According to former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, turn-based RPGs, particularly JRPGs, were so unpopular several years ago that he would tell indie developers to avoid using the term altogether in their marketing—even for a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Yoshida recalled giving the Clair Obscur developers this advice during a lecture at the Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 (via Automaton). He was impressed by a demo he played a couple of years before the game was out, particularly its similarities to The Legend of Dragoon, a game he produced, but recommended the developers at Sandfall Interactive find alternative ways to describe its combat.
