Starcraft 1st to pounce? Can't say im surprised >_> OT: I hope they give SE A run for their Money.

Oh I quite agree that it is a fantastic looking game, something I have said repeatedely in the past.

That said, it's hype level is massively exaggerated due to it's exclusive status.

I think it is fair to say that PS3 owners tend to rally around the hype train for the "big game" a little more than Xbox 360 and Wii owners.  In the West it is LBP, in Japan it is WKC.

For example, Drakes Fortune hype only truly started in earnest upon realisation of the crapness of Lair....

S-E will never be dethroned. Hell, S-E could buy Level 5 before Sony does lol. But I don't think Level 5 is going to sell out. I think they're happy as they are being independent. And btw, Kojima production is part of Konami. And Konami is HUGE. And Team ICO and Polyphony are part of SCEJ which are also HUGE. S-E doesnt use that 3.7k employee on one game. They have teams inside too.

WKC is going to be huge, it is the one game I'm totally looking forward to on the PS3. I'm craving JRPGs, and this one looks to deliver. I just hope an english localization doesn't take too long.

Alan Wake??

The Conduit?? (especially this one)

Level 5 is an incredibly well-run company. They've created a host of very solid fan favorite titles over the years and have really leveraged their talent by hooking up with big time publishers who know how to treat their games. Their relationships with Sony and even Square Enix have been incredibly savvy moves. At this point, Level 5 and Dragon Quest have become somewhat synonymous, which puts Square in a tough position. In a way, Square's helping to fund one of their competitors by outsourcing that series to Level 5. They could do the game in house, but losing Level 5's talent and name is ultimately detrimental to the series. On top of that, they have power over Sony b/c the PS3 has no JRPGs for the system, so Level 5 can demand some pretty good perks to develop PS3 games. All the while, they keep making games that generate huge fan interest and loyalty. That's a formula for success.

Level 5 has yet to make a single bad game, there is hype but there is also big expectation due to the developer's pedegree and the budget and timesink that went into this game, also the thing that truly got people excited recently is the official confirmation of the multiplayer aspect. Because news are scant speculation is running wild on exactly how much online content will eventually be shipped with the game. If this game can imitate the success of something like Monster Hunter, it will surpass the million mark easily in Japan alone.

LOL!!!! ALAN WAKE!?!

The game is practically vapourware.  Whilst that is due to change on October 15th, the fact remains that outside of horror threads the game hardly get's mentioned.

As for Wii owners, they tend to gather around a large group of titles, like Xbox 360 owners.

With PS3 owners, it is primarily two, or maybe three titles at a time, normally one per region that get focused on.

Ok, lets just deal with the topic at hand.

Can Level 5 DETHRONE S-E in ANY measurable sense?

No.

HOW COME NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT DARK CLOUD 3??

Comparing WKC to FF7... you've gotta be kidding me. Never mind the fact that besides Dragon Quest (an SE franchise), Level 5 hasn't made a game with sales making even half of FF6's, the precursor to FF7. Also, their best selling games aren't even RPG's.

Big JRPG's can't just materialize out of thin air. All the big ones are old franchises from SE (the newest, KH, aided by Disney familiarity), and the number of non-SE JRPG's that can break even 1mil are few in number. Mistwalker should be a nice example of how hard it is to make a new hit in the genre. I'm sure PS3 fans will argue that the 360 userbase have far fewer JRPG fans - I guess we will soon see the truth regarding that.

Level 5 "dethroning" SE means they'll need something bigger than Star Ocean, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, and (finally) - Final Fantasy. I do not see this happening, ever. They'll be lucky to outsell DQ/FF remakes.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I've played so far from Level 5, they're awesome devs. I also like what I've played from Team Ico, but I'm not about to get delusional and start predicting their games will get bigger than Zelda.