ToV isn't crap, I played it recently and I'll admit it is better then the gamecube version. It is probably the best next gen JRPG but only because the bar for JRPGs not on the PS2 is pretty low. I would say Disgaea 3 is better but some will say thats a strategy RPG not a real JRPG so fine, ToV it is. IU, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and all the rest of the 360 exclusive JRPGs however are quite crap, though I guess again you could make the argument that crap JRPGs are better then no JRPGs and possibly be right.

As to Sony not serving Japan though, you'd be wrong. There have been several quite good Japanese centered games from Sony or exclusive to Sony machines. They have just mainly been on the PSP (and sometimes the PS2). Joan de Arc, the Persona games, Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core, Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSP, Monster Hunter 2nd G and others have all come recently and are clearly driving PSP sales in Japan. Sony has probably realized, and rightly so, until they can get the costs of the PS3 down their best road into Japan is the PSP.

Yes you showed the from release numbers and the PSP is well behind the PS2 still, but if you look at the recent trajectory the PSP sales are increasing at a higher amount then the PS2 sales were at the same time period. Handhelds also seem to stay "current" far longer then consoles, which also helps PSP adoption. I wouldn't be surprised if both the DS and PSP end up having an 8 year lifespan before being replaced.

As to profit, running in the red only works and makes sense if you care mainly about running the other guy out and have buckets of money from other ventures. Sony has some money from other things like TVs and speakers, but doesn't have Microsoft monopoly money and is in the video game business to make video game systems and decent profits.

Microsoft has stated publicly that they are in video games, and will spend anything it takes (even 6+ billion in losses), to push Sony out of the living room. Yes Microsoft can afford to lose money hand over fist since they're making so much charging 1000 dollars for Office and 400 dollars for a full featured version of Vista. Sony can't afford to run at a loss and so needs to actually think about keeping the price of the PS3 at a level where they don't lose billions. Is Sony somehow evil for not cutting to the bone and being run out of business by Microsoft throwing billions at forcing them out?

Either way if MS is going to be a real sony competitor in Japan they need A) a handheld system and B) more JRPG games that get better then 7 out of 10 then just ToV.

I think Sony took a lot of things for granted this generation, and it costs them a ton of marketshare, exclusive games, and profit. Japan is just a particular sore-point for gamers, because despite what they'll claim, nearly ever Sony fanboy on this forum is an anime-loving jrpg fanatic. They reason they barely play Jrpgs anymore is because of the PS3 not having them, not because they no longer like the genre. It's like a frog setting in boiling water.

A few Sony fanboys never liked jrpgs, and this argument just pisses them off because they could care less and don't see why people make a big deal about it. They don't realize how large of a role jrpgs played in the success of the Playstation brand.

Do I think Sony deserved to reap the consequences of their own actions? Yes. I think anyone does. It's not like the whole company just got drunk for a year and made bad decisions. That would be a valid excuse.

I don't think Sony deserves to do WIN Japan, but I would never say a company doesn't deserve to do well.

it doesn't deserve to win because Sony almost completely middle fingered the Japanese market by not securing it's massive J-RPG library as exclusive or even on the platform and instead launches with games aimed at the Western Market (Resistance) and didn't really do anything huge for the Japanese market except for MGS4.

At least Nintendo recognised that whilst it had to take Japan, it made games specifically targetting the west (Metroid Prime 3) but still left ALOT of games targetting Japanese gamers and With Microsoft, it went crazy with the J-RPG love, but it still brought out many games targeting it's "main" market (Halo 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Gears etc).

Sony just didn't do that, it thought it had Japan wrapped up nicely and went for the west, only to be blown away by Nintendo in Japan.

Seriously, Gundam Crossfire?

It is true that the ps3 is currently lacking in jrpgs however there are several factors which account for this. These include-

1. A one year headstart by the 360

2. Sony's refusal to pay for 3rd party game exclusivity ( With possible exceptions like MGS4)

3. Microsoft being very agressive in paying for exclusive jrpgs

4. Sony being financially weaker due to their late entry and losses from hardware costs which in turn have left them with less money to spend on exclusives.

You could choose to judge sony and say that they don't care for the consumer but you could also say that they have made costly mistakes which in turn have made them less able to be agressive in pricing and purchasing exclusives. Personally while I do agree with you to an extent I don't believe that they don't care about gamers because it is these people that they heavily rely on to stay successful.

I'm talking more along the lines of the PS3.

Also, you saying a 360 game isn't crap....well that's like giving the game an 11/10 in my book. You're quite right, ToV isn't crap. It's a great game, and the best game in the Tales series to date. I, also, don't like any of the other jrpgs on the 360.

That said, at least Microsoft are trying. Once again, you are flaming another company to make up for failings in your own.

As far as Jrpgs getting over 8/10s, it's really tough. Disgaea 3 and Tales are both amazing, but they had a hard time rising to that 8.5 marker. The games simply have little or no hype, and when a game has no hype, reviewers just don't know how to review it, so they actually have to use their own brain, which is dangerous. Did you see the IGN review for Disgaea 3? Sickening.

The only jrpgs that will get really high reviews are Final Fantasy, and jrpgs which do something completely different. For a traditional jrpg, like Tales or Disgaea, 8.5/10 should be considered AAA.

However, these opinions have nothing to do with the real argument here which really isn't an argument. You can't argue against my opinion, and since it's based on the facts and my own reasoning, it's impossible to counter. You shouldn't care about my opinion, anyway. I certainly don't care about yours.

I agree with you, it's not fair to say Sony doesnt' care about gamers. It does appear that they simply care about profit more than Japanese gamers. Since my taste is aligned with Japanese gamers, I would say that I'm fairly well left out of the Sony plan of action as well.

Now, one thing you've said is that the 360 has a year headstart. That's a fair and excellent point brought up earlier. If Sony can give us a glimmer of hope in the next year(and it appears they will do so with WKS and Verses) then I'm all for giving them a fair shake.

However, right now does the PS3 deserve to be blowing up the charts in Japan? Hellz no.

I honestly don't think PS3 is in anyway a success in Japan, sure its not at the 360 level of disaster but its still perform poorly in a market that it should have dominated from the word go.

I also agree its current 'success' is mostly likely attributed to the brand name rather than actual merit.

Their x-mas 08 and 09 lineup should have been their launch library.

Money talks........... Thats what got sony to where they are today in the gaming world....... Afterall, sony stopped EA from making games for the Sega dreamcast....... and no one can deny that sonys ruthless advertising was part of the reason why the Ps1 beat the Sega saturn and N64 back in the day............ The day sony entered the gaming market the writing was on the wall for Sega, Everywhere i went i saw a ps1 console or ps1 game adverts...... The side of buses, on the t.v., Giant billboards, Hell, i even went in a nightclub one night and saw a poster behind the bar for damn crash bandicoot lol, Sony were the origional  "corporation" in the gaming world and they themselves have always been happy to throw money around in order to secure exclusives....... Sega made mistakes yes, I wont deny that, But sonys financial muscle meant that Sega would have had to have had a huge bankroll to be able to compete........ and as we all know, They simply didn't have that kind of money......... Thats why i love it when people say "Microsoft paid them" Its just so ironic to me.............

Deserve, mm there's a word. Does MS deserve to even be competing this gen? Do MS and Sony deserve to be taking such a pasting from Nintendo when they were the ones to take all the financial risks. In the world there is what there is and there is what you would like it to be. With that in mind i would say this is a waste of cyberspace.

I've learned starcraft is very good at making flame bait threads just subtle enough to not get modded.