Venture Beat writes: Even if we haven’t wanted to admit it, we’ve all known for quite some time that the days of abundant Japanese console role-playing games are behind us. If you’re like me, you kinda secretly hoped a few breakout titles would swoop in and save us from this seven-year drought we’ve been living through.
I believe we will see the number of high-quality JRPGs on major consoles continue to decrease as this generation comes to a close and the next one begins. We must accept this reality if we’re to make peace with the void that’s been left since the PlayStation 2 generation ended. Developers and publishers have tried to make JRPGs work in recent years but have found the task difficult. They’ve tried and often failed to deliver deep, engaging gameplay while attempting to create audio-visual blockbusters. Some have seen significant success; however, that has often come at the expense of the traits that made us fall in love with JRPGs in the first place.
Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.
Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.
Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.
"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."
That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
GL compiles a list of some of the most mind-blowing video game narrative twists in recent memory, from The Last of Us to Outer Wilds
With articles like these cant you tag the games mentioned so that we can know ahead of time if there’s a spoiler to avoid?
Not clicking on your article otherwise.
Squaresoft were the ones making the best JRPG's then we lost them.
My complaints are that:
# We havent got a epic FF this gen. Last epic FF was FF10
# We still havent got a Dark Cloud 3, Kingdom Hearts console game or Shadow Hearts.
They're not dead, they're just misrepresented by a biased Western media.
I don't quite think JRPGs are as good as they used to be, but I wouldn't necessarily say they're "dying" either. I still love recent JRPGs, and will continue to support/play them until they're no longer being made. (Hopefully that'll be later than sooner.)
"..and occasionally you may throw us a Ni no Kuni or Dark Souls bone."
OK I find the last paragraph insulting to Level-5 & Studio Ghibli who create this breathtaking beautiful game & there is no doubt that is going to be a MASTERPIECE! already some reviews from imports r perfect (10/10) or near perfect (9.5/10) & the author call games like Ni No Kuni "bones" like it's inferior to the horrible FF SE made for the past 10 years now, because everything after FFX was crap so in comparison to games like FFXII/FFXIII Ni No Kuni is above & beyond in terms of over all quality, story telling, visuals, audio, depth, mechanics, characters & everything else, we must be glad & thank Level-5 & Studio Ghibli who create something so amazing for us after all those years of one garbage FF after another, time to play a quality JRPG again who remains "true" to the gr8 JRPGs of the legendary era of the 90's.
jrpg was DOA on 360 in the first place anyway you spin it..its an abnormality freak of nature
jrpg is Alive and Well on the legitimate platforms by Nintendo and Sony in Japan: Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Dragon's Quest, Monster Hunter, etc.
but Microsoft killed jrpgs in the west in the tune of $100 M bitch slapping on Square Enix ass.
Killing any hope and dignity left of one of jrpg flagship's in the west.
Micro$uck stuck its nose where it should not belong thus inciting the anger of many Japanese gamers..
FF XIII could have been the great jrpg of its time if it remained PS3 exclusive.
You see game quality does not rely on unit sales but on the game's integrity.
Chrono Trigger did not sell gangbusters like FF VI but it kept Square & Enix in high value many years after the game launched.
Now that integrity and honor is gone thanks to Micro$uck.