The Tales of series seems to go from strength to strength in its native Japan, but people are quick to forget that the RPG franchise hasn't always been on such good terms with the West as it has been recently. However, with Tales of Xillia 2, Tales of Zestiria, and Tales of Hearts R all destined for North American and European Sony consoles this year, it's safe to say that things are really looking up for fans across the pond.
Talking with Siliconera at Bandai Namco's Global Gamers Day event, product manager Dennis Lee cited that open communication with fans has been key to the series' growth spurt overseas. "Working with our community and fans has helped the audience to grow, and we’re delighted to see it taking off so well in the west,” he said. Lee also points out that this simply wasn't the case a few years back, where "there were a lot of titles that weren’t brought over to the west — in fact, there was a span of two or three years where we didn’t bother to bring any over.”
But of course, that's all changed now, and the publisher has renewed its focus on the increasingly popular Japanese RPGs, stating that "a few years back is when we decided to really focus on the series and the fans because they’re asking for these titles," adding that "we started to do things where we went to events and talked directly to anime and Tales of fans about what they wanted." It's a strategy that certainly seems to be working, too, as the product manager goes on to point out that "With each game we’ve released, sales have increased — so we believe that fans have been going out and talking to other fans."
In any case, you won't find us complaining about the franchise's growing presence, especially after the likes of Tales of Xillia and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles have proven to be absolutely delightful releases. Are you happy with Bandai Namco's focused approach? Which Tales of game will you be picking up later this year? Level up with us in the comments section below.
[source siliconera.com]
Comments 12
Hearts of course. And future ps4 title
Part of the reason I bought a PS4. Played Tales of Symphonia on GameCube and the 2nd one on Wii and absolutely loved them (well the first one the second was good but not as good).Sounds like I should've gotten a PS3 though as it'll probably be awhile before Tales games start hitting the PS4.
I'll be getting hearts day one and maybe Zesteria if it gets a PS4 port.
Great to hear! So, isn't it about time that they released the PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia over here?!
Such a great series, with Xillia being my favourite out of the three games that I've played.
@Crimson_Ridley My thoughts exactly...though it's such an old game, and with the PS4 out since November 2013, PS3 games being released isn't as high of a priority in America anymore.
Best news ive heard today
I echo the sentiments already mentioned. I'm a recent convert to Tale of games and I have certainly gone out of my way to promote the brand to others.
Adored Vesperia (my first Tales of game) and loved Graces F but struggling to get into Xillia. Still, very much looking forward to Chronicles, Hearts and Vesteria.
Keep em coming!
Tales are good RPGs. They're definitely 2nd tier RPGs, but they're enjoyable enough.
@JaxonH
Personally, I would definitely define them as JRPGs as opposed to RPGs but that's just me. What would you constitute a 1st tier RPG then?
@General_Spiller
They are JRPGs. But a JRPG is still an RPG, just like SRPG's are still under the RPG umbrella. It's not mutually exclusive.
The Tales games are 2nd tier because they're not like "super awesome amazing". Tales of Symphonia and Vesperia are pretty good, but the series as a whole is second rate- not to say they're not good, because I DEFINITELY enjoy the games and deem most all of them worth buying, I just mean they're not top-class is all. I'd say a top-tier JRPG would be something like Ni No Kuni, Xenoblade, The Last Story, Final Fantasy series, Lost Odyssee, etc... Really has nothing to do with the presentation. Just referring to how good the games are.
@JaxonH
Fair enough. In my mind i have always kind of segregated JRPGs from RPGs (...Skyrim vs Tales of for example).
Either way, can't wait until we get some top quality (J??)RPGs on the PS4. Much as i love the PS3, i just vastly prefer the DualShock 4. Sequel to Ni No would be most welcome!!
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