Why Are RPGs Going West?

It’s one of those things that snuck up on me slowly over the last few years, but this year, particularly after E3, I had to stop, take a long hard look, and realize just how much one of my favorite genres has changed.

I’m an RPG junkie. I love leveling up, exploring dungeons, finding new weapons, learning new spells, or putting mods on my gun to beef it up from lethal to Epic Overkill. I like it when characters stop to talk to each other, plots ride up and down a revelations rollercoaster and the world—or worlds—are in stupendous jeopardy. This year is no different, there are still many RPGs on the horizon that I’m chomping at the bit to get my hands on and play.

[tiffac]

A good read. I couldn't agree more.

[Redempteur]

what a bad article .. a tiny amount of facts without the context.. there are plenty of titles ( Jrpgs ) to try THIS GEN

Just because suddenly mass effect is a HUGE franchise doesn't mean that everything else is dead ...

PS: the first tales of was on SNES and was already an action rpg by the time...

[Stealth2k]

Theres more jrpgs developed than wrpgs, with better scores on average, and more differentiation.

It should be rpgs are going east

"Tales series that attempt to emulate Western RPGs by putting an emphasis on semi-real time combat"

WHAT??????????????TALES HAS BEEN DOING THIS 20 YEARS AND THEY ARE COPYING?

"Fast forward a few years and it is the Western RPG developers offering the new experiences and the Japanese RPG developers that are doling out the tired clichés."

WHAT?????? YOU MEAN LIKE THE SINGLE PLAYER ACTION IN A FANTASY SETTING CLICHE? OR THE TAKE A GUN AND SHOOT EVERYTHING AND PRETEND ITS AN RPG CLICHE?

OH you mean new experiences like how in japan they actually created a new rpg sub genre this gen like the sports rpg? how valkyria chronicles turned srpgs on its ear?

If you know anything about bethesda oblivion and skyrim are more or less exactly the same as morrowind in terms of gameplay. Bioware takes baldurs gate and reskins it.

"Skyrim is preparing players for a massive world with choice in every direction, Final Fantasy XIII-2’s big selling point seems to be “It’s not quite as linear as the last game.”"

Oh you mean if skyrim is like oblivion and that massive world is filled with NOTHING to do......... The selling point of 13-2 is lets do better than the 84 averaged game 13 was.

Guess what, games can not be open world, focus on the story and gameplay, and be just as good SHOCK

Come on cant this article have at least 1 fact?

I am sick and fucking tired of these generalizations, cliches, and lies........PS I did plenty of the same to make a point

oh and way to take game informers article, read it, copy it, and then right the same point

[Cpt_kitten]

.....you know i agree that Jrpgs still have the high ground

but Elder Scrolls is suppose to be big and the only way you find stuff is to explore it seems like there is nothing to people who do not take the time to explore
thats why the TES games get hundreds of gameplay hours

the main story and guilds are basically giant side quests

but tales is awesome, and i don't care what anyone says FF13 was awesome and im excited for 13-2

[tiffac]

But we just cannot discount the fact that big players that can deliver the big time classics such as Suikoden (Konami) Sakura Taisen, Valkyria Chronicles (Sega), Grandia (Game Arts), Valkyrie Profile (Square Enix), Tales of (Bamco), Breath of Fire, Megaman Legends (Capcom) are all busy catering to the west with westernized games and is either not making the games anymore or is not localizing them.

Even Nintendo is doing this wait and see approach with Xenoblade (Monolith Soft) and Last Story (Mistwalker) before even releasing the titles for all region.

They are too freaking busy trying to hit that home run that they are alienating their fanbase. I like the part where the article said to lower their expectation because he is right most JRPGs never sold millions and they weren't designed to do so.

Not everyone can be a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. We all talk about how great Lost Odyssey is but how old is that game now? We are just not getting too much love these days, we are getting handheld versions that sometimes doesn't even hold a candle to their originals.

I mean I love what Atlus, NISA, Level 5, Nippon Ichi, Xseed and what the others have done this generation (and God bless them) but its just not the same anymore and it seems like most of the devs are just fine keeping it that way. Which just adds to my frustration.

[psman012]

I've always liked western RPG's more anyways. I mean, I'm not a huge RPG fan, but I loved Oblivion, and I'm really looking forward to Skyrim. But I was never into the Eastern ones, like Final Fantasy. Honestly, I think the Japanese/anime culture is just a bit weird to me.

[RedDead]

I like them all/ Looking forward to FF versus the most then Skyrim, eastern ones are the ones that can get you emotionally attached, I haven't got like that with a western one, however western ones give you the sense of being is a massive world to explore etc.

I'm playing Jeanne d'arc atm for Psp, fu**ing quality, it's a S-rpg. Level 5's game

[SageHonor]

Its called Business.... I do love a good RPG. Some of my favorites include Valkyria Chronicles and Resonance of Fate. But simply put... its just business

[CrescentFang]

There actually aren't that many wrpgs than the guy thinks and the guy is only looking for mainstream/popular jrpgs and has not looked further into the genre.

That's basically it...

[Der_Kommandant]

Money is the answer

[Elda]

Love my JRPG'S,have no interest in WRPG'S

[vickers500]

You're missing out then.

[tarbis]

Agreed, WRPGs bore me to death. Their designs has always been generic looking.

[GSpartan777]

"There are still games like the Tales series and White Knight Chronicles that attempt to emulate Western RPGs by putting an emphasis on semi-real time combat"

-_-" Not sure if serious or just don't know.

[nopunctuation]

Because japanese storytelling is all angst any spikey hair and cliches that we all got tired of on the 10th final fantasy game.

[krazykombatant]

Personally unless its pokemon I really don't have much love or interest for JRPGs. I just don't like the turn base thing. However, I did play blue dragon as well as lost odyssey. but to be honest i couldn't continue the ladder. Just couldn't get into it.

[AnActualBear]

RPGs aren't "going west". They've always been western. The fact is JRPGs are not actually role-playing games, and mainstream audiences are finally realizing this now that we have the technology to make real open-ended roleplaying games accessible on consoles.

I mean if you really want to go through some linear anime game that's indistinguishable from all the other linear anime games be my guest, but everyone else is migrating to western games with nice things like creativity, subtlety, and interactivity.

[Stealth2k]

you dont know what an rpg is.

[AnActualBear]

Brilliant comeback.

[Deadman_Senji]

Western games creative? lol at that line of bullshit

Subtlety? What does that even mean? I know what subtle means but in what way are you using it? You're gonna need to explain that one.

Interactivity? Aren't all games interactive?

Don't post again, you're a fucking idiot.

[AnActualBear]

D'awww, angry neckbeard

I'm gonna go ahead and wonder if you've ever played a western RPG. Go do that and then come back.

[MoreRPG]

well i love rpg's and i hate to say that must of the rpg developers don't go the extra mile.

[tarbis]

Guess this guy only played a few Japanese RPG then generalized them all.
He'll be singing a different tune if he ever got to play old PS gems like Tales series, Arc the Lad series, SRW series, Sakura Wars series and many others that never see the light of western releases. Actually, there are lots of Japanese RPGs now that are really good that will never see the light of western release and these will blow these western rpgs out of the planet. And they're low budget to boot.

[Ludakriss]

...because the west is pretentious enough to think they know what to do with those 3 letters and the Japanese are too lazy to prove them wrong...

[Deadman_Senji]

Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Dragon Age (if you can still count that as successful) and Fallout...These are the only major WRPG series that are still going. How are 4 franchises considered domination when Japan is pumping out new IPs and sequels to all of their ongoing series within the genre which outnumber the WRPGs I listed and exist on multiple platforms including handhelds, not just home consoles and PC.

How are WRPGs superior? I'm missing something here...no, I actually just think you Western loyalists are just spreading bullshit based on personal opinion. Isn't that a funny trend? Something quite common in the shit community known as modern gaming. People sure weren't this fucking obnoxious when I was a kid.

Besides, it all boils down to what kind of character design you prefer. That's how one dimensional you WRPG faggots are and I see it in just about any argument bashing JRPGs from you clowns so don't fucking deny it. Just accept that you are an obnoxious waste of flesh. Why haven't you killed yourselves? You're part of the problem. If you die, the gaming community will become so much better. Don't you want to do something cool for the greater good of the gaming community? You like to talk about how Japan is ruining everything you hold dear about gaming so surely you'd want to fix the community. Kill yourselves, that's all you have to do. I know it sounds harsh and I'm not talking about people who enjoy WRPGs or even prefer them more than JRPGs. I'm talking about you fuckheads that just can't shut the fuck up and have to turn everything into a nerdy argument.

So please, kill yourselves.

Suck a tailpipe, find a gun, drink some poison. I don't really care how you do it. If you're arguing about WRPGs over JRPGs, you're a piece of shit. Kill yourself.