I’d like you to note.
If you pre-order Drakengard 3 before March 4th, or if you already have, you’ll be locked in for three bonus items — all at no extra charge. The first item is something I know those of you who appreciate an authentic gaming experience have asked for time and again, and your voices have been heard. You’ll be getting the Japanese Voice Over DLC pack.
As for the second and third items… they’re a secret! We’ll reveal the second item on March 4th, and the third item on April 9th. Basically, the earlier you pre-order, the more you get. If you wait past March 4th, you’ll only get two items. The Japanese VO DLC will have expired. If you wait past April 9th, you’ll only get one item.
Last but not least, retailing for $79.99 exclusively from the Square Enix Online Store, the Drakengard 3 Collector’s Edition was crafted with the fans who’ve loved Drakengard since the PS2 days. Of course, it’s also accessible to newcomers as well, with the original Japanese box art and that gorgeous, bloody flower on the case.
This version comes with some incredible stuff, including a complete prequel novella — a collection of short stories written from the perspectives of each character. It’s also got a selection of tracks by acclaimed composer Keiichi Okabe. We’ve mentioned he also composed Nier, haven’t we?
The Collector’s Edition also comes packed with more content and a few nods to series fans. It’s got a full DLC stage featuring Zero’s sister, One, as a playable character. And for the long-time fans, you can equip Zero in the Caim costume. Aesthetically, the costume is reminiscent of the original Drakengard, but functionally, it decreases stamina consumption when using a skill. Finally, the Giant Baby Hat is for your dragon, which needs no introduction to those of you who know this series.
One very important fact I should mention about this version is that only 5,000 of these are going to be produced. We’re giving you the number upfront so that you know that when we say limited quantity, we mean limited. And rest assured, pre-ordering the Collector’s Edition also gets you all three pre-order bonus items, no matter when you order it.
I hope we’ve made up for that prolonged silence with all this news. If you have any questions, be sure to ask us in the comments!
I can sort of understand why it not going be sold in retail because this a very niche game with very strange/bizzare topic and themes. If you look up the personality/information on the many character you will understand. The heroine is not a typically heroine like in other JRPG which may turn off some people. It is pretty different… However this is one of the selling point of this game which may also be a disadvantage since it may be too over the top for some which equal less sales.
I do not claim to be a expert on their business model nor actually know what it is with them and retail stores. However, I anciptated that there might be a great deal of money loss if this game went on retail since there a risk of people not buying it is possibly pretty high due to the nature of the game. Since they control the order and amount they may prevent any loss.
Once again, I am no means a expert and the writing above is all speculations that may or may not be true. I just happy they releasing a new drakengard game. Who know if sale on this game increases it may be possible that they will sell it on retail too… I asdumed it take some time and money to make the boxed then downloading it digitally.
AGAIN. THESE ARE MY SPECULATIONS. THEY ARE NOT TRUE BEHIND THEIR DECISION. ..
While waiting for a comment to my question (which I now know the answer to), I’ve been reading a lot of the comments coming along, and I hope I can help people understand some things.
Most people that comment should know that the Drakengard series is very niche – it’s not a huge title compared to Final Fantasy, so localizing this title isn’t Square trying to “squeeze” more money out of consumers. Drakengard and Final Fantasy are developed by completely different teams, so you should re-direct your frustration of waiting for games like XV (my most anticipated game by the way) towards other FF games that get released (LR, for example). The people behind this latest Drakengard really wanted to because they wanted a real Drakengard sequel for their fans.
Another thing is, don’t get mad at SE of NA for SE of EU or SE as a whole – each regional branch has their own budget for localizing games; SE NA is not responsible for EU deciding on only a digital release. SE NA will put more money into titles that will bring more turnover, and so they have to restrict their budget for lower-end titles – this is likely why the Japanese VO DLC is a limited preorder bonus that you’ll have to pay for after the game’s release, because it’s not as simple as leaving the audio data on the disc; they have to pay the JP VA’s their share for using the voices. I’ve also seen comparisons to companies like Atlus and NISA that do it – note that while Atlus games were branded under Atlus, they’re actually backed by a company that acquired them (previously Index, now Sega), and both companies release a crap-load of on-disc DLC (some free, but a lot are paid for).
And for the person talking about trash about the Japanese VA (who is not likely to go back and read responses), you obviously don’t know what “authentic” means. It’s not saying the JP VA is better, but that’s it’s the “original work” of the game (and some people prefer that anyways, but that’s a different subject).
Now, for the SE exclusivity – most already know why, but it’s to ensure that they make the profit directly. The decision is semi-understandable because it’s not just about SE not wanting to spend money to make extra copies, but it’s about how much retailers will buy. GameStop and Amazon will likely buy a decent amount, but it’s probably also the budget or producing vs how much other retailers are willing to buy (though I’m sure it’s more based on profit than anything). In this case also, they can gauge how many copies to produce based on preorders plus some extras. But I can understand the frustration here – I’m being really hopeful that Digital River won’t mess up my order (SE should just set up their own service).
It’s too bad we don’t get the 10th Anniversary Box, but considering this one is $80 whereas if they brought over the 10th Anniversary one, it’d likely be $200, I can see why. I was wondering whether the next 2 wave bonuses were also DLC but I think that was accidentally revealed via the replies to the comments here (if they really are all DLC, I have a good idea of what they are).
On a side note though, I hope we’ll get some avatars – I like my Amaterasu, but I kind of want to change it up.
Just found out that Play-Asia will be selling the standard edition, so for those of you who can’t order from Squenix Store, this is the best option
http://www.play-asia.com/drakengard-3-paOS-13-49-en-70-7ih1.html
While it is a bit more expensive than the official price, shipping is included and they ship anywhere in the world.
They also listed the CE, but I’m not sure it will be available there, probably very few units
http://www.play-asia.com/drakengard-3-collectors-edition-paOS-13-49-en-70-7ih5.html
Just in case anyone was planning on putting multiple items with their preorder:
Despite what the Square Enix reps said in this blog post and an earlier one’s comments, Digital River will not ship your order separately. The entire order will be delayed until all items in stock.
This wouldn’t be that bad but unlike other retailers, Digital River doesn’t appear to reserve stock for your item. So the extra item you added in to save on shipping could go out of stock and cause your order to be delayed. Potentially worse scenario for exclusive/limited items.
Thanks for answering.
I want this game but I don’t want to spend the extra money on shipping it would cost me almost 70 dollars for the standard game
What’s so bad about Digital River?
can someone please tell me how much the CE weigh? I need to know for shipping purposes
I have a question that needs clarifying – it was mentioned before that if a game is out of stock, whatever game that you preordered won’t be shipped until all items are in stock again, but games will be held. I have an order that includes 2 games that are currently out of stock with a CE preorder – obviously, I ordered them when they were still in stock. Are those games being held until the CE is released then? I’m concerned because I got an email from SE about having out of stock items on an order and probably canceling them to get my order on time. I don’t mind not getting my order on time, as long as I get them – so since I already have the CE preordered and all items aren’t in stock, will the CE be held until the other items are in stock? This almost wouldn’t make sense because if that were the case, the items I ordered that are currently out of stock should be held for me until the CE is available.
Secondly, I have one order with 2 different CEs, so now I’m wondering whether the CE that gets released first will be held until the release of the 2nd CE. Since they’re CEs, I highly doubt that if they go out of stock, they’ll get replenished.
Poster, soundtrack, DLC, heck the game itself, I can hold off on those. But will that novella ever be available separately? One of the biggest reasons I got the “Limited Edition Collector’s Set” of FFVII Advent Children was for The Novel (erroneously italicized as it was) and The Script (because the subtitles certainly weren’t based on the English performance). Nabbed FFXIII-2’s from Best Buy, as well.
“an authentic gaming experience”
Hmmm I like the word “Authentic” here. It seems that SE knows that already.
Hi,
I’m from Indonesia and i want to do pre order the regular version because i really want the Japanese Voice Over DLC, but there was no option for shipping to Indonesia. Do you have any solution or suggestion for this?
Best Regards
Will there be anymore Collectors editions for sale cause I tried to purchase some today and Square Enix site stated that they were Out of Stock??
Just for clarification, will the codes be sent to us when the game releases? I already pre-ordered the game, but wasn’t sure exactly how that was going to work.