As I mentioned in another site...

"No where ever has it that you have to create your own character to be playing an RPG. In fact the "R" in RPG stands for "Role." You can be given a character out of the choice of the "Dungeon Master" to play back in the old days. Same principles can apply to today's video games. The less choices of playing a character that is more like you, the more you're forced to take on the role of someone else, hence role playing...."

And adding to this, I can create a character just like myself in real life, a character I want to play in the realm of imagination, or it can be a character totally outside of what I'd ever want to be in real life. And even though that playing myself is technically playing a role, role playing is getting into character. So you can get into character with predetermine roles that is not of yourself. And when you are role playing, you are more dependent on the character's stats, not yours while you are also more dependent on what the character will do, not what you would do in real life. So there is nothing wrong with linear storylines in defining RPG's. In fact, there have been modules and supplements written in a linear fashion for traditional "pencil and paper" RPG's. Dude is full if it. And if you agree with him, you are either just ignorant or just full of it as well. Truth.

No need to apologize.

JRPG's and there turn-based combat will luckily soon fade away into Adventureness

I find the quote somewhat funny. Why? Because there are two "RPG's" undeserving of that title this gen as I see it; FFXIII and Mass Effect 2, the former is an adventure/action game (imo) and the latter is simply an action/shooter game now (again, imo).
If they want to criticize other developers, stop watering down your own games first.

Already posted. and they're just mad that they get crap sales compared to FF13.

What are you talking about......The JRPG genre has been getting watered down and dull so much trhough the years that its looking last gen already

I mean when will japanese developers realize that Girlie looking teenagers saving the world has been done 100 million times already!!

Atlus did a great job with Demon Souls, So Why dont other companies have that "If ya cant beat Em, Join Em Attitude" also!!!!!!!

This genre needs to evolve or it will seriously Die

@ the people in this thread

Its his OPINION people, calm down.

And Sega did a great job with Valkyria Chronicles and Nintendo with Fire Emblem.  Strategic RPG's but the principle still stands.  And the "join them if you cannot beat them" attitude is sheepish at best.  This is a serious problem with the console gaming community as a whole.  I want to play the games I want to play, not the games "everyone else" is playing.

Here's the thing. Genres really don't mean ANYTHING anymore. We've long since the destruction of genres as MOST games now incorporate many genres within it.

That which originally defined an RPG appeared to be the Leveling up and the turn based combat.

Then ARPGs showed up...

and now Leveling up is EVERYWHERE.

You could consider MLB 10 the Show an RPG because of "Road to the Show" mode.  Heck, most games could be counted as Action RPGs now.

Maybe in the 80's and early 90's JRPG and WRPG were two sides of the same coin but those days are long gone. Back then both genres were limited to the developer's skills, time and money. WRPG were hold back the most, when the gaming industry grew so did the genre. Its gone all ways, from openworld exploration to world altering choices and life simulation. JRPG were apparantly fine with what they were back then now they just look nicer.

So maybe WRPG and JRPG were never part of the same genre to beign with, JRPG are very much RPG just not by the same definition of someone who makes WRPG. I happen to agree with Bioware but I can see its all about perceptions not facts.