210°

Capcom: RPGs don't sell well outside of Japan

While PlayStation 3 owners continue to lash out in regards to the lack of a steady RPG stream on their beloved console, Keiji Inafune, Capcom's head of Research and Development, is going in the opposite direction by proclaiming that RPGs just don't sell well enough outside of Japan to make them worth committing to. In a recent interview with 1up.com, Inafune was asked if Capcom had any plans on bringing back the Breath of Fire franchise, his answer, of course, was something we didn't particularly want to hear.

"There are currently no plans on making a new Breath of Fire game," Inafune says. "Apart from that, regarding RPG titles, they are very popular in Japan, but only certain RPG titles sell so Capcom doesn't really need to even consider making these titles as an option. There's a low possibility that we'll be making one in the near future."

GiantEnemyCrab5615d ago

Keiji: I disagree. JRPG may not sell well outside of Japan but look at games like Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fable 2 or even Mass Effect, these WRPG's do sell well. Even the sales inside Japan are pretty sorry for most of the JRPG's from the past couple years. The same ol tired JRPG forumla just isn't doing it for gamers like it used to. If you plan on sticking to the same tired forumla then I think it's a smart idea to avoid investing in them.

TheColbertinator5615d ago (Edited 5615d ago )

I loved Mass Effect,Oblivion,Fallout 3,and Fable 2 but they lacked that linear storytelling that the JRPG genre excels at.Maybe someday a JRPG developer will get it right and return the genre to its glory

Harry1905615d ago

When talking about it, he probably had Breath of Fire in mind and after the disaster that Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter was, I would agree with him that it would be hard to revive this once great franchise. However, it does not seem financially viable at the moment.

Look at you Mr Inafune, you become a big shot and you only start thinking about money and management. I hope he does the same thing as Yuji Naka and realizes that he is one of the best video game creators in this industry and goes back to creating games instead of being stuck with financial management.

Bnet3435615d ago

He was probably talking about JRPG's. We all know how great WRPG's do here in the states. They should begin work on Lost planet 2 and Dead Rising 2 after SFIV and RE5 hit shelves since they aren't going into Breath of Fire.

gambare5615d ago

yes, that's why titles like Oblivion, fallout 3, mass effect had a huge impact, they combine a nice new formula of combat and history telling with the open world exploration with non linear paths, JRPGs are stuck on linear modes because the Japanese public are used to do reading but they hate exploration, but that kills the enjoy of the gameplay.

Itrguy0015615d ago

i want some more JRPGs' FF isnt always going to settle me down. still plying Persona3 cause i still have yet to beat it same wit Disgea3, Eternal Sonata. :( give me more JRPGs' damnit

The Great Melon5615d ago (Edited 5615d ago )

@ gambare
While jrpgs are much more linear, they also are able to develop the story much more. I decided to to try Oblivion but got tired of it after about 10 hours as nothing happened. Just a lot of roaming around and little story. Might pick it back up but have a feeling that it takes a lot of time to progress the story in that game. Mass Effect on the other hand looks good but until its on the PS3 I won't be able to try it.

SaiyanFury5615d ago

BS the Breath of Fire games don't sell outside Japan. I remember parts 3 and 4 on the original PS doing very well.

Danja5614d ago

JRPG's do sell well outside of Japan but if they crap for then they obviously wont sell.

alot of JRPG's dont get marketed well outside of Japan so that's why they dont end to sell that well...

Valkyria Chronicles is an example of lack of marketing...

Panthers5614d ago

Western RPGs are just boring to me. The story is so meh. If I am going to level up characters for 40+ hours, I want to care about them and whatnot. Japanese stories are usually over the top, but that is better than doing a bunch of pointless sidequests in a huge open world. With RPGs, I like linear better than open.

QQcrybaby5613d ago

You're 100% correct. Exactly what I was thinking when I read the headline.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 5613d ago
Blasphemy5615d ago

Capcom is only made up of 600 people. I didn't know that. They put out alot of great games considering their size.

Bnet3435615d ago

Well you only need like 50 guys for one game so 600 is an ideal number.

Honolulu5615d ago

They outsource a lot, fyi.
For instance, both the Bionic Commando titles are done by Grin.

TheColbertinator5615d ago

Capcom should try it first.JRPGs will not sell well if they suck.However a great JRPG will get attention.

Kush_Reaper5615d ago

Well if they are good and reinventive then rpg fans will more than welcome it. It's just that this gen rpg's hasn't really seen any huge improvements from the ps2 era except for the usual graphical leap. But then again people are willing to buy more of the same stuff.

OBAMA!!!

El_Colombiano5615d ago

Dead Rising PS3 Capcom? *sniffle* Please?

Bnet3435615d ago (Edited 5615d ago )

$200 for an Xbox 360 and it's a good console to boot. Ask your mom for one if you really want Dead Rising that bad.

I don't really care what he does, just don't start spamming that on every Capcom article. That's why you buy more then one console, so you don't have to beg and wait.

gambare5615d ago

or wait and see if the PSN release is true. IF is true then expect this title for 30 bucks.

El_Colombiano5614d ago

You know what, it was more of some light humor when I posted that. And yes I know the 360 is cheap, but I refuse to RE-buy another 360 after I got my third RROD. THAT is why I no longer have Dead Rising and never will unless Capcom brings it to a console I can play without worrying about RROD every time I turn it on. And no, I wasn't planning on spamming every Capcom news article, but because you had to come out and say that, I think I might as well. Add me to your ignored list btw, or you'll be seeing a lot of me around.

Show all comments (38)
200°

Price Reductions Available Now on the Digital Xbox 360 Store - Closing July 29, 2024

Xbox 360 launched 18 years ago and was a generation-defining console that invited many people to jump into gaming for the first time and connect with friends around the world. We’re thrilled people continue playing their favorite Xbox 360 games on Xbox 360, or on newer consoles via Backward Compatibility for supported titles.

Read Full Story >>
news.xbox.com
Einhander19729h ago

"we believe in game preservation"

Remember the media reaction when PlayStation wanted to shut down the PS3 store (but then kept it open)... where is that reaction here?

CrimsonWing698h ago

What are you asking? Like, if people got pissed at Sony for that? Because they did. We also got pissed at Nintendo when they did it.

You’re getting a chance to buy what you want before they close it. Moving forward digital stores should work like Steam. It’s just in this beginning they made it platform specific and closed off. A hindsight in their part and it sucks, but what is the percentage of people buying anything off these stores and what is the cost to keep the servers up?

I get it and yes making strives so this isn’t the case every gen we go into is absolutely a must. I mean PSN on PS3 is so convoluted to buy anything since you can’t use a credit card. Vita store is gone. It’s going to go away eventually.

Einhander19728h ago

"What are you asking? Like, if people got pissed at Sony for that? Because they did. We also got pissed at Nintendo when they did it."

My point is when PlayStation did this every website under the sun was writing articles talking about how "anti-consumer" it was yet I haven't seen anything like that happening when it's xbox doing it, in fact mostly what I see is praise from media when xbox makes obviously false claims about game preservation while they close down their store and xblig and push for digital only consoles streaming and subscriptions.

What I am asking is for everyone to be criticized or praised equally.

I mean look at the way the PS5 Slim's detachable disk drive was reported, it was super critical. Even though in reality they made it easier for people who initially buy a digital only console to move to physical, it was actually a step away from digital only. But did it get reported like that at all... no.

And you can still buy stuff on PlayStation you just need to add money to your account on the website or a PS4/5.

Tacoboto8h ago

That reaction isn't here because you can still play Xbox 360 discs of supported BC titles on Series and Xbox One, and you can still buy BC titles on the current Xbox Store.

It still sucks losing access to non-BC titles but don't act like it's the same situation. Let me know when PS5 actually supports my PS3 library.

Einhander19727h ago(Edited 7h ago)

How are you going to play those discs on your Series S (which 75% of xbox owners have) or your adorably all digital Series X?

And keep in mind that BC on xbox is an extremely limited selection of games, it's less than 25% of retail releases, and way less than the entire catalogue.

It's not a solution for the future, this isn't how "game preservation" looks, it's the fake PR that makes it that much worse.

Tacoboto7h ago

I'm not getting an all digital Series X so bark up someone else's tree, creep. I have my Series X for that disc support and functioning old hardware I still buy discs for (Bought Sudeki, Super Paper Mario, and 3D Dot Game Heroes a few months back - one for each old platform).

Fact is there's a mechanism that exists for Xbox OG and 360 BC physically and digitally. PS has none for PS1 or 2 or 3. If you're gonna bring PS into an Xbox article, at least know what you're talking about.

Einhander19726h ago

"Fact is there's a mechanism that exists for Xbox OG and 360 BC physically and digitally. PS has none for PS1 or 2 or 3. If you're gonna bring PS into an Xbox article, at least know what you're talking about."

I understand that, I'm making commentary on the fact that xbox is moving to digital only (and that the vast majority of current gen xbox owners do not have a disc based option) and not towards preservation as they claim.

And obviously people can play games on the original hardware for as long as that lasts, I have hundreds of games from "retro" consoles, I own nearly 200 PS3 discs alone.

Is there some reason, you feel the need to make personal insults in every comment, I reply to what you say without insulting you. But you know whatever, it says more about you than me...

And for the record "you" was being used colloquially I wasn't speaking you directly.

shinoff21834h ago

It won't as far as emulation. The os3 was built different.

I am in agreement though. I wish Sony would sell like an ultimate console. Have it where you have to order off their site and make it have real bc. Like the og ps3 had ps2 inside so to say.

Tacoboto3h ago

@Ein You're a creep because of your obsessive comment history making everything revolve around Sony or how awful Xbox is to a point that you're now just throwing irrelevant things in any way you can.

And don't try to make "you" colloquially now just because you're wrong about me and your feelings got hurt.

Einhander197228m ago

Whatever, keep insulting me, if you think that is going to make me change my opinions or what I say you couldn't be more far from the truth.

How you choose to treat other people only reflects poorly on you. (and this time it's not colloquially)

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 28m ago
darthv727h ago

The PS3 situation may have something to do with no forward way to play those games on newer hardware. Not to mention the PS3 store has been around far less than the 360 store. 360 store closing was expected and they did a pretty good job making many of its digital games forward compatible with XBO and subsequently the Series as well. Ones they could not come to an agreement with are going to be left behind, but here is your chance for last minute deals for you to continue playing on your 360.

Just because the 360 store closes doesnt make all of those games you have (digital/physical) stop working on real 360 hardware. If people have physical 360 games, chances are they also have the means to play them. Just like People with PS3 games having a PS3. It would be nice if all older games worked on newer hardware... but that is not for us to decide, that is for MS, Sony and Nintendo.

Asplundh6h ago

Difference being the 360 games will still be sold on series consoles, while the PS5 only preserved a selection of Ps3 games for premium subs. If the Xbox 360 store closes the games will still be available, if the Ps3 store closes then those games are gone.

How does this contradict what they said about game preservation?

Einhander19726h ago

As far as what I have read that is not accurate, except for a small selection of games that are available through BC.

And even when the PS3 and Vita stores were going to be shut down they still were still going to be available to download if you purchased them already.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 28m ago
1Victor9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

RIP Xbox 360 digital store and all its games.
It really grinds my gears that they are waiting till 10 days before closing to give the best discounts and the list as of now is 100 or less titles from the massive 360 library

Phoenix769h ago(Edited 9h ago)

I should have enough points by the weekend to get £25 credit off MS, (hardly ever spend money on xb1), might look at a few of these.

DivineHand1258h ago

The Xbox 360 store was one of the only advantages the Xbox Series consoles had over the PS5. When I got my series X, I spent more playing Xbox 360 games vs current-gen Xbox games since that was the golden era for Xbox and several titles had enhancements such as 4k resolution and fps boost.

Closing this store will now only benefit the competition.

VersusDMC8h ago

The xbox360 store is closing on the xbox 360.

Xbox 360 games are unaffected on the xbox one and series consoles.

Einhander19727h ago

"Xbox will stop supporting the ability to purchase new games, DLC, and other entertainment content from the Xbox 360 Store on the console ->and the Xbox 360 Marketplace (marketplace.xbox.com).<-&q uot;

You will not be able to purchase any 360 games. You will only be able to play xbox discs if you have a console that support discs which doesn't look great for the future of xbox, if it has one.

VersusDMC7h ago

@Ein

Why are you repeating what i said?

You will not be able to buy digital 360 games to play on your 360.

You will still be able to buy 360 games on Xbone and Series consoles. Go to marketplace.xbox.com, that's the old browser store and not the new one.

Knightofelemia4h ago

Won't be long before Sony pulls the plug on the PS3.

Show all comments (22)
110°

7 Deserving Games That Never Got Backward Compatibility

Backward compatibility works for many games on newer consoles, but titles such as The Simpsons: Hit and Run have been left out.

90°

20 Best Survival Games of All Time

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Vader823d ago

No 7 days to die is criminal