On 5ch’s Hardware/Industry board, a discussion broke out over why Bandai Namco’s popular “Tales of” RPG series hasn’t had a proper new entry in recent years. Posters pointed to competition from Chinese RPGs like Genshin Impact and frustration with the sales strategy of skipping Nintendo platforms for new releases, while opinions split over comparisons of worldwide cumulative sales with the Persona series.
You could already hear the death knell after Zestiria, but Berseria redeemed the series with a god-tier scenario, then after Arise—a decently safe entry—there's been zero sign of anything since.
Back in the day everyone used to talk about Tales games.
Now you don't even hear the word "Tales" anymore.
Now you don't even hear the word "Tales" anymore.
Tales of the Shire and Tales of Kenzera are still coming out though.
Both the content IP and its audience are just getting old.
Because Bandai Namco refuses to change its milk-it-for-all-its-worth mindset.
The combat gets tedious around the midgame.
If you're just trying to clear it, you just spam your strongest move over and over, and the newer games even have pay-to-win moves now, which kills the mood.
Flashing microtransaction banners mid-game is the height of stupidity.
If you're just trying to clear it, you just spam your strongest move over and over, and the newer games even have pay-to-win moves now, which kills the mood.
Flashing microtransaction banners mid-game is the height of stupidity.
It fell from grace the moment it went exclusive to the "losing" platform, PlayStation.
And now there's no new game at all.
And now there's no new game at all.
"Owakon" (washed-up/dead content) is itself washed-up content by now.
It lost ground to Genshin Impact, its direct rival in anime-style RPGs,
and then a steady stream of other Chinese games kept popping up after that.
The odds are stacked way too high against launching a brand-new mainline entry to compete now.
and then a steady stream of other Chinese games kept popping up after that.
The odds are stacked way too high against launching a brand-new mainline entry to compete now.
>>14
On top of that, I think it'd end up fighting over fans with idolmaster.
What Bandai Namco should really be doing is developing games aimed at elementary and middle school boys.
On top of that, I think it'd end up fighting over fans with idolmaster.
What Bandai Namco should really be doing is developing games aimed at elementary and middle school boys.
The price of snubbing Nintendo hardware is that no fresh blood comes in, so it just ages and declines.
It's not just Tales—Final Fantasy and every other third party fixated on "garbage-station" (PlayStation) are all turning into dead content for the same reason.
It's not just Tales—Final Fantasy and every other third party fixated on "garbage-station" (PlayStation) are all turning into dead content for the same reason.
It's the producer's fault, seriously, the producer's.
Makes sense—he's got a track record of carefully running God Eater (GE) into the ground too.
Makes sense—he's got a track record of carefully running God Eater (GE) into the ground too.
>>16
I still haven't forgiven them for never releasing Rage Burst for PSP.
I still haven't forgiven them for never releasing Rage Burst for PSP.
Because the producer who actually had passion for it left.
They oversaturated the market way too much, no matter how you slice it.
I just can't bring myself to pick one up anymore.
I just can't bring myself to pick one up anymore.
Falcom took its seat. They should've kept releasing games steadily.
Releasing a new one every year used to be its whole strength.
>>25
Remasters do come out, but since everyone knows new entries won't come to Nintendo hardware, they don't sell all that well.
Remasters do come out, but since everyone knows new entries won't come to Nintendo hardware, they don't sell all that well.
As a fan, I'd have preferred they kept churning out new entries steadily like they did under producer Baba.
>>33
Being that energetic/prolific was actually a good thing back then.
Though typing it out now, it just reads badly lol
Being that energetic/prolific was actually a good thing back then.
Though typing it out now, it just reads badly lol
Come to think of it, wasn't the scenario for this game written by a woman?
>>37
Tales scenarios have always been written by men.
The one exception is Destiny 2, credited to the writing collective "Koubou Gekkou," so there might've been a woman in there somewhere, but that's about it.
Tales scenarios have always been written by men.
The one exception is Destiny 2, credited to the writing collective "Koubou Gekkou," so there might've been a woman in there somewhere, but that's about it.
Xeno-envy again huh.
Xenoblade's got a new entry coming out next year after all.
Xenoblade's got a new entry coming out next year after all.
>>62
Though it's not generating any buzz at all lol
Though it's not generating any buzz at all lol
I bought Arise with high hopes but it just didn't do it for me.
JRPGs don't sell these days anyway, so they should ditch the genre and put out a Dragon Ball RPG instead—way better move.
JRPGs don't sell these days anyway, so they should ditch the genre and put out a Dragon Ball RPG instead—way better move.
>>65
It'd be bad if it just reinforced the image that Bandai Namco is a company with nothing but Dragon Ball and Gundam.
It'd be bad if it just reinforced the image that Bandai Namco is a company with nothing but Dragon Ball and Gundam.
There are people who didn't like Arise…?
It's seriously about as by-the-book/classic as it gets.
If that wasn't good enough, then literally every JRPG is doomed.
It's seriously about as by-the-book/classic as it gets.
If that wasn't good enough, then literally every JRPG is doomed.
>>66
Being "classic" is Arise's only real virtue.
It's like a 5/10 on story, 5/10 on characters, 5/10 on combat—
you never feel the developers' passion, that "this is what we love" energy.
On that front, I personally found Star Ocean 6 more interesting.
Being "classic" is Arise's only real virtue.
It's like a 5/10 on story, 5/10 on characters, 5/10 on combat—
you never feel the developers' passion, that "this is what we love" energy.
On that front, I personally found Star Ocean 6 more interesting.
True, for Persona—
> The Persona 5 series surpassed 10 million units in worldwide cumulative sales as of December 2023
—that's what they say, but if you break it down:
> Persona 5 (original): 3.2 million+ worldwide
> Persona 5 Royal (P5R): 4 million+ worldwide (including ports)
> Persona 5 Scramble (P5S): 2 million+ worldwide
I'd guess most of that is the same people buying multiple versions.
So in the end, the actual number of unique buyers probably tops out somewhere between 4 and, at most, 5 million.
Well, that's still obviously more than Tales, but on a global scale it's not exactly a runaway smash hit either.
> The Persona 5 series surpassed 10 million units in worldwide cumulative sales as of December 2023
—that's what they say, but if you break it down:
> Persona 5 (original): 3.2 million+ worldwide
> Persona 5 Royal (P5R): 4 million+ worldwide (including ports)
> Persona 5 Scramble (P5S): 2 million+ worldwide
I'd guess most of that is the same people buying multiple versions.
So in the end, the actual number of unique buyers probably tops out somewhere between 4 and, at most, 5 million.
Well, that's still obviously more than Tales, but on a global scale it's not exactly a runaway smash hit either.
>>89
Right now it's 3.2 million for the original + 8.66 million for the complete edition, so 11.86 million total.
I bet the complete edition alone will hit 10 million by next year.
Right now it's 3.2 million for the original + 8.66 million for the complete edition, so 11.86 million total.
I bet the complete edition alone will hit 10 million by next year.
More than the release gaps, the biggest factor is probably that more games similar to Tales have shown up.
Tales in particular seems to have taken a direct hit from Chinese games.
Tales in particular seems to have taken a direct hit from Chinese games.
>>93
Yeah, anime-style characters with lightweight action combat—that's a pretty exact overlap.
Yeah, anime-style characters with lightweight action combat—that's a pretty exact overlap.
www.famitsu.com/news/201505/08078106.html?page=3
——Let me push on just one more thing. Some users have suggested that the scenario may have been altered out of favoritism toward a particular voice actor…?
Baba: That is absolutely not the case. The story and gameplay of the "Tales of" series are built by the entire development team through repeated discussion. If I or certain staff members had let personal feelings or pressure influence things, the team itself would have fallen apart, and there's no way we could have kept the "Tales of" series going to this day. Past, present, and future, the team has always developed these games together as one.
——Let me push on just one more thing. Some users have suggested that the scenario may have been altered out of favoritism toward a particular voice actor…?
Baba: That is absolutely not the case. The story and gameplay of the "Tales of" series are built by the entire development team through repeated discussion. If I or certain staff members had let personal feelings or pressure influence things, the team itself would have fallen apart, and there's no way we could have kept the "Tales of" series going to this day. Past, present, and future, the team has always developed these games together as one.
>>95
> At the end of the "After Episode," a "To be continued." message appears—that's meant to indicate it leads into the ending of the main Zestiria story.
People were just mocking the abrupt, thrown-together ending as a "To be continued," it's not like that message actually shows up in-game…
> At the end of the "After Episode," a "To be continued." message appears—that's meant to indicate it leads into the ending of the main Zestiria story.
People were just mocking the abrupt, thrown-together ending as a "To be continued," it's not like that message actually shows up in-game…
The president says they'll keep re-releasing old Tales titles, but that's just money down the drain.
>>99
The plan is to only put ports on Nintendo hardware, withhold new entries as a "serves you right," and funnel customers to the PS5—but that's probably not going to work.
The plan is to only put ports on Nintendo hardware, withhold new entries as a "serves you right," and funnel customers to the PS5—but that's probably not going to work.
What's needed right now is the kind of shock it'd be to suddenly drop AKIRA into a magazine still running stuff like "High School! Kimengumi" and "Gu-Gu Ganmo."
This isn't the time to be saying "Patalliro's selling, let's rip that off."
This isn't the time to be saying "Patalliro's selling, let's rip that off."
Is anyone actually still buying Eternia?
>>115
What's the point of asking if people buy something that only creepy otaku ever bought to begin with.
What's the point of asking if people buy something that only creepy otaku ever bought to begin with.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “Why Has Tales Become Such Washed-Up Content, or “Owakon” for Short???.”
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