Dragon Quest IX sales top 5.3 million

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies didn't waste any time becoming a hit for Square Enix, as the DS title sold 2.3 million units out of the gate. Some 18 months on from its Japanese debut, and the game has proven to have legs. Andria Sang reports today that Square Enix's Japanese arm has confirmed that DQIX has sold 5.3 million units worldwide through December.

Prior to today's announcement, Square Enix had said that DQIX sold 4.26 million units in Japan through the end of March 2010. However, that announcement came prior to the DQIX's July 2010 rollout in North America and Europe. The game is the first in the Dragon Quest series to top the 5 million-unit mark, while the series (including spin-offs) has shipped more than 57 million units through December.

Beyond DQIX sales, Square Enix also announced support efforts for the recent earthquake and tsunami that laid waste to Northern Japan last week. The publisher said that it will donate ¥ 100 million ($1.26 million) to the relief and recovery efforts in the affected regions, in addition to collecting charity donations from its employees worldwide.

Previously, Square Enix said that, beginning March 13, it had taken its massively multiplayer online role-playing games Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, as well as PlayOnline, offline for at least a week. The publisher apologized for the service disruption on its official forums and said that subscribers to these services would not be billed for the month of April. The move came as part of a nationwide initiative to curb energy usage.

For more on Dragon Quest IX, check out GameSpot's review.