Sony, where are my JRPGs?

[brute]

http://www.aeropause.com/2008/08/sony-where-are-my-jrpgs/

Sony, where are my JRPGs?

By Mike Koss | August 2, 2008

So I received my latest issue of EGM in the mail yesterday, and for those that do not have a subscription this month’s theme is Japanese video games, developers and culture. They even devoted a two-page spread to three upcoming JRPGs, which all happen to be released by Square Enix. Oh, and they all happen to be released for the Xbox360. The three titles discussed are Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Now luckily one of these will be coming to the PS3 as well: The Last Remnant.

This got me thinking: Sony, where are my JRPGs?

My, albeit shallow, PS3 library consists solely of FPSs, a certain Tactial Espionage Action game and a couple of downloaded strategy games. One of the things that I loved about my Playstation and PS2 was the plethora of JRPGs at my disposal. For the PSOne, I own FF7, FF9, Legend of Legia, Legend of Mana, Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve 2 (the last two being a hybrid RPG/action but thrown in for good measure). I played through others including FF8 and Legend of Dragoon (anyone else see a re-occuring theme here?). Rounding out the list of owned games includes others that were updated/re-released on the PSone: FF4, FF5, FF6, Chrono Trigger, and Lunar: Silver Start Story Complete. For the PS2, I have a similar selection including classics like FFX and FFXII.

Now this list is not meant to be anywhere near exhaustive. In fact I won’t hesitate to admit that when I owned my PSOne and PS2, I was a little strapped for cash. Not everyone’s college parties are paid for by their parents. But, as we’re nearing the the cusp of the third year for this console the waterfall of games for the previous generations is a mere trickle, if not a drought. A quick perusal of the known games that have been released or being developed reveals: Dark Cloud 3, Cross Edge, Enchanted Arms, Eternal Sonata, Mist of Chaos, Record of Agarest War, Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi, and White Knight Chronicles. By my count that makes eight games. Eight games in total compared to the atleast three that I previously mentioned for the Xbox360. Now some of these games for the PS3 are not even available here state-side, as is usual with Japanese releases. So that dwindles the list down to five in total for the PS3. For a console that is manufactured by a Japanese company, that has had higher sales in Japan than Xbox360 since almost day one, and had a lineage almost formed on this content, I can not help but re-iterate: Sony, where are my JRPGs?