Is the Xbox 360 now the undisputed leader in J &W Console RPGs?

[Dodece]

I would not expect to see any concessions on the validity of the statement. The reality was that Microsoft was the better platform for role-playing games last year, the first half of this year, this year, and probably next year as well. They had both volume and quality, and no single game would change that. A great many of them were in denial then and will be in denial now.

The arguments that Japan matters are actually looking more and more dubious. Were these titles so important to this market the high definition consoles should be showing drastically better sales. In spite of that the Wii is doing far better, and the only rational answer is that gamers in Japan are more then happy playing sprite based role-playing games on their portables. The fact that Final Fantasy will be going to windows will only give them less incentive to purchase a console for said game, and none of the other console exclusive offerings seem to be swaying them too terribly much.

To me what really matters in this debate is the balance that Microsoft has with their platform, and the mere fact that they have the best titles in both Japanese and western role-playing games, and happen to be bringing that to the North American market which should be the far more appreciative market. I would say that Microsoft will probably win the console war where this offering actually matters in North America. I think Japan just isn't interested in the genre anymore, and more to the point Europe is entranced by brand loyalty. I suppose you can say it is somewhat ironic.

The stereotype is that role-playing on consoles matters most in Japan which is probably no longer true. The machine that is labeled shooter will probably be the strongest support for the genre that is least like a shooter in a market that is not supposedly the strongest for the product. I think local tastes are actually changing, and perhaps Microsoft has seen where things are going.