Is the JRPG/FF run over?

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

CaptainPrice said:

MontanaHatchet said:

Meh at this thread. And meh at Stage's trolling too. I know you like Mass Effect and WRPGs a lot, but shut up already. Geez. I'm going to edit this post with some JRPG sales this generation, and some WRPG sales (on consoles), and we'll see who is right and who is wrong. Excuse me while I do this.

Sales:

Top 5 Japanese RPGs:

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl - 17.42 million

Pokemon Platinum - 6.82 million

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon :EoT/D - 4.62 million

Dragon Quest IX: 4.22 million

Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver: 3.70 million

Top 5 Western RPGs (sales are combined across current gen consoles):

Fallout 3 - 4.92 million

Elder Scrolls Oblivion - 4.13 million

Fable II: 3.49 million

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - 3.47 million

Mass Effect - 2.16 million

If I'm forgetting any WRPGs on current gen consoles, remind me. Otherwise, it looks like JRPGs have still got WRPGs beaten by a wide margin. Maybe next generation.

 

Your list is very revealing as you're basically saying that the JRPG is dead on consoles. That's not quite true - FFXIII will outsell any PS3/X360 WRPG in the long run - but the dominance over WRPGs is certainly diminished.

Remember that until recently JRPGs were called 'console RPGs' and WRPGs were called 'computer RPGs', with WRPGs on consoles very niche. Last gen the best selling JRPG (FFX) did 8m versus 2m for the best selling WRPG (KOTOR). When WRPG sales are competing with JRPG sales on away turf (consoles) there's clearly been a shift in WRPGs' favour.

The change is especially pronounced if we just focus on HD consoles. The 5 best selling WRPGs on X360/PS3 will have outsold the best selling 5 JRPGs on those systems two or three times over. And I do think that the sales of the two genres are related. RPGs are massive timesinks, so if people are playing WRPGs they're less likely to have the time for JRPGs.

Its like people don't listen to what you say, even after you say it 10 times....

The reason that the top 5 best selling JRPGs are on handhelds is because Japan is obsessed with handhelds and the vast majority of JRPGs are ON handhelds.  Which, I just want to repeat, because I keep HAVING to repeat this, is what I have been saying all along.  There's a couple dozen JRPGs spread accross all the consoles (Wii/XBOX360/PS3).  While the DS and PSP see a similar release as ALL the consoles have seen in TOTAL every few months.

So again...you can't really compare console JRPGs to Console WRPGs.  Because that's not where the JRPG market is.  Final Fantasy XIII will probably see a good 4-5 million in sales.  While in a couple months, a couple Dragon Quest and Pokemon games will kill the game in sales with JUST Japanese sales.  And in the meantime, there will be a few dozen other JRPGs released between the DS and PSP in the next 3-4 months....

Also, the best selling JRPG last gen was Pokemon.  As with every gen.  It still counts, eventhough its on a handheld.