They go to the DS mainly because the DS sells so damn well.  They are not in the handheld market to spite Sony, they are in the handheld market to raise awareness of their IPs in Japan.  With the few people that own (or are willing to buy) a 360 in Japan, few people know nor care about the 360's more Japanese oriented games.  If these franchises become successful on the DS, then more people will know about them, more people will want them, and more people may be willing to buy a 360 for them.

Imagine Blue Dragon becoming even half as big as Monster Hunter on handhelds.  That would certainly get more people interested in the 360, wouldn't it? 

@darth So you don't give a rat ass about Level 5 (which you mention in your own post) and Rogue Galaxy which is actually a good game on system you did own (at least according to you) but you care so much about LO and BD that you have to troll this trend on system you don't own.

You really are confused....or may be try to troll less and enjoy games more? I am sorry but I am sure glad that MS got off their butts and work hard to get JRPG on their consoles this gen knowing that it's a very niche genre now a day especially in the US.  If you own a 360 then you will understand why we are happy that MS willing to spend money on Mistwalker and get games like BD & LO on 360.

If you notice Sony is doing the opposite, they are trying to get FPS on the PS3 (Resistance , KZ etc) because that what they perceive to be what was lacking on PS platform last gen. Nothing wrong with that and it makes for good  games like Resistance and Unchart. If there is no competition from the like of Halo do you think Sony would try so hard at getting games like Unchart & RE onto PS3? 

Hang on, so are mistwalker owned by M$, or just funded by them?
Also, what are Mistwalker working on now? A sequel to LO?

I'm pretty sure(correct me if I'm wrong) that they are just funded and published(Microsoft Game Studios) by MS. They do have an DS game, too, Archaic Sealed Heart (ASH) and will be releasing another DS game Blue Dragon (srpg type game).

Besides that they are also working on Cry On, another rpg for the 360.

http://vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?start=0&id=20310

I'm not sure what else they might be working on though.

The 360 has until FFXIII lands to build up a genre audience. When that one hits it's gonna sway the jrpg balance wildly. Not saying it's uncounterable, but it'll be significative. The games on sale this year better sell good... so far (according to vgchartz data) Lost Odyssey is doing nice and past the 500k milestone, it's a good start.

edit: imho the main issue so far is the lack of a recognizable franchise, not saying new IP's can't make a wide splash however a stablished brand is always helpful - in that sense Tales sales will be very interesting to follow. 

 1)Most JRPG fans will buy either the 360 or the PS3, not both. If you only buy one of the consoles you will be missing some good JRPG's. The problem for the 360 is that most JRPG fans would rather miss out on BD, LO etc than FFXIII and FFVsXIII. 

Although Mistwalker have developed some good JRPG's on the 360, they have been new IP's and have 'only' been rated in the 70's%. What the 360 needs for it to be the JRPG console is a couple of 90+% exclusives, or a massive exclusive IP such as FF.  

Mistwalker hasn't shown us yet, that it can develop a triple AAA JRPG. So unless things change, the 360 won't be considered the JRPG console. The PS3, with two FF games, is still the JRPG console in most peoples eyes this generation. 

2) Although at the moment the PS3 is lacking JRPG's it does have some good ones. Folklore has a similar mid 70% rating as BD and ES. Disgaea 3 is also another good one. 

Valkryrie does look amazing and I can't wait for it. WKS is being developed by Level 5, so it is safe to assume that it will be amazing. And then there is FFXIII and Versus XIII.

If you are going to buy either the 360 or PS3 for JRPG's this generation, it has to be the PS3.  

Why do you need to only own one system if you enjoy JRPG? I just don't follow your logic. So are you saying the only good JRPG is Final Fantasy? If I recall correctly the last one wasn't exactly stellar. Level 5 last game was Rogue Galaxy. It got decent review and I will probably pick one up soon as I finish LO but if top rated game that also sold well in Japan did so horrible in the US that is just telling you the current market for this type of game. Turn base strategy games and turn base RPG games is pretty much a dead genre if not extremely niche...let alone a Japanese one. To me if you are fans of JRPG especially the classic old fashion turn base style then you are missing out on excellent game like LO because you just choose to be Sony fanboy. The cost of 360 is so low now and you can pick one up so cheaply. If there are games you want on it why let the simple fact that it is not your "fanboy" system stop you? My favorite game type is racing games and I pick up PS3 last year because I know GT5P is coming. I love gaming on the 360 but that doesn't blind me into not picking up GT5. If you like JRPG then you should get 360 now. And then may be down the road whenever FF comes out you can get the PS3. Folklore is really not JRPG, not technically anyway. (That also bomb badly in the US ...)

 He didn't say you only had to buy one console. But the reality is that most people will either have only a 360 or a PS3 throughout a gen. So, I'd have to agree with Tombi, most people would likely get the PS3 if they're are looking for JRPGs (I know, I know... none yet).

 I would also disagree with you that  "If you like JRPG then you should get 360 now. And then may be down the road whenever FF comes out you can get the PS3" simply because while it may be the safer and seemingly more logical conclusion to make, LO and the like simply don't have a stranglehold on RPG fans the way FF does. I'd also like to note that Disgaea comes out very soon, and as an admitted obsesssive of the first 2, I wouldn't miss it for WKS, LO, or Blue Dragon.

@mysticD

Because most people can't afford more than one console...