Dragon Quest X uses subscription fee, limits offline play

Dragon Quest X is putting a lot of faith in the online infrastructure of the Wii and Wii U, choosing the unlikely platforms as the home of the series' first foray into online-focused gaming. Now we've learned that the game will use a subscription service, and offer only a sampling of the full game offline.

Siliconera reports that the game's Japanese FAQ says players can experience a few hours offline, but after that a connection is required. That connection will involve a usage fee, but so far no price has been determined.

Dragon Quest is an extremely popular franchise in Japan, making its online functionality potentially lucrative for publisher Square Enix. As previously reported, it's coming to both the Wii and the upcoming Wii U, and we expect to see some kind of 3DS functionality.

Dragon Quest X hasn't been confirmed for a western release, but you can check out a piece of footage from the Japanese presentation below.