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With the popularity of video games said to be declining, following last January’s Dragon Quest II, on its first day of sales, Dragon Quest III has led to long lines and overcrowding. After selling out 1-million copies, an additional 250,000 copies arrived between the 19th and 21st, but for fans who were slowly but steadily waiting, it seems that it was only a drop in the bucket. How far will this fever burn? It’s difficult to guess. The boom has given way to profiteers who are further fueling chaos and demand. Here, I’ve sketched out some elements of what one might call, “Dragon Quest 3 Syndrome.”
A Scalper Appears
On February 10th, a housewife from Kawasaki, Miyamae drove to a department store in Midoro, Yokohama, arriving ten minutes before the store’s opening. She was there to purchase Dragon Quest III for her third grade son and expressed that when Dragon Quest II released, she had no trouble procuring a copy. This time, however, she now had to stand in line. That’s when a store employee bluntly told her that they had already handed out 400 voucher tickets and that there were no more. Giving up, she began to leave when a high-school student, who had obtained a ticket, called out to her in a youthful voice: “I’ll settle for 3,000 yen!” Spurred by her impatience, she immediately countered, “2,000 yen.” A deal had been struck. In the end, she paid ¥7,900 for a game which retails for ¥5,900. According to her, young people who held voucher tickets seemed to hang around the area.