The problem with the first game wasn't what who it appealed to. It was they decided the game must be very grind heavy but used a combat system not meant for grinding. It was a huge mistake. They could have kept the old system if they really wanted but get rid of the grind or kept it grind heavy but changed it a more typical turn based system.  Ultimately this change to an ARPG might be best anyway.

I'm usually against this kind of stuff because I loved turn-based systems (although real-time systems aren't bad either), but I doubt it's worse than it was in the first game. The first game's battle system just wasn't very good, as much as I loved the game otherwise.

And there goes Day one buy from me...guess I'll wait for a pricecut before buying it :(

I enjoy turn-based way more then button-smashing real-time.

I hope it works out. I didn't love the combat in the first game, but I liked it well enough, and would have preferred that the sequel have something similar. A tweaked version if you will, where the foundation already laid out is built upon.

I don't mind as long as it's still just as fun.

I'm all for it.

The ps3 version was ARPG anyways, that's the one I played

One thing you have to accept in life, people will complain about anything and everything...especially when they don't know what they are talking about!

To the people complaining about the "BIG" changes coming to Ni No Kuni 2, Ni No Kuni WotWW wasn't turn-based in the first place, maybe try playing the game before labeling it. It helps to be reserved when you don't know what you are talking about, so pipe down, y'all.

I love Playstation because of their variety of games. I love the fact that they have so much Japanese support, and exclusives. However ... when it comes to marketing them, Playstation is 50/50. They have a lot of banners for new Japanese games, and will occasionally show them in an e3 Slideshow(or at best a short 1 or 2 minute trailer at e3). But at the same time ... a lot of their Japanese exclusives could have been EVEN BIGGER if they would just give them half the time western developers give. 

The problem with turn based games, or more so japenese games as a whole, is that companies are so worried they won't be bought by a large audience that they don't even try to showcase the games. The most PS does consistently for japanese games is a slideshow reel(which includes the bigger games that Sony actually showed off...), a banner on a Playstation email, or something on the PS store(even then it's very small....usually in the back of the market). Their japanese games sell well, but they aren't reaching their full potential...and it has everything to do with exposure and not some combat system. 

Turn based games can still be big.

Honestly I'm going to assume this is just PR talk. Turn based isn't bad, it never has been bad, and it never will be bad. the OG Ni No kuni sold really well, and its what pushed Namdai to start publishing JRPGS more often in the west.