After looking at the Japanese numbers EVEN after Yakuza, the PS3 may very well be dying in Japan. Going from a region that rivaled all of Europe combined in sales to barely breaking 20,000 a week is pathetic. Its hard to design a console that sells WW while still attracting the bizarre tastes of Japan.
Sega would be a very good fit for Sony, because of one character. Sonic. Sonic is and has always been the ONLY competition for Mario. I can't remeber which game it was exactly, but there was a Sonic game recently that had ciaos and cities areas you could walk around. (I actually think it was either on the Gamecube or Dreamcast, one of them.) The point is though is that Sonic is known, and still has a lot of potential if crappy sequels of the game are stopped and they game him a sort of PS3 makeover. Almost like an RPG/platformer mix. Throw in the ciaos and you would have a pokemon like game and now the potential to take them online and compete.
It makes sense on many different levels, with PSP integration to take those little ciao things on the road. But one thing is certain, the PS3 needs a face in Japan, and internationally for that matter. Sonic would be perfect at his point IMO, and very easily could provide a much needed spark in Sony's home territory.
