Quote Originally Posted by I Don't Need A Name View Post
This, coupled with the current multiplayer obsession, has caused the rampage of all subpar piles of tripe that has become the FPS genre. However, due to the multiplayer and the usual high expense that surrounds JRPGs when compared to the normal western FPS, these will continute to rule, in my opinion. The only way they could re-establish themselves to be the top genre would be for every JRPG to be conducted in first person, with an AK-47, with terrorists.. and I would quit gaming forever if that occured.
I play Call Of Duty online regularly. The addiction lies in it's solid gameplay, and you aren't battling computer AI all the time. Calling it tripe or whatever just because it has a massive fanbase is a little unfair. The thing about title's like Call Of Duty & other online multiplayer's is that it is very accessible. I feel myself sometimes being drawn to playing online more often than playing offline since I've gotten the PS3 tbh. However, you could also say it's like my friends with playing FIFA. You can relate to other people and talk about the game, and it doesn't take much attention or time to have a quick match-up. I can see how casual gamers find that appealing.

I actually don't think there is much of a problem with (J)RPG's being popular these days. I just think since this console generation came in a few years back, the RPG genre has been lacking so much compared to it's earlier days. There is also the big problem of making a detailed environment for these games in HD, which takes a lot of time compared to said games above. I recently went onto gamespot and the amount of positive fan reaction towards the FFX remake was surprising. People can't wait for it. I think there is great potential in the gaming market for RPG's, it's just about whether they will make an RPG that is a breakthrough for this generation to get people talking. Let's not forget when Call Of Duty first came out & got it's critical acclaim there was an explosion of FPS on the market that followed after it. To a degree it was the same with the Uncharted series.

That brings me onto my final point. Final Fantasy for many years has been flying the flag as the staple for RPG's (particularly JRPG's) since it's inception really. I think if they had made FFXIII a groundbreaking RPG that had universal acclaim like when FFVII or FFX did when they entered a new generation, I don't think this would be such an issue. I don't think it's much of a case as where other games have become more popular, rather than the genre itself hasn't done itself many favors over the past few years.