can't win - but has a highly likelihood of getting 2nd. I mean, everybody keeps assuming the PS3 will catch up BUT IT HASN'T. I'm not saying it won't but until then, it's 2nd.

A miracle or two?

Looking at the hot topics section, I thought I was at a Naruto forum.

I used to live in Europe and I didn't buy it due to it being unreliable. I never had any faith in after sales service and I think that maybe the main reason for rejection in Others

American products usualy don't sell well in Japan... Maybe what happened in 1945 has something to do with that?

... Hiroshima and Nagasaki... maybe they haven't completely forgot...

the 360 doesn't sell in Japan because the 360 is mostly shooters and the Japanese aren't into them like the west is. Yes I know that there are jrps on the 360 but just because it rains every once in a while in the desert doesn't mean it isn't a desert.  and no, it has no chance of winning because they are losing money on it and they are last in sales.

 well..for the sake of the argument - "winning" is selling more consoles than the competitors

Well microsoft has done a lot to make the 360 respectable in Japan. And it is doing better then the original xbox (not that its hard to do so). They do have the most JRPG's out of all the current consoles afterall.

However I think thats the flaw to their strategy in Japan. One only has to look at the success of the casual titles in Japan (and Europe) to see the changing demographics in regards to game tastes in those regions. So in regards to japan they have a small hardcore audience which they're catering to, when they really should be attempting to target the mass market. They need more scene it style titles to increase the consoles potential audience. These more casual titles would also greatly help them in Europe.

The 360 has all the games it needs to maintain a large presence in America and whilst those games do sell well in the rest of the world I think they need to start targeting the expanded market, its not as if the hardcore titles will dry up, the 360 does have a huge amount of 3rd party support.

Another problem is the RROD. That needs to be eliminated.

To answer the question I don't think they can catch up to nintendo in hardware. I do think they can remain competitive in software sales for years to come though. However I do believe they can maintain their second place if they change some of their strategies.

I would like to see Mistwalker put out another great title.
If the next FF is as bad as the last one, that may hurt sony a bit in the long run.