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.)”

The entire interview is available online.

The man responsible for the creation of BlazBlue, Toshimichi Mori, has announced his departure from Arc System Works after 19 years, leaving some curious as to the direction the fighting game franchise might take in the future.

Mori released a statement announcing his departure and thanked the fans for their years of support:

I have something to report to all of the users. I, Toshimichi Mori, have left Arc System works, the company I worked at for many years.

I first joined Arc System works after working on Guilty Gear X as an employee of PicPac, and I cherish many of the experiences I have had during my 20 years there, whether it was working for various fighting game titles, developing my own title BlazBlue, or connecting with many of our users.

I have nothing but gratitude towards the staff of Arc System Works and others who have worked with me, as well as all the users who supported us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I will depart from Arc System Works. This may cause some feelings of anxiety, especially among fans of the BlazBlue series. For this, I sincerely apologize.

At the moment I’m thinking of creating and delivering a game for the users in some way, and am going to focus my strength on that endeavor. Your support would be much appreciated.

—Toshimichi Mori

Some might be wondering what Mori’s reason was for leaving Arc System Works.