Thats a very good analysis PhantomLink; the assumption we've been making thus far is the power of Nintendo's marketing, the size of the Wii userbase and the assumption this game will be exlemplary. whether or not it will be any of those things remains to be seen, however the other key thing is whether the Wii userbase will buy this game, as we know the Wii is a casual console, therefore are those users even interested in this type of game??

For new IP RPG (and subgenre) million sellers in Japan (shipment data courtesy of YSO)...

• Pokemon Red/Green (GB) 8,220,000
• Chrono Trigger (SFC) 2,030,000
• The Legend of Zelda (FDS) 1,690,000
• Yu-Gi-OH! Duel Monsters (GB) 1,610,000
• Dragon Quest (FC) 1,500,000
• Arc the Lad (PS) 1,110,000
• Makaitoushi SaGa / Final Fantasy Legend (GB) 1,100,000
• Parasite Eve (PS) 1,060,000

• Super Mario RPG (SFC) 1,470,000
• Kingdom Hearts (PS2) 1,300,000
• Famicom Jump Hero Retsuden (FC) 1,100,000

I still dont think it will surpass 2 million life time worldwide. ff13 sold about 1.8 million so far in Japan and they had EVERYTHING for there ad champaign XD including a 80ft poster :P. The last story just isnt established enough to be a massive hit. im shore it will be successfull but not on the level people seem to think ;3

Thanks jarrod, I knew I  have missed a few ones, I didn't want to include Zelda or any subseries though.

For the little that we have seen about The Last Story is a somehow different RPG, but nothing like others said, that it will set the standars for the RPG's to come, I find this opinion heavily influenced by the hype. And it looks like quality game but remember Metroid: Other M, I still haven't played it but a lot of people hate it and it didn't get the best reviews. When it was anounced there was a lot of hype around the game, the impressions were good but in the end a lot of people were disappointed. All I'm saying is that from we have seen of TLS we can't assure that it will be an universally acclaimed game.

I think that there is audience for TLS, I know some dont consider Monster Hunter a RPG, but MH3 sold over a million in Japan, I also think that if FFXIII was a Wii game it could have sold at least 1.5 million copies. The thing is that both MH and FF are established franchises that are well known by people. With new IP is more difficult because not everyone will know about the game, not everyone check websites or buy magazines.

Other thing is the bundles. Some people said that this will push the sales, but it depends of the amount of bundles, remember that both Tales of Graces and Samurai Warriors 3 were bundle last year.

Don't insult The Last Story by comparing it to the atrocity that is Other M. The Last Story will definitely be better than it as we have seen in depth development interviews with Sakaguchi about the game. We have seen him tell us of his philosophy and technique behind The Last Story's development. See the Iwata asks articles. Other M made big mistakes in its focus and story which is all Sakamoto's fault, Ninja Theory's gameplay itself was good. Sakaguchi is well known for his ability to tell a great story along with fun gameplay, we might be assuming a lot but its obvious when a great game is coming, you get vibes from it. Nintendo knows this, thats why they are ready to market it so heavily.

I love it when people say how much better a game is gona be than another that people said would be so much better than whatever game before it got hyped and sucks :P

Well, some people really like Other M.

This is Hironobu Sakaguchi, I hold him in highest regard, he can't make mistakes haha.

Its a polarizing game, like FFXIII, many hate it and many love it. I am in the hate it camp for this one, I didn't say people couldn't have liked it. However objectively the story and dialogue suck, the rest is a matter of opinion.

The same could happend to The Last Story, the man can said every wonderful thing about the game, but we can't be sure until the game is out.