Tales of Xillia producer Hideo Baba believes that the number of Japanese role playing games being made is diminishing because the games industry in Japan has shrunk, and mobile and casual games are eating into the market, he said in an interview with Siliconera.
"There are several reasons, but a major one is how the game industry in Japan has gotten much smaller over the years," he told Siliconera. "That and JRPGs themselves take so long to complete. Which has always been the case, but with the rise of casual games, mobile games … gaming as a whole has become so dispersed."
While Baba perceives a diminishing quantity of JRPGs, he said that developers at Namco Tales Studio are aware of the rise in popularity of the genre in Western markets. He said the Western interest is something Namco Tales Studio takes into consideration "when making certain decisions," but it doesn't change the way it produces titles.
"Otherwise we might deviate from our roots and loose the foundation that Tales has been built upon," he said.
Baba expressed his interest in creating a Skyrim-like title but would do it with a different team if given the chance.
"The main reason: the people who work on the Tales franchise have such a huge love for the series," he said to Siliconera. "And when you make something completely different, you have to go from ground zero and rest your mind, which is easier to do with another team."
Tales of Xillia will launch on PlayStation 3 throughout North America on Aug. 6.