BoneSnapDeez wrote:Take a game like Final Fantasy XIII. I don't know what the sales figures were (and I'm sure they're skewed by folks like me who will at least try anything with the Final Fantasy label on it), but it was derided by many fans of the genre and I can't imagine that it converted many gamers into JRPG-lovers. Contrast that to something like Ys Seven and Trails in the Sky (games that maintained a more "old school" aesthetic), niche titles that were almost universally praised by all who played them. To me this is the immediate future of the genre - the Falcom/Xseed stuff will get better and better, while the Square Enix slop will continue to degrade. Is anyone excited about Final Fantasy XV these days?
I think the bigger factor with that comparison is that most of those niche titles are playing to the same crowd, over and over again. They're giving the established fans of the genre exactly what they want, but not even attempting to court new buyers.
According to VGChartz's numbers, XIII sold close to 7 million copies worldwide. Trails in the Sky sold around 160,000. That there would be a much wider range of opinions on XIII shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
I wouldn't say that XIII was a perfect game - but I do tend to agree that it at least tried to evolve, and I'll give it credit there. Frankly, the problems I had with it stemmed far more from the insipid dialogue from a cast of mediocre characters.
If XV comes out looking anything like Agni's Philosophy, I'll be quite excited for it.
