I do not think JRPGs are going to save any system. They are extremely front loaded and can cause a decent spike in console sales but do very little to sustain them. Look at what the 360 has managed with decent JRPGs hitting it. Occasionally you will see a sales spike associated with it but then it drops right back to its old level. You need a title with staying power to increase weekly sales. The Wii XXXX, and Moster Hunter 2 Portable series are great examples of this. they continue to sell in solid amount every week which means new people are picking up the system for it every week. JRPGs are released on the dominant system, but they do not make the system dominant.

The PSP has not had any recent huge surge in sustained sales. It has been selling at 65ishk a week with spikes well over 100k for quite a while now (since the PSP slim). The reason it is outselling the DS is because the DS has dropped significantly in sales. The DS has reached market saturation and is now selling slightly below the PSP in average weekly sales. This is not exactly the best example for a PS3 "come back."

@Many people

The PS3 has had backwards compatability for a very long time in Japan. It was only very recently that the 20 and 60 GB models got discontinued. It is highly unlikely that introducing a new model with weaker BC will increase sales.

Well the PSP is seeing a turn around in Japan, maybe the PS3 will someday too.

JRPGs are usually very front loaded, which is why I said there needs to be a steady supply of these and other similar types of games.  If they come out often enough, there's no time for the spikes to die down, and there's a steady flow of new games to make the library even more enticing than it already is.

Of course, there shouldn't just be JRPGs.  There needs to be a large selection of titles, JRPGs being those that will do the most to get the hardcore on board. 

Basically, they just need a lot more games, especially Japanese oriented games.  Having almost none at all is certainly doing more harm than having quite a few.

Then you run into the issue of market saturation though. Even if you released JRPGs as big and famous as FFXIII every week you will not see a sustained spike like that. It will diminish slowly at first, but then very quickly as people will have their JRPG fill and won't want to or have money to spend on the next one. Plus, JRPGs don't grow on trees. There is a reason you hear of JRPGs normally more than a year before release. They just are not the genre you need to save a system.

I do agree with your other comments though. The more Japan oriented games they get the better. I think they have the hardcore Japanese on-board already, but they need a way to tap into the casual market there. All PS3 games seem to sell 80% of their copies in the first week before disapearing forever. That is a behavior pattern normally associated with the hardcore video game market.

To many answers in this thread are sad and pathetic especially since the answer is so freaking easy to see.

Games.

Name one really good game for Japan o PS3.

I will make it easy for you all. Not one huge franchise, not one worthy RPG.

i certainly dont keep track of what happens with Sony in Japan, so I may be wrong here...but

hasn't Sony tried doing so much for the Japan market??

Didn't the PS3 there have multiple pricecuts, 4 different color PS3's, they get certain games first (and console models), etc...

I might be wrong, but I swear thats what happened...?

As far as what they need to do, i agree with most, i think its just games... i dont think price is too big of a deal, but thats just my opinion...

but Japanese consoles sales aren't the highest anyway, so i dont think the PS3 is doing as bad as people think... bad yes, but not horrible

I personally believe that PS3 support in Japan is going to pick up. Some games this year will help expand their interest in the console. MGS4 will see a increase, but the increase will not be as large as the one in America. I think Little Big Planet will prove very helpful in the Japanese market. The Japanese are into weird little games like that. When the next Final Fantasy game comes out it will destroy the current sales there.

The Last Remnant is also coming of course

you have good reasons to think that way since Japan is more of a collectivist culture.  Thus making them choosing the same thing...well more likely to. 

Also I agree with what everyone else says about games.  Your not going to by something unless your going to use it.