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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Have Western RPGs supplanted JRPGs?

JRPGs are known for their storytelling and linear gameplay, and menus.  They are also turn-based for the most part.  One could argue the classic AD&D Gold Box PC RPGs partly inspired them.  JRPGs refined the concept and placed them on the forefront.  

Now take Western RPGs.  They are normally real-time, in 3D, and focus on open-ended gameplay.  Elder Scroll and now Fallout 3 sum them up.  Fable 2 would also qualify, as would Mass Effect.

This generation, however, the Western style RPG have generated far better sales than the JRPG format, with people seeming to harken back to the good old days.  The JRPG seems to be far more limited in its release or awareness in the minds of people.

So, I will ask this: As far as driving sales and being in the minds of people, has the Western RPG replaced the JRPG?  I don't think the JRPG will go away.  There will always seem to be a market for redoing the classics, with updated graphics and tweaks.  But as a driving force?

Could it be also that the action genre will consume more and more RPG into it, the way it did with adventure games?  The fact you see leveling in games like Call of Duty now hints at that trend.

Your thoughts please here.



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I hope not I hate WRPG's. The only ones I can remember enjoying is Baldur's Gate I and II.

They will always be some big JRPG's like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean etc. But for the most part WRPG's are the bigger sellers.



I used to hate them also.

Fallout 3 and Mass Effect have changed my opinion, however.



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I hope so I hate JRPGs. Go WRPGs: Fallout series, Elder Scrolls, Fable series and now Mass Effect series and many more excellent WRPGs are on the martet or are soon coming and they will heavily outsell JRPGs and receive higher review scores than the JRPGs.



In terms of worldwide popularity...yes and no.

On a game to game basis it seems on average that WRPG's sell better then JRPG's, however, the top selling RPG franchises are still from Japan. (DQ, FF and KH....and Pokemon although that isn't quite the same kind of thing, in my opinon anyway)



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Having people think of Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 as definitive WRPGs is depressing.

It's like holding up Rumble Roses XXX as the definitive game in the fighting genre.



numonex said:
I hope so I hate JRPGs. Go WRPGs: Fallout series, Elder Scrolls, Fable series and now Mass Effect series and many more excellent WRPGs are on the martet or are soon coming and they will heavily outsell JRPGs and receive higher review scores than the JRPGs.

If you think JRPGs are stale, you should(as in I'm not forcing you) play Persona 4 and The World Ends With You.  If JRPGs just aren't your thinng, then I can't help you.

 

WRPGs are doing better than JRPGs right now because the gameplay elements in WRPGs appeal to the Western markets more than the anime influenced JRPGs.  Also, most JRPGs these days seem to fail in atleast oneaspect.  Whether it be story(Blue Dragon), gameplay(Blue Dragon again), or lack of polish(The Last Remnant), there just seems to be some failing with most JRPGs these days.  Persona 4 being one of the exceptions with its great story, deep gameplay, and a good amount of polish.

 



The sales thing likely has something to do with the fact that most JRPGs biggest mainstream hitters haven't arrived yet (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and now Kingdom Hearts) while the biggest WRPG developers (Bethesda and Bioware) have already released their games. Give the situation another year, and see where we stand.

Mind you, the fact that the WRPGs are already hard at work on sequels to their multi-platinum games, while the JRPGs are still not yet near complete is a troubling sign in and of itself. But it's one that has more to do with development/business philosophy than with the genres' respective popularity.



noname2200 said:
The sales thing likely has something to do with the fact that most JRPGs biggest mainstream hitters haven't arrived yet (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and now Kingdom Hearts) while the biggest WRPG developers (Bethesda and Bioware) have already released their games. Give the situation another year, and see where we stand.

Mind you, the fact that the WRPGs are already hard at work on sequels to their multi-platinum games, while the JRPGs are still not yet near complete is a troubling sign in and of itself. But it's one that has more to do with development/business philosophy than with the genres' respective popularity.

Those Japanese developers need to change their development philosophy if they ever want to catch up to the Western developments.

 



Riachu said:
numonex said:
I hope so I hate JRPGs. Go WRPGs: Fallout series, Elder Scrolls, Fable series and now Mass Effect series and many more excellent WRPGs are on the martet or are soon coming and they will heavily outsell JRPGs and receive higher review scores than the JRPGs.

If you think JRPGs are stale, you should(as in I'm not forcing you) play Persona 4 and The World Ends With You.  If JRPGs just aren't your thinng, then I can't help you.

 

WRPGs are doing better than JRPGs right now because the gameplay elements in WRPGs appeal to the Western markets more than the anime influenced JRPGs.  Also, most JRPGs these days seem to fail in atleast oneaspect.  Whether it be story(Blue Dragon), gameplay(Blue Dragon again), or lack of polish(The Last Remnant), there just seems to be some failing with most JRPGs these days.  Persona 4 being one of the exceptions with its great story, deep gameplay, and a good amount of polish.

 

JRPGs are just not my thing. The WRPGs are much easier for me to get into.