Hmm... without the huge hype and marketting of FF7, yes, the RPG market would be smaller today, both in terms of fans and number of games. However, the quality would be considerably higher, as the companies would be more in-tune with what their base wants. Personally, I think we'd see more games of Atlus calibur. There wouldn't be this huge graphics-fest to try to pull in others; attempts at that without a marketting of FF7's level would be met with disaster.
Admittingly, it probably also means that a few series would never exist. Yes, we would lose those, but I'd also hazard a guess that the ones we would lose would also be the ones that didn't look at what made a good RPG, and really, wouldn't be missed.
-dunno001
-On a quest for the truly perfect game; I don't think it exists...
