Veil to come off Dragon Quest IX at Jump Festa

Shueisha has given an early look at the games players can expect to find on display at the Jump Festa event later this year. Most notable in the lineup are hints at some big plans from Square Enix regarding Dragon Quest IX.

This year's Jump Festa will be held in the usual place, the Makuhari Messe just outside of Tokyo. The free event will open its doors on the 20th and 21st of December, a bit earlier than last year's event.

Twenty-four companies will be showing off product at the event, according to a special booth page set up by Shueisha. Here's a company-by-company list for those firms with video game concerns.

Atlus

Play the latest version of the Katei Kyoshi Hitman Reborn! Southern Cross Battle arcade card game

Capcom

Monster Hunter 3, Sengoku Basara Battle Heroes, Street Fighter IV playable

Koei

Experience the latest entry in the Musou series in advance

Konami

Yu-gi-oh OCG tournament and rule lessons, and latest software playable

Square Enix

"Veil will at last come off Dragon Quest IX" (this is a quote from the Jump Festa page)

Sega

Latest Bleach game for Wii and DS Phantasy Star Zero

Sony Computer Entertainment

Demo play for latest PSP Bleach game, and event with major guests

Takara Tomy

Gekitou Ninja Taisen! EX3 and Flame Rumble Chou events

Nintendo

Latest Wii and DS software

Hudson

Demo of work-action-variety game Hataraku Hito

Bandai Namco Games

Dragon Ball Z Infinite World for PS2 to be shown

Of these, Square Enix's showing should, as usual, draw the most attention. Square Enix tends to host major playable debuts Jump Festa, with last year seeing demos of Dissidia Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Dragon Quest IX has yet to go playable at a major event, so a playable showing could very well be on the cards.

Capcom is the only company of these to have opened up its very own Jump Festa special site. Expect Square Enix and others to follow suit as the show approaches.