An interview with Akifumi Kaneko, the lead game designer for Wild Arms successor Armed Fantasia, disclosed in an interview that their team tried to get Sony to allow them to make a new JRPG, but were repeatedly denied, with sequels of pre-existing series apparently making “far more money”.
An interview was conducted with Akifumi Kaneko at Tokyo Game Show 2022 about Armed Fantasia, and it was revealed through the brief conversation what Sony thinks about making new games that aren’t a part of a pre-existing series:
Interviewer: In the video announcing the Double Kickstarter with you and Machida-san, you all suggest that JRPGs are not as popular as they once were. Why do you think that is?
Kaneko: “Of course there are still very popular JRPGs like Persona 5, but with Persona 5 that’s the fifth installment. If it’s a part of series that already has a first game, it’s alright, but when it comes to making a new JRPG, Japanese publishers just won’t take the risk. In my case, I went to Sony over and over again, but nothing came of it. It’s not so much that JRPGs aren’t popular, its that publishers won’t let us make them.”
Interviewer: What do you think would be necessary to convince publishers to make more JRPGs?
Kaneko: “(In English) Money! (Laughs.) Of course if a game becomes a hit and has a good return it’s no problem. Sequels in a pre-existing series make a lot of money, so it’s hard for them to lend money to a new title as it won’t make as much. For a Japanese publisher to make a new game… it’s really about the money. Money! (Laughs.)”