Why does SE believe that people don't like JPRGs?

[Loony BoB]

I know you're probably kidding around, but: It shouldn't matter if it improves the reception and reviews of the games to the point that more people buy it. I mean, they spent that much time with Jihl and then they killed her off.

They didn't have to design a moveset for her, or animations for every attack, etcetera.

A playable character is a lot of resources. It's the same reason we don't get hidden characters any more. They don't want to put in all that effort for characters some people might not see.

My point stands regardless - if the reception of the game improves dramatically because of the inclusion of such moments, it will pay for itself.

In the meantime, I'll be laughing at all the people who say "Square is the mainstay of JRPGs" and playing all the fantastic games that ATLUS and Nintendo have been rolling out lately. Square hasn't been the genre leader for JRPGs in a while. That doesn't mean the genre is dead, it just means other people have picked up the slack.

I don't think any other developers have picked up the slack. Ni no Kuni aside, I can't think of any recently released AAA-quality JRPG that has done considerably well for itself.