... now that we know Yakuza 6 flopped. It debuted lower than Yakuza 0, in fact, it debuted lower than every other mainline Yakuza game except the first one.

What's the problem? Is NS the answer for Japan's troubled console market? 

I want a Final Fantasy 16. A fresh start, new faces, new characters, a dedicated team that's given the freedom in return for clear goals and solid concepts. 

A Final Fantasy game that's not bogged down by different directors, mixed visions, HD development obstacles, and arbitrary deadlines for what's supposed to be one the most popular jRPGs of all time. 

While everyone likes to take the piss on FF13, me included, it was actually in 18 months, they didn't have anything playable when it was announced in 2006, linearity wasn't a part of the game's vision but was a result of the time constraints. I don't know why Toriyama takes all the blame. He worked with what he had and what he was given by SE, not to mention, the PS3 HD development was very hard for first and third parties alike. 

FF14 is an amazing game now, but one has to wonder why Yoshida didn't take over earlier, the game had multiple betas and the negative feedback was ignored until the game was officially released and flopped critically. After people already spent money their money it, SE decided to react. Had SE sent Yoshida to the rescue earlier, the game would've been even more successful and Yoshida would've probably been working a new project by now.

FF15 dirction change is clear to everyone, and yet, another FF with someone new at the helmet to supposedly get someone's else game done right. A baggage Tabata had to carry, and instead of focusing entirely on what he wanted the game to be, he had to spend energy trimming what he thought was fat. That doesn't scream "lazer-focused" to me and it's no wonder the word "disjointed" and its synonyms are in almost every review I read or watched.

So yeah, a fresh start is needed, that definitely is not happening with another remake andother remaster. Not to mention, FF15 free updates and paid DLCs have yet to be released. So it's safe to assume a new FF title isn't not on the horizon. I hope I am wrong.

Not enough waifus. People may think I m joking but its true

The Yakuza series has been in decline since Yakuza 4 though. And Yakuza 6 probably did the same as Yakuza 0 with digital sales.

The problem in Japan is not a console or another, the thing is the console market shrinked a lot in favor of handelheds in last years, and than the handelhed market is srhinking in favor of smartphones. So, Japan is not a dead market, but it`s a shadow of it`s former self and it will be for many years to come.

And this is the very reason japanese developers tried so hard to break into western markets in the last gen and this gen. And FF brand is hurt not just by FF XIII sequels, but also because in the last years there were a stream of half baked games using FF brand to sell some easy copies, hell, we even got a FF game generated automatically for Wii.

Japanese AAA games future depends on selling well on West. With the exception of some very specific franchises like DQ, Monster Hunter, Pokemon, Yokai Watch and etc., getting a million copies sold in Japan will get harder by the day.

Final Fantasy 13 was massively liked in Japan, in fact I'm sure I can remember reading in famitsu thatvits was voted as their favourite FF game.

Perhaps it is, since FF13 really is such a bad game and they even continued making games under that title, but it can also be just console games seemingly being on a decline, as well as the game focusing on an all boy cast. Guys are probably not that crazy about an all guy cast. There may not be as many fujoshi to pick up the slack on sales as well, haha.

Yes. It just proves that FF13 sucked so bad that it killed Yakuza, too.

Loll

It will be really interesting to see how JRPGs perform on the Switch. If the console really hits it out of the park, we could see a resurgeance of AAA JRPGs. I mean, I can already see all of the A-AA JRPGs from the Vita to come to the Switch. If a lot of them can profit on Steam, they will do well on the Switch.

I think the decline of interest in jrpgs may finally be reaching the Final Fantasy series, and to a degree it does have to do with the decline in quality over the entirety of last gen. XIII was a massive disappointment. XIV was a disaster and people were fired for it and a new team set up to release ARR. ARR could be the greatest thing since sliced bread but it doesn't undo the damage of the original release.

Now look at XV, it's still a gaint mess as well, filled with half baked ideas in hopes that fans come back. S-E has still not recovered from Soraya Saga, Takahashi and Sakaguchi leaving.

It would be amazing if they actually wrote a book about all hierarchy changes, and the way they approach development now comparitively to how they did in their heyday of Snes PS1 and PS2 days.