The Last Remnant, the big Final Fantasy-like Square title for the Xbox 360 (which was recently released on PC) is turn based.
The genre is certainly not dying, at least in japanese RPGs.

I think you guys are missing possibly one of the biggest game examples ever.

Pok'e'mon, How many kids bought each version(I know I had red & blue). Then the cards, the T.V. show, collectables, for chrissakes they even hit mcdonalds happy meals.

To answer your question, single-player RPG'S if marketed adequetly, if put on the right console, at the right time, can make millions of dollars.

Thanks guys,

lots of great replies! I was interested to hear about MS's flight sim team by the way. Kind of predictable to me to be honest, but very sad.

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Original post by ICUP vchile, I'm going to have to say, no to your question of whether single player RPGs are a dying breed. However, a variant to that question could be are certain types of single-player rpg's dying? The answer to that would be Yes. SP RPG's are not dying. Look at Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Gothic, etc. They certainly aren't being made as much as they used to be but they'll still be around for a while. The thing that I'm concerned about is that the turn-based RPG breed is dying out. In fact, it died a while ago. Games like the original Fallout, Fallout Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics, Arcanum, Temple of Elemental Evil, etc. are dead. I think this comes from today's young generation wanting instant gratification from everything. Everything has to move fast, shoot fast, blow up fast, and if there has to be a moment of silence, you've got games like Fallout 3 and Mass Effect that implement real time w/pause.

This is what I was getting at :) It doesn't even have to be turn based, although they mostly are the ones with all the depth. I think they seem to be a dying breed. I get the impression that the majority of gamers these days, just want things to be a lot simpler. Each generation of games seems to get gradually simpler. Oblivion for example, you get an arrow showing you exactly where to run so you don't even need to read the quest dialogue, nevermind understand it. So it's not about 'solving' a quest or 'investigating' anything, it's just about following the arrow and pressing forward until you reach it. Then once you are done, you can instantly travel back home thanks to the instant travel 'feature'.

The thing that rubs me the wrong way about the Elder Scrolls games, is that the combat 'system' is so basic. There is very little to it, besides running around and shooting fireballs out your hands. Sadly, Two Worlds, and the Gothic games, are all the same too. If you want some depth, there isn't a whole lot to choose from these days.

It's not just RPG's either, most genres seem to have gone the same way. The original Rainbow 6 for example, if you took one bullet, you were dead. You also had to plan your assault/rescue and plan where each team would go, pause, run, walk, etc. Flashbangs and frags, and you could swap to the other team to take control. Somehow, that game has mutated over the years in to Rainbow Six: Las Vegas, and the recent one (Vegas 2), is just pathetic in comparison. You could technically be shot a thousand times in one mission, and yet still survive, because it's all about avoiding 'continued' fire on your character. And the former strategic device, the heartbeat sensor, has now mutated in to a magic radar that basically scans the entire area and shows you exactly where all the enemies are. So you can just run around spamming that and there are no surprises.

So yeah, I just wonder if there is still an audience for the older style of games, or if they have all grown up and moved on, and left gaming to a younger generation who want a very different experience.

Pokemon is a japanese RPG.
There are zillions of those RPGs released every year, and lots of new companies have emerged in the past years. It's not getting that dumbed down either.

It's just western RPGs that are dying. These days there are only Bethesda, BioWare, and the notable success of Lionhead with Fable 2 by interesting casual players. The genre is however going more towards third-person action with levelling aspects.
Likewise, most action and shooters are getting those aspects too.

Actually, I'd say there is a quite a gap to fill in the RPG market, so there is potential to make money there.

MMORPGs are also usually nothing more than low-quality RPGs, yet there are quite successful.