Just take a look at this data I compiled using Gamerankings and VGChartz. It doesn't look good for the JRPG genre...
Why has there been such a sudden decline? Is it because of Xenophobia?
I wonder what Western RPG's are doing right that Japanese dev's aren't. Maybe Western RPG's are easier to get into and more suited for casual gamers. American RPG's have adapted to the market? On the other hand, Japanese developers have sadly fallen behind on this sort of thing. Can they come back from their current position?
I would say these are the top 5 things which are to blame:
1. Decline in Quality of JRPG's
2. Less advertising and promotion
3. Rise of western video game consoles and FPS games i.e Xbox 360
4. Rising cost of video games, resulting in small japanese companies taking less risks
5. Fewer JRPG's in general
What do you think?
----Number of JRPG's in Gamerankings top 50 PS1 game list----
1. Final Fantasy 9 -93.32% -5.3m sales
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night -92.62% - 1.27m sales
3. Chrono Cross - 92.18% - 1.86m sales
4. Final Fantasy 7 - 92.1% - 9.72m sales
5. Vagrant Story 91.97% - 0.87m sales
6. XenoGears - 90.94% - 1.46m sales
7. Final Fantasy 8 - 89.17% -7.86m sales
Number of games which got over 90%: 6
----Number of JRPG's in Gamerankings top 50 PS2 game list----
1. Persona 4 - 92.4% - 0.82m sales
2. Final Fantasy X - 91.84% - 8.05m sales
3. Final Fantasy XII - 90.77% - 5.95m sales
4. Dragon Quest 8. 90.05% - 5.21m sales
Number of games which got over 90%: 4
----Number of JRPG's in Gamerankings top 50 PS3/X360 games list----
0
*Except if you consider demon souls which got 89.8%
Number of games which got over 90%: 0
"Here I am checking out the latest release by Team Ninja, Nioh 3. So expect to be fending off infamous Yokai, all while aiding lords and being friends to spirits. I’ve been enjoying the Nioh games since the first, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the devs have cooked up this time." Kyle @ TC
The first footage looks compelling.
The longer we live with Switch 2, the more we discover about how developers intend to port across their PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X titles over to the new Nintendo hybrid - and the reveal of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tells us much about how a cutting-edge engine scales back to accommodate the more power-limited T239 processor. Some of the cuts are obvious, others less so, but the good news is that Switch 2 appears much better equipped to carry off these ports than its predecessor did at the same point in its lifecycle.
Looking at Indiana Jones specifically, the first point to focus on is how much of the original presentation holds up, based on the footage seen in the recent Nintendo Direct. The game's materials, lighting and environmental detail don't seem obviously degraded compared to, say, the last-gen Switch's idTech ports. That we're seeing this mere months into the release of the Nintendo machine is promising. This is just the beginning.
Realistically though, there are cuts, of course. Compared to PS5 and Series X, screen-space reflections on water are gone for example - and it makes sense. SSR is expensive, but its absence is far less impactful than slashing shadow quality too aggressively or removing volumetric effects. Its omission is even less painful bearing in mind that the effect on Xbox and PlayStation consoles wasn't the best implementation we've seen anyway.
"What’s this? Back-to-back reviews of games I did back-to-back previews of last year? That’s continuity, folks. This time I’m playing Cairn, the latest game from The Game Bakers; a small French studio — just 17 full-time members working remotely around the world — responsible for Furi and Haven. It’s clear these guys have some serious range. Speaking of, Cairn sees protagonist Aava tackling a mountain range, culminating in an attempt to climb the yet unconquered Kami. In order to summit this killer mountain, Aava will need grit, determination, and perseverance… as will I. " Paul from TC
Am not talking about handhelds, just consoles. But not even that many handheld JRPG's have gotten over 90%.
But there are these which sold a lot:
1. Dragon Quest handhelds
2. FF handhelds on DS
3. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
4. FF crisis core.
I blame stagnation. Things changed little after the PS1 era and even regressed. Once the the genre became popular, tropes within it became "traditional."
They are declining because of too much focus in graphics, thats why handhelds RPGs succeed because the graphics is the last of worries.
In japan there are a lot of awesome RPGs but given how strange they are (Like conception) we will never get them.
Those are some eye opening numbers there. I think it does not help the genre when the leading developer of JRPGs like Squarenix are so fixated on westernization of their games.
Ever since this gen started when they clearly stated that they will support the Xbox360 more so than the PS3 was a clear indication of the direction they were & are headed. The JRPG genre became mainstream popular on the PSone with the release of FF 7. When Square & Sony were in that partnership it turned out to benefit both companies. Square has had their most successful business during that time while Sony was thankful for Square's games that help sell their consoles. So when Squarenix decided to sever that partnership with Sony the basically abandoned the fanbase they built with that partnership.
Not blaming the Xbox360 for the poor JRPG games this gen cause we know that the platform is capable of some solid games like Lost Odyssey. It was clearly a poor business decision by Squarenix to go for the money more so than the recognition. They sold out their fanbase for a higher paycheck. That is why the JRPG genre is dying cause the main player has forgotten what got them to be the company they once were & sold out to the mighty dollar.
I am glad that some of the smaller companies like NIS, Atlus, Idea Factory although have smaller budgets are trying to make JRPG games that fans still love & remember. Namco Bandai were once like Squarenix going for the chance of higher profits are now trying to re-connect with the fanbase they built with the Xillia games.
That is why i tend to support the lesser know JRPG games despite negative reviews by game sites cause without the lesser known JRPGs we may as well say goodbye to this once popular genre of yore.
JRPG's are thriving on handhelds, aren't they?