The problem with JRPGs is that in reality they were never that popular outside of Japan. dont get me wrong, in the US a good RPG could do half a million, maybe a million. and do better than the Japanese sales. (of course there are exceptions, like FF and Pokemon). so in the US there has been a small but signifiant fan base that has not been well supported this gen, partly due to the console war.
the second problem is the EU, which has never been well supported, this gen we've seen a change in that. but the problem is the JRPG fans in the US have had 2 gens of successive RPGs, the EU is just getting that, so its more difficult to establish fans there imo. plus a lot of JRPGs are not marketed and are generally not accessible to ordinary gamers.
however i think with the widespread proliferlation of WRPGs we can see theres a growing interest and with Dragon Quest, The Last Story, (if its localised) theres a good chance for JRPGs to establish themselves in the EU, and get some good worldwide sales.
PS. i know this isnt totally OT, but this is something i thought to contribute.
