It's because JRPG's come across as childish nowadays, this Ni No Kuni might be a good game but it looks like a game for small children. That Tales for Xillia or whatever it was called also looked childish.

People don't want that, Final Fantasy doesn't look childish so that's why that series is doing a bit better because people over 12 will still buy it.

It's alive, but it's a dying genre. Just go back to the Ps2 and more so the Ps1/Snes Jrpgs. Besides a couple titles here and there, the Jrpg genre isn't nearly as big as it once was; and has no trend of getting back to the former success it once acheived. Which means it's slowly dying.

Not a single person (even the article) mentioned the "Tales of..." series.

:(

The article does mention Tales of Xillia. Maybe not in the way you wanted it to be mentioned though :D

FF needs more whimsy and less overly melodramatic teenage drama. So, in that regard, Square should take some cues from Ni No Kuni.

Enough for what? To keep making XIII sequels where they can reuse assets and have a lot of the work already done? Sure. But Final Fantasy is a true AAA franchise, and if Agni's Philosophy is any indication, they are going to continue down the path of ridiculous and ever-increasing production values and needing to sell millions and millions of copies. But the series' fanbase is increasingly irate, so while "dead" is an overstatement, it's going to need a real return to form. They can afford absolutely no more disasters like Final Fantasy XIV, the bullshit surrounding Final Fantasy Forever Versus XIII, the refusal to bring Type-0 to the West, etc.

Based on what metric? Sales? Number of games released?

Oh, I hadn't seen that sentence. He called it the "Talesiest" game of the series. He also said it wasn't a bad thing! I'm going to read that interview he linked to now. =)

I find it funny that people are forgetting that : lost odyssey is pure old school with a few updates to the formula . It's a reminder of what a great jrpg can be and ni no kuni is a good game as well. It's just not a savior of the genre that isn't dead yet , just not as old school as it used to be. It has evolved to include a lot of different styles and while I accept these changes I for one , do miss the old ways .

I dont know if it's the "savior" of anything but I know I adore it.

It is stunningly beautiful and has some of the best voice work Ive heard in a JRPG