Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post
Found this amusing article and while I don't necessarily agree with some of the articles points, I do feel the topic itself is valid. So do you agree disagree? Why and Why not? Is it because people want hyper-"realism" and those cartooney designs are turning Westerners away? Or do you feel its more about the genre regurgitating too many of its own elements making every game a bit too predictable? Or is it because the genre is trying too hard to emulate other successful franchises? Perhaps you feel feel the article is wrong and will simply point out the genre is alive and well just on handheld and then proceed to go into a rant about the gaming community's total racism against handheld gaming?

I don't think there's any one thing that has led to a lack of interest from western markets. Between poor advertising, long development periods, and lackluster innovation in gameplay mechanics the genre has simply lost notice. And with prices for games being sky high at a time where the economy is struggling leads to a more cautious consumer.

I have found this to be an extremely underwhelming generation for JRPGs. I have a library of this genre spanning from the PSX and PS2 generations. And then I look at this generation, and my collection is sparse for any console I have. In order to accumulate what I have, it has taken three consoles and one handheld. That's unacceptable for success. How many people can really afford three consoles and then buy games for each at $60 minimum?

The real shame is that JRPG publishers have largely ignored the most affordable platform available, Steam for PC. With the advances in gaming worthy integrated graphics on PCs, it could be a largely lucrative market for Japanese publishers. And granted, piracy would increase in these games but so would their visibility. I am running into more and more PC gamers these days than I ever did in previous generations and I really think it is because of platforms like Steam which allow for some pretty affordable games. I personally find my own consoles collecting dust as I continue gaming on my PC instead.

Those are just a few thoughts I can drum up right now. Obviously, there's more to the story than what I think on the subject. The one thing I really hope for though is the return of the JRPG in its former glory to western gamers. I really miss kicking back with a new JRPG that doesn't require hand cramping on a handheld. :P