No matter how blunt the news, Yoshida was likely direct in his response because of increased rumors regarding Sony’s interest in producing their own Japanese-style role-playing game. Although Japan has proven a waning console RPG market over the past few years, some fans believe that Sony was enjoying such a comfortable lead in this generation’s “console wars” that they could take a gamble on revitalizing a slowly withering market.
In a way, such a gamble would make a lot of sense for Sony. Fans of the genre are eagerly awaiting Final Fantasy 15 and Square Enix has also promised a new RPG franchise called Project Setsuna. There may never be another time in the PS4’s life cycle that Japanese and international console gamers alike are so attentive to the RPG world. Unfortunately, it appears Sony does not think adding their own JRPG to the mix would be beneficial at this time.
Yoshida also answered a question on the rumor that PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 classics would be making their way onto the PS4, replying that Sony had “nothing to announce” currently. However, given that this answer is much more vague than an outright “no,” and that Sony was recently caught requesting a rating for a PS4 version of Dark Cloud 2, Yoshida could just be employing a little misdirection in anticipation of a larger announcement.
While Yoshida’s answer regarding a Sony JRPG was definitely disappointing, its still a fine time to be a fan of the genre. On top of upcoming new releases, Square Enix is also still hard at work on a Final Fantasy 7 HD Remake full of changes to plot and gameplay in an effort to update and modernize the classic. Although Sony might not be directly involved in the creation of a new JRPG, they certainly haven’t stopped encouraging other famous developers from pursuing them in the company’s stead.
Are you disappointed that Sony isn’t directly involved in a new JRPG? Do you prefer smaller studios to produce games rather than huge corporations? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Twitter
