No, they're not dying, the industry is out-growing them. JRPGs have ALWAYS been niche products. The problem now is that with high-definition systems, the cost to make these games is out-stripping the sales numbers.

In earlier generations, a JRPG could sell 500k and be a financial success. The sales data is sketchy but even in the PS2 era, almost all JRPGs sold under a million copies. Under the development system on the PS2, costs were still low enough where they could be a money-maker for the developer and publisher. With the PS3 and 360, they need to sell more because of the ridiculous cost to generate that much high-definition content.

We'll always have JRPGs but expect to see most of them slowly drift to handheld devices, where dev costs are still low enough where they can sell 300k copies and turn a tidy profit.

What I'd like to see is some of these JRPG developers more aggressively go after XBLA and PSN. If the genre is going to survive on consoles, that's where it will have to be.

Wha? The top selling console RPG list this generation is completely dominated by western developers. I'm pretty sure that's what the OP is talking about (hence his mention of FF and LO).

Jepp they have become way to "westernized"

My sig doesn't like that

Bundles are usually dominated by massively popular games and/or easily accessible titles, like racers or the LEGO games.

Yes. The solution, BRING BACK TURN BASE >:(

Pick up a handheld.

And that's the problem.  Every day someone is making this same thread.  In fact, there's about 3-4 of them JUST today.  'Blah blah JRPGs are dying'.  But they're only looking at CONSOLE JRPGs.  Whereas the genre is on HANDHELDS.  You know, were the Japanese market is playing games.....

I don't know how many threads where I've posted the same thing now.  Sure, there some successful western made RPGs that have sold on consoles and that's good.  But JRPGs aren't 'dying' because they aren't focused on consoles.  That's like saying RTS is dying because it isn't on consoles.  Or heck, its the same argument people made about WRPGs 10 years ago when they were primarily focused on PCs and the other side said they were 'dead'.

Its been shown time and time agai nthat the majority of JRPGs are on handhelds.  And that many of the top selling RPGs (WRPG or JRPG) this gen are JRPGs (Pokemon, Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, etc).

Save for a few huge franchises, they have never been extremely high in sales.

As said already (here and in umpteen other threads)
- HD development is expensive for the expected revenue
- Japan is handheld-crazy now and Japan is the main consumer of JRPGs

JRPGs on consoles have also had quite a few hurdles apart from the cost: FF took ages to release and it used to appear early on and give a push previous gens, quite a few were Xbox360 exclusive at first (or completely) and that was wrong for the Japanese crowd, some were released on the PS2 despite HD/Wii being out already (relates to cost and userbase, but still takes away from thi gen's library).

JRPGs are coming out every week on the DS. Far from dying I'd say.

With jrpgs like Tales of Vesperia and Final Fantasy XIII, I don't think so. Plus there is Xenoblade this year which will blow out any and every Wrpg (as well as Jrpgs). So no, they are not dieing.