Square Enix sent shockwaves through the Japanese games market today with the surprise announcement that Dragon Quest IX will not make its original March 28 release date. Instead, players will have to wait until July 11.

As reason for the delay, the company cited the discovery of major bugs in the game. It attempted to make the requisite fixes without changing the date, but determined that more time was necessary.This delay has to come as a blow to all involved parties. For fans, Dragon Quest is one of Japan's biggest games, with some expecting part IX to sell five million units domestically. For retailers, main Dragon Quest games tend to sell upwards of two million units in the first two days of sales. Most major retailers had already opened up pre-orders for DQIX, with some even promoting special 7:00AM opening times.For Square Enix, the damage is a bit more measurable. The company's Square Enix Holdings parent issued revised earnings forecasts for the year 2008 today. Citing a delay in the release of a major March game, the company lowered sales forecasts from 160 billion yen to 133 billion and operating profit forecasts from 21 billion to 12 billion yen.Square Enix will detail its full earnings report for the first three quarters later today, and will also likely share further comment about the DQIX delay.