Dragon Quest VIII coming to America

This week, keen-eyed fans of Square Enix's role-playing games uncovered a welcome surprise. In the "Game Release Dates" section of the customer service Web page for Square Enix's American site, an entry is listed for "Dragon Quest VIII." Although the release date was still "TBD," the game's appearance on the list was the first evidence that Dragon Quest VIII will indeed be released stateside.

That evidence was made even more concrete when GameSpot contacted a Square Enix USA spokesperson who confirmed there would be a US release of the game. "Dragon Quest VIII will be coming to North America," it was revealed. However, the company official would not divulge any other details on the game's domestic launch.

While the release of Dragon Quest games is a national event in Japan, the series has never caught on as strongly in the US. When Dragon Quest VIII arrives, which will occur most likely this year, it will be the first DQ game to ship to the US since Dragon Quest VII, released in 2001 for the original PlayStation.

Like previous installments in the series, the Dragon Quest VII game had been renamed "Dragon Warrior VII" for its American release. However, it appears that longstanding tradition may be coming to an end, because the newest game is referred to on Square Enix's American site and in the company's correspondence as "Dragon Quest VIII."

GameSpot will have more details on Dragon Quest VIII's North American release as they become available.