RPGs go mainstream in the west

[Rickstilwell1]

Technically Zelda II got many gamers to play an action RPG without even realizing it was that. If it weren't for the experience points, it wouldn't be but it is.

[Tupin]

Video game RPGs didn't break into the mainstream until Final Fantasy VII came out. They were never extremely popular until then, maybe Americans preferred real-time games? Nintendo did have to give away copies of Dragon Warrior, but Final Fantasy VII and every one past that needed no help.

[j_factor]

The fact that they made about a trillion Ultima and Might & Magic games suggests to me that they were, at least, not that far outside the mainstream. Ditto for the Gold Box series. Dungeon Master seems like it was a big hit at the time, and it was also widely imitated. I think LandStalker too, because quite a few games were billed as its successor in some way.

Its RPG status is somewhat debatable but Sid Meier's Pirates! was certainly a mainstream success. Hell, Diablo came out before FF7.

[NayusDante]

The PC market up until about 2000 is kind of funny. Not everyone owned a computer, so what sold well on the Windows platform doesn't necessarily represent the mainstream. Sure, D&D RPGs did well, but it makes sense if you think about the old computer nerd stereotypes.

I would argue that RPGs really reached the "mainstream audience" with Oblivion and KOTOR as a result of the increase in accessibility. Final Fantasy VII helped, but look at its influence on the market. Did other subsequent PSX RPGs go on to sell as well in the US?

[BetaWolf47]

Final Fantasy VII and Pokemon, really. Final Fantasy VII was one of the most popular RPGs with an immersive story. Pokemon Red and Blue gave people a simple and addictive concept that introduced many people to the concept of selecting a party and leveling up.

[Blanka789]

Final Fantasy VII and Pokemon, really. Final Fantasy VII was one of the most popular RPGs with an immersive story. Pokemon Red and Blue gave people a simple and addictive concept that introduced many people to the concept of selecting a party and leveling up.

I'm inclined to agree with BetaWolf 47.

While RPGs had certainly been somewhat popular before, Final Fantasy VII seemed like a phenomenon when it came out. I remember it being THE reason to own a PlayStation. This game brought in a lot of people who had never played RPGs before, and came out at a time where many RPGs weren't being released in the US (Dragon Quest V and VI) or received limited print runs (Earthbound) due to low sales. The gorgeous cinematics, the ease of the gameplay, and the climate of gaming at the time created a near-perfect storm for this title's success.

Pokemon was (and still is) incredibly mainstream. More importantly, it introduced many gamers to RPGs, specifically children.

[Aussie2B]

It's all relative. I would argue that RPGs in general still aren't mainstream. We are not the norm. Gamers who get on online gaming message boards in general aren't the norm. The norm is stuff like Halo, Madden, Gears of War, etc. etc. Western RPGs are still basically a niche of the computer nerd stereotype. Japanese console RPGs are still a niche sector of console gaming as well. Final Fantasy VII may have sold a lot better than the RPGs before it and it may have been heavily hyped in some magazines of the time (like PSM), but it's not what made the PS1 a huge success in the US. It may have attracted some more mainstream-type gamers to give it a try, but they didn't suddenly become huge RPG fanatics buying up everything. Almost all of the other RPGs on PS1 were still exclusively the territory of hardcore gamers. Same goes for most on PS2 and so on.

Looking at singular titles, I'd say the most mainstream RPG for computers I guess would be World of Warcraft and for consoles it would be Pokemon. But, again, in the majority of cases of those who play those titles, they didn't suddenly become huge RPG fans buying stuff like Shin Megami Tensei and what have you.

[Tokimemofan]

D&D was the inspiration for many early titles. FFVII mainstreamed it because it was easy to get into. Most early ones either used passwords or had 1 save slot, a deal killer for a family sharing a cart. They also tended to have a higher grind (Most Square Soft), awkward gameplay (Final Fantasy), bad ports (some Falcom), expensive hardware (Lunar, the best Falcom too.) or a high price tag (Phantasy Star series).

[Rickstilwell1]

I know as far as Nintendo goes, RPGs were mostly popular with subscribers of Nintendo Power Magazine.