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"There ain't no gettin' off this train we're on," quips FFVII's surly Barret Wallace, and as
RPG fans hopefully looking toward E3 and the promise of the genre on a new generation
of consoles, we can heartily agree with his sentiments. After all, this kind of turnover
happens only once every few years, and with the constant jockeying for the support of
third-party developers, we're always left wondering from whence will arise the great new
RPGs.
Consider this: the genre of RPGs has, with each new generation of consoles, evolved in
some very telling ways. The age of the NES saw the birth of the genre, while the SNES
and Genesis took it a step further with the emergence of interesting stories and
multidimensional characters. The PlayStation's excellent RPG library was rife with titles
that continued to up the ante in character development, and in response to vastly
increased storage space, saw a huge jump in the capacity for stunning graphics and
music. The PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox/Gamecube era - the edge of which we now sit at -
added to the previous accomplishments: expanded worlds, 3D graphics that finally
displayed a smooth polish, and the gradual incorporation of voice acting into games.
So, what will the upcoming generation bring to the table for RPGs? Voice acting will
almost certainly become even more prominent, as will compatibility with HDTV and
surround sound. Further online integration is likely be a cornerstone issue of all upcoming
consoles, and this will reverberate through the world of RPGs in the form of increased
options for online connectivity, multiplayer, and - if I may be so bold as to prognosticate
- an increase in console-ready MMORPGs. World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI
have taught us that MMORPGs can make a lot of money, and as games become more
expensive for companies to produce, a consistent cash flow of the sort that these online
worlds rake in would seem to be a no-brainer, especially if they can tap the as-of-yet
largely untapped "console MMORPG" market.
State of the art graphics and sound don't just create themselves, and as the cost to create
games rises, what can we expect of RPGs, which are some of the longest and most
densely-packed of all games? Will it be profitable to create a 60-hour epic, or will we see
RPGs of shorter length in order to compensate for graphical prowess? Or will the
audiovisual component of next-generation RPGs come to find a happy medium at which
fulfilling presentation can be had without the need to be "top of the line" in every way
(along with the extra work and money that comes with that)? What will happen to the
smaller, quirkier sort of beloved Japanese RPG such as the creations of Nippon Ichi
Software?
E3 is where I'm looking toward to begin rooting out the answers to these questions.
Those with a talent for imagination can likely conceive many different ideas about where
RPGs will fit into the ever-changing gaming market, but in the near future, we'll have a
whole load of new announcements, company strategies, and press statements to draw
implications from, both large and small.
With every revelatory announcement and exotic gaming preview, though, I find it
necessary to step back and view the environment as a whole. E3 is a trade/industry show,
and business is in full swing. In addition, fans are homed in on the show with fervor, as
its announcements illuminate and shape the course of gaming for the rest of the year. It is
for these reasons that we should take E3 with a grain of salt.
This kind of press is inescapably sensationalist, and I've lost track of the number of times
my interest has been fired up for a title after an E3 preview, only to falter later because of
lack of information, or learning that the game wasn't nearly as great as it had seemed. E3
is like a giant movie trailer: it shows you all the best parts, in the hope you'll buy into the
hype. Because that hype, translated into buying power, is often what determines the
success of titles. Today's fans eagerly anticipating title X are tomorrow's paying
customers, so to speak.
In light of this, how should we approach E3 from our position as RPG fans?
"Online" is a huge part of the upcoming generation of systems, and it seems like this
element is trying to foist itself upon RPGs, whether or not that's really what consumers
want. In the minds of many, "Online RPG" = MMORPG, though such a definition
precludes the many other possibilities open to RPGs that choose to take some part of their
game online. I know I'll be on the lookout for any sweeping statements regarding
RPGs and going online, such as some presumptuous garbage about "abolishing the
single-player RPG." What's said about this, at this point, is mostly just speculation
anyway, because thus far, the Xbox 360 is the only system that is A) out, and B) possess
a stable, developer-supported online network. Now is the time to channel your inner
skeptic.
Secondly, who knows what a "next-generation RPG" looks like? I know I don't. We
have Oblivion, but it follows the PC style of RPG, and I can't help but hold it to PC RPG
standards instead of counting it among the console camp. But really, it's the best (and
only) one we've got. The truth is, I don't think anyone knows what a "next-
generation RPG" is like - including developers. RPGs never seem to get out of the gates
early for new system releases, and the initial offerings are exactly the same as what we've
been playing all along, but with a graphical upgrade. We can relax for at least a year -
maybe two - until RPGs begin to hit their stride. I always wait to buy new consoles for
that very reason - the genres I like most tend to take about that amount of time to show
proficiency and deliver a substantial experience on the new hardware. Don't look too
hard for a true "next generation" console RPG, because you probably won't find many, if
any.
In fact, if there's anything we should be doing, it's appreciating the fact that RPG-
making on the current generation of consoles has fully matured, and the refinement of
offerings yet to be released is testament to this. Final Fantasy XII, Rogue Galaxy,
Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria, Tales of the Abyss, Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess,
and even Square-Enix's full-on remake of Final Fantasy III all show a current generation
still rich with flavor and promise, and that's just to name a few. Not to mention that you
can play them on consoles you may already own. Being an RPG fan makes early-
adoption of new consoles a hard sell, especially when good RPGs tend to be one of the
best reasons to hang onto your current consoles. It's as though the paucity at the
beginning is balanced out by the feast of offerings near the end of a system's market
lifespan. Just look at 2006's list of released and to-be released RPGs for a perfect
example of this. More than anything, I expect E3 to tell RPG fans, "Don't disconnect
those PS2s yet!"
So go on, my friends; enjoy the flashing lights, the near real-time E3 press coverage, the
amusing spin-doctoring of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony executives making grandiose
promises, and the unscrupulously-filmed video clips recorded in showings clearly marked
"no recording!" All this and more make E3 the unique spectacle we can't seem to look
away from. But in the midst of the wild sensory overload that is E3, make sure it's the
games of real quality that draw your eyes and ears, not the sparkle of mere smoke and
mirrors.
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