And I'd agree that the issue is that developers can only use 1 workable formula for sales: grindfest JRPGs.
What happens when you mess with the formula? Fan outcry.
One only has to go as far as FFXII - one of the most brilliantly-done (battle wise) Final Fantasies in probably a decade. Despite being praised by critics as one of the best Final Fantasies made from every magazine from Famitsu (one of only 6 or 7 games to recieve a perfect score), and every other magazine, it wound up being one of the worst selling FF's since FF6.
So this is why they're stale: people don't buy interesting, innovative titles in Japan. Odin Sphere bombed, Resident Evil 4 underwhelmed, Western games that aren't geared for the traditional Japanese market, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, Im going to love BD for all its worth, but still, there's a simple point: Japanese just don't like innovative games, until the market shifts and they addopt a whole new style, and will stick with it. That's why we see DS training games do so well vs. games with actual gameplay.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
