HUNDRED LINE Director Says SRPGs Are Hard to Pitch in Planning Meetings
Togawa, who worked on the SRPG portion of HUNDRED LINE, says the genre is seen as niche despite a growing market.
1 source Sep 2
Reporting from 1 source: Automaton.
Why it matters
A veteran SRPG planner argues the genre's real bottleneck is internal perception, not market demand, and points to a negative loop where fewer landmark titles shrink the audience that would approve new ones.
He cites Global Market Statics data putting the 2024 SRPG market at about $1.2 billion, with a 2026 estimate near $1.3 billion, and notes Fire Emblem: Three Houses sold 3.8 million copies. The barrier, he argues, is perceived learning cost, slow tempo, and a "looks hard" image that keeps SRPGs from passing internal approval.
Togawa, who was scenario director on Persona 5 Tactica and held lead planner roles on Persona Q2 and Persona 5 Royal, says the reaction inside a studio changes the moment the word SRPG comes up. Staff who do not play the genre ask whether the team wants to build one, and management frames it as attacking a quiet corner of the market.
He traces the problem to three barriers: the rules a player must absorb before reaching the fun, battles that can run past 30 minutes, and a "looks hard" image left by traditional, core-oriented entries. The fix is not a trivial easy mode, which reduces play to pressing a button next to an enemy, but casual SRPGs that show the genre's appeal fast.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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