What are the implications of the console race in Japan?

[Ail]

Just gonna disagree with Ookaaze on one point.

I own a 42 inch LCD 1080p HDTV ( A Bravia) and the quality is as good as any other HDTV.
These days you can find high end LCD TV with offer quality as great as any non LCD.

It takes less space globally than my old 30 inch CRT TV too.

Other advantage of LCD is it is far less affected by light reflection ( I have a window with shutter in front of the TV and it's really not bothering me much whereas it used to be a pain to watch my CRT TV during the day...