I think BC would be the easiest way to at least settle Japanese sales at a slightly higher level, but there also needs to be something long-term. Lack of BC is something that is making me delay my purchase of a PS3, but it won't stop me getting one 18 months from now for versus. Is there anything Sony can do in Japan or MS can do in Europe to reverse the trend of dropping and bring in people that wouldn't have eventually bought the console anyway?

PS3 will get Jakuza bundle this week in Japan.
PS3 will get silver color in next few weeks.
PS3 will get some budget games in next several weeks.
PS3 will get Eternal Sonata in near future, also Armored Core:4A and Valkyrie the battlefield in Japan.
PS3 will get 80GB MGS4 bundle in Japan(if i am not wrong).

There are a lot of factors to wait, before buying PS3 today. And japans are smart people. =)

The Yakuza bundle is only 10k units, and will not lift sales for more than 2 weeks (though they may level out 2-5k higher), I thought silver was already out in Japan.

Budget games didn't help the 360 much in the US, but that may be different in Japan. They don't seem really price conscious over there, the PS3 is cheap-as-chips compared to Europe.

I don't know how great Eternal Sonata will do on PS3. It is already old news, so I'd say it will just sell decent numbers to the existing base, rather than pushing hardware.

The MGS4 bundle will move hardware, but i'm wondering how high the PS3's weekly sales will be two months after MGS4?

Microsoft's situation in Europe is overwhelmingly better than Sony's (and Microsoft's) situation in Japan:

- They're still above the PS3 (although this will quickly stop being the case if MS doesn't break the current trend)
- Ignoring the competition, they're selling well enough for a console which no one expected to have any chance during this generation
- They still have many weapons at their disposal, especially GTA4 and price cuts

I believe it will be hard for the 360 to be above the PS3 in Europe at the end of the generation, but if Microsoft plays their cards correctly, the gap won't be too big. With a bit of luck, they could even still be on top at the end.

Define "stuffed". If you mean in terms of "becoming the #1 console this gen" - then yes, almost certainly.

The PS3 is cheaper in Japan than anywhere else. It has more bundles. It already has two colours, and DUALSHOCK is available. It arguably has more "hits" in Japan than elsewhere - and of everywhere in the world, its the country where the 360 is the "least" competition.

Its also a country with a huge HDTV penetration ratio.

...and yet - the PS3 has been soundly whipped by the Wii (to date anyway), and is potentially now selling slower than the 8 year old PS2 is.

(it launched BEFORE the Wii, which has outsold it by approx 2.7:1 since launch)

...

But in terms of being "stuffed" as in never selling, or doing insignificant numbers - definitely not.

In the end, it comes down to Sony "proving" the PS3 can result in "new gaming experiences" - rather than just prettier ones. And social gaming has well and truly taken off there (as well as the rest of the world).

Starcraft...

It's just a little too early to say that the PS3 is "stuffed" in Japan.

No games have came out recently, therefore, no sales. How hard is that to comprehend?

Its early in the year atm, both PS3 and XBox 360 will continue to improve later in the year with price cuts and most important big titles being released. The final quarter sales of this year: hardware and software will double as usual with Christmas 2008 approaching.

The PS3's sales had seemingly settled at a higher level, before sliding back to where they are now.  They are being beaten by a factor of four by Nintendo.  By stuffed I mean they are getting to the point where come the end of the generation the PS3's Japan sales won't even be flirting with the Wii's numbers, letalone the PS2's sales.

DMC4 hit just a few weeks ago, Yakuza is next week, it is cheaper in Japan than anywhere in the world, facing NO 360 competition, the worlds 2nd largest gaming market (arguably) and yet the PS3 is selling less than 15k a week.

By that defintion, the PS3 IS currently stuffed in Japan. 

Generally, the Japanese are waiting for a cheaper, smaller PS3 with BC. More games will help. The in-thing in Japan - apart from the Wii - is handheld consoles, so I'm not expecting to see a dramatic increase in PS3 sales this generation. The japanese are very keen on anything new, small and hi-tech so even with blu-ray and HD PS3 is still quite similar to PS2 in terms of the overall gaming experience as some have stated. So while PS3 sales will efinately pick up during this year, PS3 will never be the success PS2 was in Japan. Having said that I think In Europe the PS3 can, in it's lifetime, even exceed the sales of PS3.

i dont really agree with either of them.

But if i had to close between the statements. It's 360 is screaw'd in EU
I believe that ps3 still can pick up in japan and remain there, but for 360 doesnt look like there gonna be a come back over there.