are jrpgs dying?

[CChaos]

I'm not sure if someone said this previously, as I only have a small amount of time, but I think it's safe to say that the JRPGs that we once knew and know now are simply links in a chain. Another better analogy may be steps in a unending staircase.

If one looks back to the earlier games, say the original Final Fantasy in the late 80s, there's a pretty distinctive shift. As each generation passes onward, ideas change along with the gamers who shift dependent on their generation. Those who played the original Final Fantasy have a much different perspective than someone who is new to gaming and only recently came into it.

I often hear FF7 held up as the echelon of greatness in that series. While some would agree while others would not, the actual decision on that is somewhat moot. What would be noticed is that FF7 is just another step in the entire works. Obviously, it's a good bit different than, say, FF10 or FF13 because of how the industry and gamers themselves have shifted. Now we get HD, ultra high resolution TVs and much more powerful consoles. We are in the middle of another little micro-renaissance of the industry trying to figure out what the hell we want.

I think it's safe to say that that developers are basically grabbing hold of this industry that is moving like a bullet train and are doing their damnedest to hold on tight. It's not so much that the JRPGs are dying so much as they are forcibly being evolved to try and hit the interests of new and older gamers alike. What might be fun to a younger gamer might be disliked by an older one.

Give it a few years and things might just change enough that the JRPGs once known might be a very different beast before long. FF13, Lost Odyssey, White Knight Chronicles...they're trying different things to see what works. Unfortunately, most of us are just going to have to wait and see what they turn into.