Do you think that FE should expand its player base?

[Ike-Mike]

As the thread title implies, do you think Fire Emblem should stay niche or actually grow in number of players, maybe even to the point of achieving mainstream popularity?

I, for one, think that given the right tweaks here and there, FE would and should expand to the point of being one of the most popular series seeing as it is much more relatable and down-to-earth compared to most other jRPGs. Besides it'd be sad to see my favorite series to have its number of people who to play it stagnate or even shrink and it'd become kinda boring to talk just to the same people about it both IRL and on the internet.

I also think that FE3, 4 and SD were the ones closest to having the right tweaks as their sales numbers show and that New Mystery might be even closer from what I've seen so far.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Ike-Mike

[Fei Mao]

I think FE should expand its player base. It's a good series but unfortunately turn based strategy games doesn't appeal to most people since it isn't a fast paced game as people would like to play and FE doesn't have much that would appeal newcomers.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Generic Officer

[whase]

if FE becomes a very popular game, it would mean there will be more FE's coming for sure.

yes please :3

[Thief]

As long as they don't let truly good titles like Thracia 776 becoming the victim of a dying platform resulting in lower sales and thus associated with a low point in the franchise, sure.

Though, it seems Nintendo has no such intentions, what's with Fire Emblem conspicuously missing from the launch lineup for 3DS.

[CT075]

It should. Really. Although, chances are that Nintendo (of America, at any rate) is going to either let FE die, or just keep making the old-style FE games.

Can anyone else imagine a fighting game FE style?

[Integrity]

It's Turn-Based Strategy. TBSes aren't really ever going to catch on mainstream the way an FPS does - unless there's a massive shift in trends very soon.

EDIT: to have a point that actually meshes with the topic, I absolutely think FE should expand their base. I am 100% in favor of companies I like making more money. If it takes OPTIONAL OPTIONS like Casual Mode, I am 100% for them.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Integrity

[Rewjeo]

As long as they don't let truly good titles like Thracia 776 becoming the victim of a dying platform resulting in lower sales and thus associated with a low point in the franchise, sure.

Though, it seems Nintendo has no such intentions, what's with Fire Emblem conspicuously missing from the launch lineup for 3DS.

But the 3DS has backwards compatibility. If the N64 did, I'm sure Thracia would've done much better. With the 3DS's backwards compatibility, it's still technically viable to release DS games for however long the 3DS lasts, and is probably not an awful idea for another year or two.

[Narga_Rocks]

It's Turn-Based Strategy. TBSes aren't really ever going to catch on mainstream the way an FPS does - unless there's a massive shift in trends very soon.

EDIT: to have a point that actually meshes with the topic, I absolutely think FE should expand their base. I am 100% in favor of companies I like making more money. If it takes OPTIONAL OPTIONS like Casual Mode, I am 100% for them.

Yeah. Basically, as long as they don't ruin anything for us, if they can expand their player base by adding options that can be toggled then that's fine by me. More money earned = more willing to make another. They'd even, perhaps, be able to expand their budget to hire more people and maybe push games out faster.

[Swordsalmon]

It's Turn-Based Strategy. TBSes aren't really ever going to catch on mainstream the way an FPS does - unless there's a massive shift in trends very soon.

EDIT: to have a point that actually meshes with the topic, I absolutely think FE should expand their base. I am 100% in favor of companies I like making more money. If it takes OPTIONAL OPTIONS like Casual Mode, I am 100% for them.

This.

However, if expanding the player base means stripping a lot of the best additions of Fire Emblem, then it may just backfire. Look at the current dumbed-down supports, especially considering that some degree of character development did attract people to Fire Emblem (While other SRPGs had generic characters). Optional options do nothing but help, however. Though Casual Mode does seem very contrary to the largely perma-death tradition. :/

[Chalis]

You know where this came from.

It might be nice for a while but the new installment, with the no permanent deaths option, is as much as the series should reach out.

This is a SRPG after all, they have to please their original base eventually.

[Ike-Mike]

That chart wasn't supposed to be accurate and was just there to show that there is a difference between upmarket and downmarket games though. :P

Then again I suppose SRPGs would still be in the upper tiers if an accurate chart would be made...

Also the FEs are definitely some of the simpler SRPGs out there.

Oh and Malstrom thinks FE is a series that will be eternally niche while I think the exact opposite as I stated in the OP.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Ike-Mike

[Anacybele]

As far as I'm concerned, even the most unpopular game series can top the charts if the right stuff is done to them. FE just needs some kicks here and there. More development. RD brought several awesome ideas, which was a great start. IS just needs to keep this up by building off old ideas and adding new ones. So yes, the player base needs to grow!

Edited June 23, 2010 by Eternal Bond

[Liz]

i'm actually excited about New Mystery of the Emblem, since it's probably the title that can best expand the FE fanbase, with all its nifty little additions.

as i've always said, and as some others have said in this very thread before me, as long as the overall experience isn't destroyed, I'm all for tweaking the formula in order to expand the player base, since that will actually make them more willing to create further games and thus i'm further entertained

[Ike-Mike]

More development. RD brought several awesome ideas, which was a great start. IS just needs to keep this up by building off old ideas and adding new ones.

I guess that's the big difference between you and me.

You say that FE needs more stuff to become real popular while I think strictly going back to the roots is the only way to do it.

[Marthur]

The series would probably have already been more popular by now if IS had properly worked on their advertising policy in the west.

I remember talking to a friend last year who was supposedly a fan of the series (he played the GBA games released in Europe), and he didn't know RD existed even after it was released.

And I think the same could be said of SD which somewhat fell under the radar here.

[Rewjeo]

I guess that's the big difference between you and me.

You say that FE needs more stuff to become real popular while I think strictly going back to the roots is the only way to do it.

You really want to go back to the way everything worked in the original?

[Phoenix Wright]

I guess that's the big difference between you and me.

You say that FE needs more stuff to become real popular while I think strictly going back to the roots is the only way to do it.

Tell me, how do you expect a game like FE1 to sell well in today's standards? Not in terms of graphics, but in terms of content. A new FE "returning to its roots" would take away too many features that players want. FE needs to grow as a series, not simplify (or make things too complex) itself. That would make the fanbase as it is right now.

I agree with Integrity and Swordsalmon. What I mean by "growth" is to not break away from tradition, but to add a little more for new players.

Edited June 30, 2010 by MGS: Metal Gear Solid

[Ike-Mike]

I am referring to making a FE more akin to FE3, since that's when the series reached its highest point.

[Tryphen]

Besides being overshadowed by many other franchises, many people, I have found, hate/ignore everything that makes the series unique. Which includes character deaths, of course. <_<

I do want more FE hype, but I just hope Fire Emblem doesn't become a sellout like other RPGs, like Pokemon and Final Fantasy.

[CATS]

if FE becomes a very popular game, it would mean there will be more FE's coming for sure.

yes please :3

^^^

Not only that, but a popular SRPG might inspire other companies to make SRPGs of their own, giving us more FE-like games to play, some of which might even be better than FE itself.

[Salad Utensil]

@TC's topic question: No, I don't think the premise of Fire Emblem should change outside of better ad campaigns and improving the story, character development, graphics, and mechanics (rescuing/shoving). Fundamental game play should not though. The niche enjoyment of the series can probably garner the support of casual/non-SRPG players too if it gained more exposure. In other words it should appeal to a larger audience without simplifying the games to purposely compensate for less skill

Is fire emblem really that unpopular? I mean will "dumbing it down" really cause those people who think SRPGs are pointless and prefer casual and 1st person shooter games to start up on the series?

Here's my narrative: I feel like the series isn't unpopular due to the games being too hard, at least in my personal experience--when I took a poll for my school newspaper about SRPGs about 90% didn't know what one was, which suggests that IS isn't doing anything wrong it's that people see Fire Emblem and think "oh that looks like some sort of chess rip off"

...that is if they even have seen/heard of the series outside of SSB series. When I introduced one of my friends 'sword of seals' and let him watch me play for a few chapters and explained the gameplay and story a bit, his view of fire emblem completely shifted away from the mindset that SRPGs are for nerds that live in basements .

He wasn't put off by the difficulty due to perma-death's (rather he thought that it was a good feature because it was realistic), but rather it was conception that all RPG's are tedious, text heavy, with bad graphics that originally put him off.

I don't think FE needs to change it's fundamental uniqueness outside of improved mechanics like rescuing to appeal to casual audiences over hardcore "FE-ers". Rather if they focused more developing intricate story elements like characters development (might as well stick to one of the few advantages RPGs have over most other game genres), smoother gameplay and graphics, most importantly more advertising.

Seriously, most people in my school had never heard of or seen what fire emblem games look like besides that Roy, Marth, and Ike are in it. Most don't even know that Fire Emblem is an RPG and that there has been more than 1 fire emblem game made.

The fundamental problem isn't that Fire Emblem is too hard for the casual gamer, but rather that it is too esoteric :(

BTW I live in the US...so it just my personal and limited observations

end narrative

Edited July 3, 2010 by Brighton

[Phoenix Wright]

90% didn't even know what an SRPG was? I didn't think it would be that high.

Nonetheless, I showed FESS to one of my friends (he's not even a gamer at all) and he liked it. He sucked, but he liked it.

Nintendo channel's "info" video (on FESD) was fucking BORING, which may be a reason why it's a turnoff for people. Intelligent Systems should put more money into advertising and making a trailer that makes the game actually look fun to casual players (we get excited for gameplay vids, but most people don't). The E3 trailer for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 was awesome, maybe if IS can pull an audience in like that, we can get a bigger fanbase. Obviously there will be limits on what's possible, lol.

[Salad Utensil]

90% didn't even know what an SRPG was? I didn't think it would be that high.

Nonetheless, I showed FESS to one of my friends (he's not even a gamer at all) and he liked it. He sucked, but he liked it.

Nintendo channel's "info" video (on FESD) was fucking BORING, which may be a reason why it's a turnoff for people. Intelligent Systems should put more money into advertising and making a trailer that makes the game actually look fun to casual players (we get excited for gameplay vids, but most people don't). The E3 trailer for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 was awesome, maybe if IS can pull an audience in like that, we can get a bigger fanbase. Obviously there will be limits on what's possible, lol.

It was actually 892 out of the 1023 (2038 people in my school) people who bothered to vote (don't ask me why I still have this information)...I was actually one of those people too until I randomly found this website and pirated a FE4 rom. If it wasn't for SBBM I wouldn't even have bothered to look up what fire emblem was...I can't blame them since I've never seen a single fire emblem commercial on television before (not that I tried nor watch TV) nor found any remotely interesting advertising even when I've been looking for it on the internet.

Yes I agree, the "info" video was indeed really boring to watch.

Edited July 3, 2010 by Brighton

[Phoenix Wright]

Exactly. If they want more people buying their game, they should try to get it out there as much as possible. I've never seen a Fire Emblem commercial in my life. When I was a little kid, I bought it at random (sounded the coolest out of all the other used games). I loved it, and now here I am today, and it's my second favorite gaming franchise ever.

[Rewjeo]

It's not just IS that has problems with advertising, though. 95% of video game commercials make we want to buy it less. That's why I use the internet to research games to see if I want to buy them.

I think that Fire Emblem could get a lot out of more E3 appearances. I really doubt that it would've been overshadowed by, say, Let's Dance 2 (I didn't even know that it sold well at all. I don't know anyone that even considered getting it. And I know a lot of people with Wiis whose parents are into those kind of games) or Wii/Mii/whatever it was Party. I really wish that this new FE had come out, say, a year ago so that FE could be one of the launch titles for the 3DS for more publicity.