Why JRPGs are a dying breed

Looking at my ever-increasing backlog of games, it's become apparent to me that RPGs above all others remain untouched despite the undisputed quality of many of them (i.e. Xenogears).  Now, I know my compulsions typically lead me to play the shortest games first, but the more intimidating open world games like Just Cause 2 or the Mass Effect world are eventually played through and enjoyed while RPGs only collect dust. 
 
Personal preferences aside though, there's been a noticeable shift in the industry away from many of the big Japanese names and developers.  RPGs have been one of the biggest casualties in this, nowhere near the huge hits they were back in the heydays of the 90s.  But I think I'm starting to figure out why.  RPGs used be the only medium in gaming capable of telling a broad narrative that felt epic in at least its duration if not its story arcs as well.  But the Xbox/PS2 days of the story-less Renderware sandbox games is over and now robust, narrative-driven stories are the norm for all types of genres. 
 
With that prime advantage gone, many RPGs lose the prime advantage that kept so many of us engaged in the silver years of gaming.  No longer do we need to sacrifice the omni-grinding gameplay for a broad-sweeping tale, we can get that from fantastic franchises like Assassin's Creed and even the more mediocre like an Alpha Protocol.  There is still a noteworthy niche of fans that continue to enjoy the grinding type of gameplay (just look at WoW: Cataclysm), but it seems like in the realm of console gaming, there is an overall feeling of "enough".  Most RPGs still in the field have attempted dramatically different takes on the traditional trappings of the genre, but nothing seems to have caught in a way that will transform the genre in a way that Devil May Cry did for third person action or what Resident Evil 4 did for horror. 
 
It's anyone's guess at this point whether or not RPGs are gonna survive the move into the next decade in their current form.  Perhaps they'll fade into darkness and make a surging return much like adventure games have as of late.  I'd much rather see them be retooled by a smart company that can give you that party-based feeling and interweaving tales within a whole world without losing those intangibles that made us replay Chrono Trigger over and over or become so attached to the Earthbound characters.

What are you talking about? 
 
Nomura has never made a bad game and I don't think Versus XIII will be bad considering it's made by Nomura team. 
 
Level-5 has not made a bad JRPG ever.  Atlus has been on a roll this generation and last generation.  Just because Square Enix's lower tiers can't make proper JRPGs doesn't mean it's dead.  Nomura is proof of that.

Dragon Quest IX was pretty huge in my opinion, maybe not in America but in Japan it sure was.  If they just keep importing such great games than there is no way jrpgs will ever die.

Wait, they're dying? I thought such games were doing alright for themselves. Granted, this does sound like a legitimate problem, but I don't see it becoming apparent.

I'm not saying the games are bad per se.  It's more so that they're not the hard hitting blockbusters that they once were a decade and two ago.  The strongest games in so many years were RPGs above all else,  and everyone wanted in on the genre for that reason, but to me (speaking really only about the US market here) RPGs seem to hit far smaller then they once did.  Maybe a lot of that can be attributed to the rising costs of developing a game so they go on the DS or are made rarely for the consoles.  Maybe you could say the amount of gamers is way larger so it's more of a demographic shift more than anything.  Whatever the case, there's unquestionably a shift away from RPGs as the seminal genre that it once was.

you know why they aren't? because there's actually WRPG's for consoles this generation; name me 10 WRPG that were released on the original xbox, PS2, etc.

As far as I understand Japan culture doesn't have the same convulsion for inovation that America has.. not saying one is better than the other just saying their diferent. JRPGs have evolve somewhat and they still big hits in japan.. so dying breed .. mm dont think so

I'm pretty sure they're doing fine in Japan. So you're wrong.

" I'm not saying the games are bad per se.  It's more so that they're not the hard hitting blockbusters that they once were a decade and two ago.  The strongest games in so many years were RPGs above all else,  and everyone wanted in on the genre for that reason, but to me (speaking really only about the US market here) RPGs seem to hit far smaller then they once did.  Maybe a lot of that can be attributed to the rising costs of developing a game so they go on the DS or are made rarely for the consoles.  Maybe you could say the amount of gamers is way larger so it's more of a demographic shift more than anything.  Whatever the case, there's unquestionably a shift away from RPGs as the seminal genre that it once was. "

We are in the age of the CRPG (Canadian Role Playing Game), enjoy it!

hmmm I do see what you are saying... I do feel like there are much less JRPG's this gen compared to last. The quality to me has gone down quite a bit but then again some of the awesome ones (Tales series) don't get imported over anymore. I want more JRPG's I really do it just seems like America does not want more. I am not sure for the exact reasoning but when you compare WRPG to and JRPG there is a quality difference there for whatever reason.

Because they keep forgetting to put the RPG in their J.  
 
Edit, actually reading the post, it kinda makes sense. Why deal with the worst kind of gameplay just for some plot, when you know.. ANY other game has it in spades.

I'm not sure much has changed, beyond perception.  People talk about the golden age of JRPGs, but it really only seemed to have existed in the media.  Sure FF games have always sold well, and probably always will, but most others in the genre didn't push too many copies in the states.  You look at the SNES and you might think of the early FF games, but truth is a lot more people were playing star-fox and F-zero than JRPGs.  On the Playstation you had FF7 and FF8, along with games like Xenogears and Saga Frontier, as well as Lunar, but outside Square's flagship games, nothing really lit up the sales charts on nearly the same level as Fighting games and Racers did at the time.  Even on the PS2, the "JRPG console", the biggest non FF games belonged to other genres and other franchises like GOW, Resident evil, Silent Hill, Ratchet and Clank, etc...
 
Like I said, I think the only thing that's really changed has been perception.  Back in the day video game commentary was all controlled by a small group of people.  You had magazines which might do a mailbag, but nothing more, and earlier video game sites didn't have message boards or blogs.  All the writing came from a small group, and didn't really reflect the masses.  That's how you had games that were fawned over by some, like Final Fantasy Tactics or the early Megaten Games, that sold almost nothing in the real world.  You think about what you'd read and heard in the media, and you'd think that a game like FFT would have broken all sorts of records, yet only a year or so after it's printing the game cost twice as much to buy used as it did new, since there were so few actual copies in the wild.  Same with Xenosaga a generation later.
 
All these "death of" and "rise of" things we see, are a bit overblown in my opinion.  People talk about the death of PC gaming, the death of JRPGs, even in other things, like the increase of atheism, and such.  I'm not sure anything's changed.  Consoles have always been a bigger gaming platform all the way back to the atari 2600.  More action oriented games have always been the choice in the west.  There aren't any more gay people now then there were two decades ago, nor any more atheists, they just have a platform to be heard now, beyond the always play-it-safe mass media outlets.  The way it is today is pretty much the way it was 10 years ago.  And 20 as well.  It's just that with more interactivity, the new media, and new internet is no longer controlled by a select few who try to push their own views and likes upon us, and is instead a more accurate reflection of who we are and what we're interested in.

"actually reading the post..."

There seems to be endless fretting over the RPG genre, either that the JRPG genre is dying, or that hardcore western RPGs are giving way to shooter/RPG hybrids. Most of this has to do with the economics of game development, where games with large, complex stories are more expensive to create nowadays than they used to be (when text was very limited and there was no voice acting, such as back in NES days). Another problem is the broadening of the gaming public. Gamers who played hardcore RPGs used to make up a larger percentage of gamers. Yes, it was always a niche, but it was a fairly large percentage of gamers, even back in the 90s. As gamers have broadened in interest (particularly in the last ten years), demand for RPGs as a percentage of all gamers seems to have declined. It's more difficult to justify spending vast amounts of money on a game in a genre with a small base of fans.
 
It's not that the genre is dying, necessarily. The same can be said of PC gaming. It's not that there's a smaller number of people into that style of gaming, it's just that the market has changed. JRPGs suffer from a lack of true innovation, which is necessary to compete here in the states. New gamers are moving on from the classic genres toward hybrids. Developers are choosing to make endless FPS games because that's where the money is (for the moment), and we're stuck with TPS/RPG hybrids.
 
To put it the short way: for a long time, gamers wanted to be mainstream. Now they're suffering for it, as more casual gamers simply don't care for the classic genres and flock to the popcorn, quick-play genres. That change in the market is sucking up all the capital. Gamers got what they asked for, but in the long run I don't think it's what many of them wanted. So we wind up with a lot of games that are great, but aren't necessarily what we want.

" I'm not saying the games are bad per se.  It's more so that they're not the hard hitting blockbusters that they once were a decade and two ago.  The strongest games in so many years were RPGs above all else,  and everyone wanted in on the genre for that reason, but to me (speaking really only about the US market here) RPGs seem to hit far smaller then they once did.  Maybe a lot of that can be attributed to the rising costs of developing a game so they go on the DS or are made rarely for the consoles.  Maybe you could say the amount of gamers is way larger so it's more of a demographic shift more than anything.  Whatever the case, there's unquestionably a shift away from RPGs as the seminal genre that it once was. "

ugh iv never been able to get into JRPGs for some reason, iv always felt like im missing out. 

My take on it is, that jrpg games aren't evolving much and wrpg games are. So in a way, because of wrpg games, videogame reviewers are judging these jrpg games alot more harshly than before because the bar has been raised.

"

My take on it is, that jrpg games aren't evolving much and wrpg games are. So in a way, because of wrpg games, videogame reviewers are judging these jrpg games alot more harshly than before because the bar has been raised.

"

Final Fantasy games are exclusive to their existing fans at this point. That pretty much sums up the whole problem with JRPG's.

JRPGs are dying? What?

I think the original poster ought to play Persona 4 (and perhaps also Persona 3, which is also good). They're "JRPGs" (ugh, I hate that phrase) that recapture the character-driven magic of the Chrono Triggers and Earthbounds of yesteryear, at least to an extent.

" I think the original poster ought to play Persona 4 (and perhaps also Persona 3, which is also good). They're "JRPGs" (ugh, I hate that phrase) that recapture the character-driven magic of the Chrono Triggers and Earthbounds of yesteryear, at least to an extent. "

Consoles have always been a bigger gaming platform all the way back to the atari 2600.

Look at FFXIII. that's why.

Buy a DS.

Tales of Vesperia and Persona 4 prove that JRPGS are not dead.

" @Fajita_Jim: I think it's funny that the reason JRPGs are on portables is only because it will sell better there than on consoles. And it's just a coincidence they are pushing SNES-PS2 level software...   I wonder what the hell's gonna happen when the 3DS and PSP2 come out. "

" @XII_Sniper said:

"actually reading the post..."

A king among men. "

" But not to enough of an extent. I played Persona 3, a lot of Persona 3, and towards the end I just gave up because the dissonance between the plot, the characters and then what I was actually doing in game got too much. The actual gameplay involved in JRPGs is practically anathema to the rest of the experience and it makes the whole thing seem like a story that's spaced out by making you do these boring tasks. "

 shouldnt we be celebrating the fact that since fewer and fewer JRPGs are made, the ones that do come out are all top quality?

" Tales of Vesperia and Persona 4 prove that JRPGS are not dead. "

" @Mcfart said:

" Tales of Vesperia and Persona 4 prove that JRPGS are not dead. "

yeah, they're just on life support and the Japanese developers are ignoring the DNR clause. "

I'm more worried about WRPGs at this point. Especially Skyrim after reading that article with the dreaded "s word" all over it.

At least there are people still making JRPGs instead of trying to cater to the Gears/CoD morons to make a profit.

I almost hope that the RPG collapses and sees a TellTale style revival.

"But yeah, handhelds are the perfect home for JPRGs if they stop pulling that save-point crap. I'm looking at you Ys Seven, having to fight three boss monsters and over a half-hour of dialog without a save.  IT'S A PORTABLE GAME LET ME GO I HAVE TO GO DAMMIT! PC has quicksave almost standard, portables need it more than PC and don't have it.  "

" @odintal said:

" @Mcfart said:

" Tales of Vesperia and Persona 4 prove that JRPGS are not dead. "

yeah, they're just on life support and the Japanese developers are ignoring the DNR clause. "

Both of the games he just mentioned are on the top of their respective developers lists of best-selling games.  Persona 4 has sold more then any other game Atlus has ever put out  and ToV is only outmatched by Symphonia. "

What about Demons' Souls or the Persona series? These were pretty fresh to me.  
 
What we're seeing is a different breed emerging, and generally from different companies and consoles.

"

What about Demons' Souls or the Persona series? These were pretty fresh to me.  
 
What we're seeing is a different breed emerging, and generally from different companies and consoles.

"

" @Fajita_Jim: that graph is a little weird to me. I'm curious as to how much double dipping goes into the PC side. WoW is technically both a boxed and an MMO game, and Casual Portals are also all downloadable games. If social networks count is that money from advertising or is the graph based only on consumer spending? Also, if they're going to segregate the PC spending shouldn't consoles be broken into Console (boxed / retail), Console (boxed / used), and Console (download)? Graphs; they weird me out.