The market for role playing games was blown wide open by the success of Final Fantasy VII, the hugely popular game that took the industry by storm in '97. Before then, many believed traditional Japanesse RPGs would never appeal to the mass U.S. market, much less succeed in the way that it has.
Now, however, thanks to Square's efforts, the Playstation market has become the definitive platform for RPGs in all shapes and sizes. But can the market support the avalanche of RPGs coming within the next few months? More importantly, can a title without the Square name attached to it survive? History says not.
According to NPD TRSTS sales figures, non-Squaresoft games have not fared well. Wild Arms is the top selling RPG with approximately 150,000 units sold. In contrast, the top selling RPG of all time on Playstation is Final Fantasy VII, topping out at 1.12 million units sold. Quite a discrepancy and an indication that companies putting out new RPGs (excluding Square) are in for a rough ride.
Despite the sales numbers, no less than a dozen PSX role-playing games will be released in 1999 alone. On top of the food chain and a guaranteed million-seller is Final Fantasy VIII. Shipping in September from Square EA, FFVIII will almost sell itself. The added marketing support from Square EA and the inevitable word-of-mouth advertising will make it one of the top selling games of the year. The rest of the titles will be hard-pressed to even approach Final Fantasy-like numbers and will be left fighting for scraps.
