Before conducting the 20th Family Classic Concert - Dragon Quest no Sekai (World of Dragon Quest) in Tokyo today, Dragon Quest series composer Kouichi Sugiyama took his time to talk to the Japanese media about the concert and his game-related work. After expressing gratitude to the fans for showing continued interest in the concerts, he briefly touched upon the subject of Dragon Quest IX, saying "I don't know when it will be released, but because it seems as if something is going on [in regard to] Dragon Quest IX, as a gamer I'm also looking forward to what kind of game Horii-san (series' mastermind Yuuji Horii) will design this time." Currently Sugiyama is working on the soundtrack of Dragon Quest Monsters Joker for Nintendo DS.

The next Dragon Quest concert will take place in Nagoya next week, on August 19th. Two more are planned for November 12th (in Fukuoka) and February 11th, 2007 (in Choufu).

• Dengeki Online