Wow, I'm disappointed with the Tales of Vesperia Demo

[Riachu]

Words Of Wisdom said:

ZenfoldorVGI said:

IMO, saying that JRPGs are niche in the US, is an incomplete and unimformed assumption based off of minimal reasoning and research. Not that you necessarily said that, but if you're going to hint around it, I'd prefer you to clarify.

Are you really basing niche status off sales... and by the sales of a few big name titles?

How well does Suikoden?

How well does Wild ARMs?

How well does Grandia sell?

How well does Valkyrie Profile sell?

I'm sorry but if sales is your metric then you only need to glance across the board to see dozens of RPGs with lackluster sales. You can point to the few JRPGs that have sold really well, but they're the exceptions, not the rule.

Of course, I think that using sales to determine niche status is a bit silly. I'd say Metal Gear Solid 4 is an even more niche game than most JRPGs, but look at its sales.

Those series often have their games released so close to a bigger game that they get overshadowed.

Grandia(Saturn)...overshadowed by FFVII

Grandia(playstation)...overshadowed by FFVIII

Suikoden....released when JRPGs were still niche

Suikoden II...overshadowed by FFVIII

Suikoden III...overshadowed by Kingdom Hearts

Suikoden IV....was released at a bad time(right after Christmas)

Suikoden V...overshadowed by Oblivion and KHII

Wild Arms series....overshadowed by bigger series and has a reputation as being a second rate series

Grandia II...was overshadowed by FFIX

Grandia 3...was overshadowed by KHII

Valyrie Profile...overshadowed by other Square games, Chrono Cross in particular

Valkyrie Profile 2...overshadowed by FFXII

Also, little to no marketing most likely plays a role in these games not selling particulary well