Isn't that the only one???

If Sony bought Level 5 I'd probably go apeshit.  Their DQ was great and Rogue Galaxy was good as well.  From all the games I've seen them develop they've always delivered a solid, fun product.

I didn't know there was atleast one other JRPG series other than FF, DQ, and KH that gets any mainstream hype in the West

I agree. Advertisement for quality games has been Sony's weak point. An Assassin's Creed-like hype requires a pretty female producer, don't you think? 

Sony also seems to create the wrong type of hypes. Killzone 2, for example, has set the bar too high for itself that even if it matches the CG trailer they showed back in 2005, it wouldn't amaze many people in contrast to Call of Duty 4, which didn't generate much hype before its release but surprised everyone with its quality afterwards.

Games that are initially announced to be exclusive can generate a buzz thanks to the evangelical fanboys. Assassin's Creed greatly benifited from Sony fanboys, same goes for FFXIII even though it is a better known game.

As far as Square Enix concerned, I don't think the Square brand means all that much now. Before its merger with Enix, Squaresoft was selling brand. The studio was a haven for talented developers. However, after the merger the developers started leaving the company in flocks either to found their own studios or join other companies.

Square Enix, in my opinion, is a generic developer now with just one good game in 2 years or so. Final Fantasy X-2 was a huge disappointment to many FF fans. Final Fantasy XII, after so many years in development, was hardly a Final Fantasy game and not many fans liked it either. Now most of their games are either remakes, or low-budget games. In the past they had a couple of great games in development at any one time.

Quality JRPG games are becoming less and less these days. The Japanese video game market is becoming more casual and handheld-oriented as is Europe's. Sony's entrance into RPG genre may help heating up the competition.

I highly disagree with your assessment of FFXII. It received a ton of critical acclaim and I think most would agree with the reviews. I think there's a vocal minority who didn't like it.

I do think Square has lost its touch compared to the PS1 days. Back then, whatever they touched was gold and they had no problem creating a ton of projects simultaneously and releasing them in a timely manner. After FFX, something seems to have gone wrong.

Must be.  The internet is the only place I ever heard any hatred for FFXII, no where else.  They did lose their touch but they aren't bad overall.  This could be because some of the better designers left Squaresoft.

Pokemon, I guess.

Check this out: in 2000 Square released FFIX, Chrono Cross, and Vagrant Story. All were incredibly well received by reviewers and gamers alike. The next year they released FFX. In the entire PS2 generation, the only games received like the 2000 PS1 games were DQVIII, Star Ocean IV, FFX, FFXII, Kingdom Hearts 1, KH2. And two of those games are Enix games not Square. My have times changed....

I was thinking about it. And I wonder if Atlus would be possible and a good idea. Persona seems to have picked up some steam as of late and it may be a good idea to pick them up. They make some fantastic games in the SMT series. They don't get good sales, but they're also never advertised to my knowledge. With a bit of corporate backing they might see some real growth in sales.

The SMT series will never appeal to the mainstream for reasons such as:

1. The series has a very Japanese flavor

2. The series is not accessible to mainstream gamers

3. The mature themes would scare of more sqimish(is that how you spell it) gamers