Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

[H2SO4]

http://www.rpgfan.com/editorials/2008/06-17.html

The article makes some pretty good points and does some pretty convincing number crunching that would seem to indicate that the PlayStation's wealth of RPGs is slowly deteriorating.

I have always loved Sony, don't get me wrong. I loved the PS1, and I loved the PS2 even more, and furthermore I loved the vast numbers of RPG's and rpg series that were published on those systems. Yet, where have all the RPGs gone when it comes to the PS3?

I was originally going to buy a PS3 but I have since lost interest because of a serious lack of games that interest me. My two favorite genre's of video games are FPS's and RPG's, and although the PS3 has MGS4 and a few other fantastic FPS's, it is severely lacking in the RPG department. I have since begun looking into a Xbox 360, something I never thought I would do as I never owned a original Xbox and was never really interested in it beforehand. Yet, RPG's coming to the Xbox 360 include big titles like Star Ocean 4, Final Fantasy XII (now), Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, a possible Valkyrie Profile game, The Last Remnant, and many more that are both coming, and have already been released.

I was pretty sorely disappointed with the PSP's RPG library, but I am even more disappointed with the PS3's.

Don't be mistaken as to the point of this topic, I don't mean to rag on Sony or the PS3, but the facts are undeniable, Sony just isn't getting a very good share the the RPG market, and that's cause for concern, for me at least.

[Valkysas]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

these "facts" are quite deniable.

the PS3 is a young system with a small userbase compared to the other two current-gen systems.

the development costs for both the 360 and PS3 are high. but the 360 has more users globally, so it's a safer bet at this point for games like RPGs that often have a hard time selling unless they're big-name titles.

as the PS3's userbase grows, the number of RPGs for the system will increase. at some point the numbers will become high enough that all japanese RPG development for the 360 may stop entirely in favor of switching to the PS3, which is much more popular in japan.

the PS3 is almost two years old. the PS2 didnt have many quality RPGs at that age either.

[John Mora]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

Yeah, took the Xbox two years to get anything resembling a good RPG.

But I still haven't found a JRPG worth playing in this gen yet.

[H2SO4]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

these "facts" are quite deniable.

the PS3 is a young system with a small userbase compared to the other two current-gen systems.

the development costs for both the 360 and PS3 are high. but the 360 has more users globally, so it's a safer bet at this point for games like RPGs that often have a hard time selling unless they're big-name titles.

as the PS3's userbase grows, the number of RPGs for the system will increase. at some point the numbers will become high enough that all japanese RPG development for the 360 may stop entirely in favor of switching to the PS3, which is much more popular in japan.

the PS3 is almost two years old. the PS2 didnt have many quality RPGs at that age either.

Did you read the whole article? I think it addresses everything you said. You have a point though, but still, who says the userbase is going to grow? I know I've been turned off to buying one because of it's current situation.

[Valkysas]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

the userbase is going to grow.

the only way it isnt going to grow is if everyone stops buying PS3s.

thats not gonna happen.

[Marc M.]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

RPGs are more spread out among all the systems these days is all.
To say Sony had a "Golden Age" of RPGs is pushing it a little: After FF7 came out and did so well there was a surge of mediocre and worse RPGs released that tried to milk the success. The amount of these has diminished over time but there's still some of them hanging around.

The way this article is written seems to imply that "quantity=quality" with all the numbers it's tossing around. If you just like RPGs in general, regardless of their quality, I suppose that type of thinking is okay...

But some of us actually have some taste.

[Big Country]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

Maybe I misunderstand you Valk. But the Wii, and 360 are going to keep selling too.

[Magus]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

RPGs are more spread out among all the systems these days is all.
To say Sony had a "Golden Age" of RPGs is pushing it a little: After FF7 came out and did so well there was a surge of mediocre and worse RPGs released that tried to milk the success. The amount of these has diminished over time but there's still some of them hanging around.

The way this article is written seems to imply that "quantity=quality" with all the numbers it's tossing around. If you just like RPGs in general, regardless of their quality, I suppose that type of thinking is okay...

But some of us actually have some taste.

you raaaaang~

[Valkysas]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

Maybe I misunderstand you Valk. But the Wii, and 360 are going to keep selling too.

So?

it doesnt matter.

when the PS3's userbase gets large enough that japanese RPGs would be profitable on it world-wide, you'll likely see the developers of the games drop the 360, since it isnt popular at all in japan.

the PS3 doesnt need a larger userbase than the wii and 360. it just needs to be about where the 360's worldwide numbers are right now.

[Bon]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

So?

it doesnt matter.

when the PS3's userbase gets large enough that japanese RPGs would be profitable on it world-wide, you'll likely see the developers of the games drop the 360, since it isnt popular at all in japan.

the PS3 doesnt need a larger userbase than the wii and 360. it just needs to be about where the 360's worldwide numbers are right now.

Best of luck to them.

[H2SO4]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

The way this article is written seems to imply that "quantity=quality" with all the numbers it's tossing around. If you just like RPGs in general, regardless of their quality, I suppose that type of thinking is okay...

I agree 100%, but that's why I'm sour about the PS3, all the RPG's for it are just "meh" in my opinion. But maybe it'll change.

I really don't think the PS3 will gain in popularity and grow such a large userbase that it will turn around almost completely and start to receive more attention from developers. To be honest, I was surprised when Tales of Vesperia was announced for the 360. Obviously, tales is a big JRPG series, and for the next installment of their so called "mothership" series to be released exclusively on the 360 says something about where the JRPG's are going. I think it's almost more likely that the 360 will continue to gain momentum in Japan and other asian countries and eventually replace to the PS3.

[JPS]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

The 360 is going to eventually start dropping in sales, Im sure it already has due to the RRoD issues and the fact that the people who really REALLY wanted 360's already have one.

75% of the people purchasing 360s nowadays are probably doing it to replace their old one that broke because they dont want to ship it out and wait for it to get fixed.

[Red Dragon]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

PC dominates the RPG market.

Even Enterbrain thinks so!

[marcus]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

maybe people just don't care about solid "doesn't-break-the-formula" rpgs anymore? games like bioshock, mass effect, shenmue, fable, and oblivion blur the line between "role playing" and actual video games. when people think of console rpg's they think of turn-based plot centric games but all of the big name titles have taken rpg conventions (character creation, big plot, decision making) and mixed it with other gameplay mechanics (third person shooting, adventure/exploration, real time combat, etc.).

another traditional final fantasy or dragon quest is the last game that i would want to play when there's other games that use the same conventions except better. i can't speak for the japanese people which is where a good majority of console rpgs come from but with the 360 and ps3 having such a broad appeal developers will try their best to appease everyone by delivering a product anyone can play.

[Tintenfisch]

Re: Is the Golden Age of Sony RPG's over?

Yeah, took the Xbox two years to get anything resembling a good RPG.

But I still haven't found a JRPG worth playing in this gen yet.

Lost odyssey was pretty cool :3

But if there are video game consoles. There are going to be RPGs, so if this golden age is over, the next one will start all over again.

year 2028: Final fantasy XVIII: Sanctimonious Deviants