Square Enix has announced that sales of Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi for PlayStation 2 have already exceeded three million copies in Japan. As widely expected, the game thereby has become the best selling title on all current generation consoles, topping the previous bestseller Final Fantasy X, which sold 2.49 million copies (excluding International and budget re-releases) in Japan following its July 2001 release.

According to research conducted DY Media Partners, the total financial effects of the release, including merchandise and walkthroughs, are expected to reach 51 billion yen (496.83 million US).

• GameWatch