Nintendo´s games have been really huge this generation (WiiSports/NSMB Wii/Mario Kart Wii, etc.), but remove them and it seems most of the other big hits have all been Western games this generation.Have Japanese developers as a whole fallen out of touch with Western gamers?....when did this start happening?

To me, Nintendo is the odd one here because their games, in general, have been far superior (in my opinion) when compared to the previous generation, but a lot of other high profile Japanese games seem to be disappointing when compared to previous generations (Resident Evil 5 sales disagree with me, but maybe you don´t).

Remember the days of the PS1/N64 and even the previous generation, surely there weren´t so many Western big hits back then.

So, I definitely noticed a fall in quality.

Though, the Demon´s/Dark Souls games are a nice surprise :)

Its not so much the fall of the East as it is that Western companies have moved from PC to PC lite consoles. So there's a lot more competition on what once was Japanese console turf.

this. The quality hasn't nessessary dropped, it has just remained stagnated, while western games have vastly improved. There are a few japanese ips who's qualities have deterioated, but this gen has had plenty of amazing new japanese ips, and many of the old ones have stayed top notch, it's just that western games have stolen a huge chunk of the western audience that used to buy many japanese games in previous generations.

I believe its because of the shift away from exclusive development. Previously, most Japanese companies focused just on PS or just Nintendo products. Now they try to make stuff work across PS3, 360, Wii, PSP, DS, and in some cases PC.

The same thing has happened to western titles that have shifted to multi-platform. It is a huge sacrifice in quality, and soul of the game, but it makes for nice sales numbers.

This is why I call bullshit on competition helping us out. All I see competition doing is killing pinnacle game development. Consoles don't get pushed the way they did in the past, and PC's just get the same soulless product with higher res models.

EXACTLY! That's what I think.
So not necessary a lack in quailty, but in quantity. All that time spent on multiplatform development is affecting the quantity of games being released.

Japan is lost, games like MGS:R prove this. They have forgotten why they dominated every gen up till now. Everytime a Japanese developer conforms to these digusting western standards and views on game design .. they lose revelevance.... but on the flip side the inability to advance past there comforts zones anc create new, original fresh titles or updating old IP's is even starting to bore high supporters like myself.

Replace Japanese with a blank space and i'd agree with you.

Based on the games you really enjoy, what do you fear the most?

You can do it simple, just make a list of japanese games franchises and ask what the best game is in that franchise or what they think about this generation game and you will find out that most prefer an other generation part....Resident evil, Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, Tekken, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter, Dead or alive, Sonic, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Silent hill, KoF...

I think it is easy to find ten Japanese franchises that made a worse game this generation than last generation..Mario, Tales -, Dynasty warriors are a few of the franchises that improved...

Also saw a lot of stuff that simply don't make any sense for me...Why do we get an Persona fighter but not Persona 5? Are their really Persona fans who would prefer a fighter above Persona 5?