How important is FFXV to the future of JRPGs on consoles?

Shaissa

Shaissa

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We all know that Final Fantasy is arguably the biggest name in JRPGs. They helped make JRPGs popular outside Japan, and made it so other companies took a chance.

With Final Fantasy XIII being released with very questionable responses outside Japan. The big question is how important is the sales and reception of Final Fantasy FFXV for the future of JRPGs outside of Japan?
 
i dont think it will be too bad, but i believe whether good or bad, FFXV is more of a sign of more action oriented FFs rather than turn-base tactical ones.
 
I think the genre is dwindling so badly that no matter how well FFXV does in sales or its reception, the genre won't be any healthier.

Maybe FFXV could help, but my gut instinct is that the JRPG as a mainstream genre has come and gone.
 
Robbiedbee said:
I think the genre is dwindling so badly that no matter how well FFXV does in sales or its reception, the genre won't be any healthier.

Maybe FFXV could help, but my gut instinct is that the JRPG as a mainstream genre has come and gone.
Click to expand...

See, I almost agreed with you until I realised that a whole recent console was dedicated and stuffed full of RPGs: the PSP. Also: Bravely Default did incredibly well along with Kingdom Hearts still thriving in terms of interest.

To answer the initial question, I think if FF15 is truly amazing like the older FF games (and as well received) then the genre will really be boosted. If the game sucks, then that's another blow to the genre. It may be silly, but FF games really do influence the entirety of the popularity of the genre. Maybe not as much as it used to, but it still does.
 
Honestly, I think a large section of the swing of JRPG's comes from the Final Fantasy series. We've all seen the top 10 gaming franchise lists- we know that it's a huge IP in the gaming industry.

Does this mean JRPG's will start to bomb if XV is a terrible flop? Honestly, I don't think so. The likes of the Tales series is large enough to say that the genre could persevere without this particular series. Obviously, the genre would decline quite swiftly... but I don't think the genre would die without Final Fantasy.

Honestly, I don't think XV can flop badly. The hype back when the game was in its original orientation was unbelievably high- in fact, I know a number of fans who were more interested in Versus than XIII. Now that it's a main installment game, the doubters who considered it a spinoff will likely be convinced to buy now. It's a last ditch effort(other than the remake of older FF games than would most likely be commissioned if XV fucked up) to redeem the series in the eyes of their fans.

People will buy it due to the mountain-scale of hype surrounding it. They've invested near a decade into waiting for it;why wouldn't they?
 
I think part of the problem now a days is that RPGS are being more and more associated to anime. ANd people are seeing Anime more and more as a niche market. And i admit it has stopped me from playing certain traditional JRPGs such as Tales series, Persona (except for 4, 5 looks intersting but just a teaser) and even Dragon Quest.

What FInal Fantasy brings is that its a JRPG, but its not always "anime" oriented which is why i enjoy FF Dimensions, FF1-6, and FF 11 more personally. granted, they have the same anime tropes, but not too much. I think we need more JRPGs like FF15 where their not heavily oriented with anime.
 
Japan is predominantly a hand-held country now. Consoles aren't selling as well there. It would take a game of considerable proportions that the Japanese loved and would have to purchase a PS4 for.
Most good JRPG's are on their hand-helds. Many in the west don't even get most of their titles.
This is just Japan.
The sales and reception of how the game does in the west will be dependent on how good the game is, and how it adheres to Final Fantasy staples to some degree.
The shift in it's battle mechanic to action could be good and acceptable to most people if it's done well.
Final Fantasy Type-0 will be a good indication if it does well.
I agree that if JRPG's are too cutesy and anime oriented it won't sell well in the west though if it's completely devoid of influence from Japanese art styles it won't be Japanese.
The great thing about Final Fantasy is that while being Japanese it has adopted different art style influences not just from different cultures but ideas that are blended together.
Another thing is the voice acting.
When Final Fantasy added voice acting the culture gap became apparent and many people didn't accept it including me.
This however didn't stop Metal Gear Solid from being decent at least with it's voice acting and narrative to some degree.
With studio's like Naughty Dog delivering games with incredible stories, narratives, and voice actors using mo-cap, it's not going to be easy to hold our interest in the game if the narrative sucks.
That's just one part of the game.
It is an RPG.
With all the hype that's behind it being open world etc it could turn out to be a great game.
If the story and dialogue isn't good though it won't do as well.
Elder Scrolls games are good RPG's in their own way and the voice acting in those games aren't that great so I guess it depends.
FFX had a good story but the narrative and voice acting was terrible.
These are just my opinions though.
 
I don't have many thoughts on JRPGs in general but I firmly believe XV is crucial for SE. They are undoubtedly in a worse position than they have ever been and if XV flops I fear their position is going to become untenable. Their one saving grace might have been Tomb Raider but with the XBox One exclusivity (at least for a time) it'll impact on opening sales and that's really all companies care about - how much it shifts in the opening quarter.

To a lesser extent, I'm worried about KH3 as well - despite their efforts to unify players with the HD releases of their many, many spin-offs, I fear they've alienated your average player and now only cling on to die-hards like me.

In short: if they fuck up XV, I don't see XVI happening.
 
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