I think the part of my point being missed (and I'm to blame for not emphasizing it) is this: Imagine if those franchises were suddenly to go handheld ...
ONLY. In other words, there is no console-based equivalent. The next GTA
only for the PSP or DS, not on the PS2, PS3, 360, etc. Would that be considered significant for many gamers?
Apparentally so. Dragon Quest sells more copies in Japan alone than Final Fantasy games sell worldwide. To say this is a huge announcement is an understatement, whether you are personally interested in the game or not; it has a very far-reaching impact on the handheld war and is a potential sign of where S-E is going to be heading with their biggest RPG series, now and in the future. Final Fantasy is a lock for the PS3; it's on its way for the platform. But S-E has also said that they're not going to bring all their franchises to Sony's system. Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest have been up in the air since then as to which systems they would end up being on. Backing Nintendo with DQ on its handheld was a very interesting move since that doesn't negate the Wii as a very possible platform for S-E's other major franchise, Kingdom Hearts.
Also: For those of you still unitiated into the DQ gaming experience, I would highly, highly recommend at least renting DQ VIII. It really was a remarkably old-school, fun, and engrossing game; and if it weren't for FF XII and Paper Mario: TYD, it would have easily been my favorite RPG of the generation. DQ IX is going to vary quite a bit from VIII but I've high hopes for the game considering the exact same crew behind VIII is working on IX.