I would have LOVED 12 if Basch was the main character (hell I would love a spin off, preferable for psp, it would be better than Revenant Wings, yuck). Running around with Basch, Fran, and Balthier was how I always played.

You might be interested to know that Basch originally was going to be the main character in FFXII

There is a chance that new JRPG's will sell very well.

The real problem is that many gamers are used to the old franchises because they associate them with a guaranteed quality title. Remakes have the advantages that many gamers that played the game know how good it is without even playing it, it helps build up hype with low cost.

New RPG's, especially the new franchises, need more hype in order to get attention. This is why is hard for them to sell a lot compared to remakes or old franchises. This is why is a lot easier for FFXIII to sell more than White Knight's Story (if I have the name right :P). Convincing them that your game is as good or maybe better is hard as hell. Even SE have this problem with the Chrono and Mana Franchises.

What chance do they have. The chances for new RPG's to shine and sell a lot are on this order in my opinion

1. Wii=> there isn't a stablished brand for RPG yet. Namco and MMV are taking this as advantages besides the userbase to enter with full strenght and the chances to be successful are quite high.
2. Xbox360=>Lower chances than the Wii because of two things: the japanese userbase and the chances for a following PS3 version that would like a "definite version". But the chances are high because there isn't an established franchise for RPG's besides KOTOR. If exploited well, they can reach nice sales (Lost Odissey)
3. PS3=> Not to offend PS3 fans, but most of you are the evidence. You are relying more on FFXIII and KH3 than even White Knight. New RPG franchises will sell, but not as much as the old ones.

I'd say it might have a shot at 1 mil, but I'm not too sure. Rogue Galaxy sold a bit over 500k on the PS2 (US + Japan). VGC doesn't have EU numbers but I doubt it fared much betterthan Japan/the US. Not to say it had bad sales, but it didn't reach 1 mil. Dark Cloud 2 IIRC sold 250k in Japan and the US combined. I doubt EU fared much better either. I know Profesor Layton sold 1 mil but that seems like a type of game some DS owners might enjoy. Plus it was on the DS...a huge SW seller. It was one of the few Level 5 games that sold 1 mil.

WKC might reach 1 mil but I'm not so sure it's likely. And it gets hysteria because...

1. It looks like a really good RPG. Looks like one of the "better" RPGs.
2. It's a PS3 game. Most PS3 games get hyped (but that's not a bad thing :P).

But that's mostly on the Internet. If I went to some of my PS3 owner friends they probably wouldn't know about the game or even Level 5. We'll have to see how the mass market reacts, not the Internet. We also have to keep in mind that not many Level 5 games have hit 1 mil and even if it doesn't hit 1 mil but gets close it'll still probably be a success.