Now, a month before the US launch of Dragon Quest V, we have had a few short videos released showing some of the gameplay and character interaction of the American version of the game.  For the most part, the videos showcase the same gameplay and scenes that you can see from the Japanese videos more than 6 months ago.  However, the important aspect these videos bring up is wither the previous games extreme accents and edited content will be repeated in the next DS Dragon Quest Remake.

Example of Dragon Quest IV Translation

Example of Dragon Quest V Translation (From recently released footage)

Now, it appears in the video that they have toned down the extreme accents and switched to a more traditional English Translation.  One that can be understood by a more wide audience.  Is this an example of Square-Enix fixing the Localization, facing complaints and poor sales of Dragon Quest IV outside of Japan?  Perhaps not.  We have only really seen one example from a massive RPG with 80+ hours of gameplay.  But if this is the case, it couldn't hurt, based on the sales of DQIV, which hasn't even sold as well as Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.  Not to say DQM: Joker shouldn't have sold as well as it did or better, but just that usually a main series game gets more hype and sells more than a side-series game.

In any case, this looks like a positive attempt by Square-Enix from their last few outings in the series.  And, although I was burned from all my hyping of DQIV to find it totally ruined...I'm going to once again put all my hope that DQV comes out as amazing as it should.

Ah, boo: I really enjoyed the accents in the DQIV translation (what, you mean an RPG translation that wasn't generic and run of the mill?! The horror!) and am sorry to hear that they might have been excised in V.

Well, if you liked them, then that's okay.  But other fans of the series didn't and sent complaints to Square-Enix.  And for the most part, its not good for an RPG series to make it harder for people to read the spoken dialogue between characters.  Especially when it is one of the longest RPGs on the system, clocking in at 60-80 hours long.  This will make those who aren't familiar with the series (casual gamers and new fans) shy away from the series because it takes too much effort to understand the story and play the overall game.

At first, the idea of adding accents and a 'European feel' to a fantasy game seems like a good idea.  But in practice, it hurts a game and detracts from the very crowd you are trying to pull in.  New fans and casual players.  And angers hardcore fans of the series all at the same time.

DQIV is 60-80 hours long? I admit I haven't finished yet, but I always heard 30-40.

Regardless, it's fine. The writing is charming and witty, with or without the accents (which I found hilarious). Shame they don't go for a highfalutin Middle English spin like the original Dragon Warrior, though, that was the bee's knees.

I don't know: I think the reason the translation was ill-received was because those hardcore fans have a lot of time on their hands to complain about such things (as you pointed out, it wasn't the average joe emailing them, it was the 'hardcore'). I am certain they bought it anyway, by and large, and the problem was with the more general audience that probably didn't pick it up for whatever reason certain gems get passed over (not well-known enough; too expensive; not graphically good enough; a combo of all of the above; etc.)

I highly, highly doubt that the dialogue is why it under-performed and why people didn't run out and buy it in droves. After all, Dragon Quest VIII didn't do very well, either, and you can't blame the translation for that.

The game sold 600K in NA and another 600K(?) in Europe so the game actually sold pretty well.   I think the problem is the game was a remake in general.  Star Ocean First Deaprture, a remake of SO1, isn't doing so hot either.  However, I still expect SO4 to get decent sales as I expect DQIX to get decent sales.  Yes, the FF remakes and the CTDS port did well but FF is a popular series in the West and Chrono Trigger is a widely regarded game that is said to be one of the best RPGs ever made.

Allow me to clarify: in the context of what SE expected, no, it didn't sell very well, especially when we're talking about the PS2 at the height of its game.

I think you may have a point (about remake-itis) but there's also the case that, as far as Westerners are concerned, DQ doesn't really exist and is certainly not a franchise on par with Final Fantasy (yes, I know: duh). It also isn't very 'hardcore' in that it's bright, shiny and, for the most part, happy, with little of the angst and rank cynicism that pervades much of its peers, something that Westerners haven't been keen on for a very, very long time.

If that's true, then why are many of the angsty protagonists of JRPGs hated on by Western gamers.

Actually, the reason DQIV didn't sell well is from many factors.  One is from it getting almost no advertising, aside from on the main Square website and store based videos/signs.  But the other can be linked to its translation/localization.  And it started with Dragon Quest VIII.  Dragon Quest VIII had good points, from the addition of the orchestrated score and additional content.  However, the voices and 'British spin' added to the game wasn't nessisary.  In all ways, it was a gimmick to attract customers to the game as the general concensus is that games sell better with voices.  But the original game never had voices, let alone a British connection.  However you look at it, its a gimmick added to the game to help it sell.  And it may have helped that one game sell, but it didn't help the series overall generate a fanbase.  As the drop off sales for subsequent  DQ games show.

This is the problem with choosing a quick gimmick to sell games over good advertising and localization.  In the long run, it won't work and just hurt the game series.  The nail in the coffin was trying to immitate the accent style from DQVIII in text form, which is impossible without the text looking like its stereotyping various people groups (Scottish/Russian/etc).  At best, it looked as if they were immitating old Warner Bros cartoon accents, but what are they doing in a Dragon Quest game?  That just makes it seem like the localization team was treating the game like a joke.

In the end, all of this can be avoided if they just stick to plain (Queens) English.  As it looks like they might be doing.  And as a few of the DQ games have done in the past (DRagon Warrior I-III on the GBC and Dragon Warrior VII on the PSX).  And those games faired no worse for their translation.

As I noted, it was a case of several factors that conspired to do it in but, until I see something more than die-hard fans complaining about it, I have a very difficult time believing that the translation cap-sized its sales with the general public (them being the people you need to sell games in Final Fantasy-like numbers), the lack of marketing/general awareness of DQ being the most prominent, I'd wager.