Poor Sales in Japan?

[Old_School]

Since I was curious of how this game was doing across the Pacific, I looked it up on vgchartz:

http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=34467

I sure hope these numbers aren't accurate. If they are, perhaps it will fare better in other parts of the world.

[GhaleonOne]

Yeah, I don't think it's sold amazing over there, but I don't think they expected 100k sales. 30k is probably somewhat reasonable, considering it's a remake of a remake and it's on the PSP, which isn't exactly killing the DS in sales. US pre-order sales seem to be doing well, though.

[Silver Phoenix]

Unless there is some actual advertising put into place, this game is being pushed by word of mouth alone. Appearing on PSN was a good thing to give it exposure, but they need to keep it up with throwing up some PSP themes and wallpapers on PSN as well.

[GhaleonOne]

I wonder if they'll put any magazine advertisements out. I may have to keep an eye on gaming magazines. I always try and scan them for each game.

[Silver Phoenix]

Print advertisements won't appear until they finalize a date, because I really don't think they would put First Quarter 2010. Maybe they could get away with "Coming Soon."

[Final Night]

It seems odd that this appears to be on track to sell better here than in Japan.

[whitedragon_nall]

It seems odd that this appears to be on track to sell better here than in Japan.

Yeah, really. The past few years have not been kind to JRPG's. I feel their popularity has gone down and so many RPGamers just want to play a new Fallout or Elder Scrolls game.

[fates]

That's probably due in large part to a lot of recent JRPGs being terrible, cookie-cutter, generic messes.

Hell, even FF13 turned into a super-linear interactive movie.

[Silver Phoenix]

With the new technology they've also taken longer to develop, and in the US alone there haven't been that many console releases. The PSP seems to have taken over getting most of them, along with the DS. This era would be the perfect opportunity to revitalize old series and bring them into an updated arena.

There should be a new Chrono Trigger, Lunar, Secret of Mana, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia, etc. Are these companies even trying anymore, or do they just want the easy way out? That was a rhetorical question.

[GhaleonOne]

Well, there is a Grandia Online coming. Though out of all of them, I'm still surprised we've never seen another Chrono game, considering how popular that series is.

[Final Night]

Well, there is a Grandia Online coming. Though out of all of them, I'm still surprised we've never seen another Chrono game, considering how popular that series is.

I know. Everyone's argument about Square not wanting to create new IPs is sort of countered by the fact that they won't add a third installment to Chrono.

[whitedragon_nall]

I'm no game developer, but I would imagine that it'd be cheaper to develop for PSP and DS. Hopefully that means poor sales won't equal huge losses. I wonder if Game Arts would be willing to keep the series alive based on the sales over here.

Looking at my collection of RPG's this gen, almost everything is on a handheld, and so many of them are mediocre.

[Silver Phoenix]

Grandia Online has been in the works for years, but I don't know if it's something that would appeal to me unless there is really something amazing about it. The first Grandia needs a remake because it deserves it. MMORPGs are low on my interest list because they feel like games where you "just add water" to thin out the substance and make them last longer. I want my games rich and meaty, and most of all satisfying.

[Old_School]

That's probably due in large part to a lot of recent JRPGs being terrible, cookie-cutter, generic messes.

Hell, even FF13 turned into a super-linear interactive movie.

You just touched on something I've been thinking about since the PS2 days. A lot of RPGs are becoming movies with linear walking and fighting between the cutscenes. I've heard that Final Fantasy XIII is so linear that you can't even enter the buildings within towns and that all shopping is done at save points.

What I find most disturbing about this trend is that a lot of people are actually starting to prefer things that way. I remember seeing posts on other boards saying things on the line of "exploration only detracts from the stories of rpgs." I believe that a good rpg lets you experience the story, not merely spectate it.

[Silver Phoenix]

Exactly. Exploration and visiting other towns/people enriches the story, and your experience. It also gives you a break from the constant dungeon crawling, which FFXIII has way too much of. It's pretty much battle, battle, cinema, battle, boss, cinema, battle, battle, cinema, boss, battle, battle, cinema, battle, boss, etc. The only places you'll be exploring are the dungeons. Gran Pulse is wide open, but the Japanese call it the giant crab. You have a wide center, and a bunch of spread out leg paths that go nowhere.

[fates]

Well, there is a Grandia Online coming. Though out of all of them, I'm still surprised we've never seen another Chrono game, considering how popular that series is.

There was a quote from Wada, the president of Square Enix. I don't remember the wording exactly, but he essentially said "if they want a sequel, they should buy more!"

I have this crackpot theory about Square Enix's methods when it comes to this and FF7. They KNOW people want a FF7 remake... but they also know that after they do it, the fans may abandon them. So what they do is they string them along with these side games for as long as they possibly can, under the pretense that "if you buy it a lot, we'll know you want a FF7 remake!!!", the problem being, Square Enix already knows that the fans want it and they just want to squeeze every possible penny out of the fans until they reach a breaking point and they absolutely MUST give the fans want they want. Unfortunately, the fans will never reach that breaking point, so Square Enix will keep milking them for every penny they have.

Same goes for Chrono Trigger. I can almost guarantee we'll see another port of it in the next handheld gen or the one after, and Wada (or whoever is in charge then) will say "BUY MORE FOR A SEQUEL!!!!"

Me? I'd prefer there be no more Chrono games, Cross was bad (save for the soundtrack).

I'd rather they release Seiken Densetsu 3 over here. 14 years late, but still.

[MiaOne]

Me? I'd prefer there be no more Chrono games, Cross was bad (save for the soundtrack).

I don't know, I'm rather enjoying Cross. Then again, I haven't beat it yet. But, it seems to keep things simple without redoing the same old story line. Although it seems every minute it's getting more complex...

[Quark]

That's probably due in large part to a lot of recent JRPGs being terrible, cookie-cutter, generic messes.

Hell, even FF13 turned into a super-linear interactive movie.

You just touched on something I've been thinking about since the PS2 days. A lot of RPGs are becoming movies with linear walking and fighting between the cutscenes. I've heard that Final Fantasy XIII is so linear that you can't even enter the buildings within towns and that all shopping is done at save points.

What I find most disturbing about this trend is that a lot of people are actually starting to prefer things that way. I remember seeing posts on other boards saying things on the line of "exploration only detracts from the stories of rpgs." I believe that a good rpg lets you experience the story, not merely spectate it.

Thank you! I love to hear from others that feel this way. It makes me realize that I am not alone. Exploration is half the fun of a good RPG.

[Final Night]

I have this crackpot theory about Square Enix's methods when it comes to this and FF7. They KNOW people want a FF7 remake... but they also know that after they do it, the fans may abandon them. So what they do is they string them along with these side games for as long as they possibly can, under the pretense that "if you buy it a lot, we'll know you want a FF7 remake!!!", the problem being, Square Enix already knows that the fans want it and they just want to squeeze every possible penny out of the fans until they reach a breaking point and they absolutely MUST give the fans want they want. Unfortunately, the fans will never reach that breaking point, so Square Enix will keep milking them for every penny they have.

I think you're on to something, but let's take it a step further. Square might be reluctant to do a FFVII remake until they've got another HUGE hit that they can franchise.

For example, let's say FFXIII is the HUGE hit they're obviously building it towards with two sequels already planned. Since everyone will be clamoring for XIII they can risk doing a VII remake. Maybe this even ties into the fact that after VII was a huge hit we saw Chrono Cross. It's almost as if it's "low risk" in the grand scheme because even if they botch those they've got this other mega-game that people are after right now.

[whitedragon_nall]

And according to Tetsuya Nomura.......a FFVII remake isn't planned yet. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=385636

I remember another thread on Neogaf about a SE announcement that's going to have a HUGE reaction. Guess that's not it.