Woah... did you say invented 3d console gaming????  LOL they might have made their console 3d by default but by no means was it the first 3d console.  The SNES had the first 3d console game followed by the Genesis.  In fact the first 3d game still holds up really well and didn't even require an analog stick to control.  Also Nintendo was the top dog for a long while with their technology lead.  The N64 was a beast that never got it's fair chance.  I don't think cartridges were Nintendo's failing, I think Nintendo expected cartridge sizes to grow faster then they did during the SNES era.  Cartridges offered huge bandwidth gains over CD's.  If Nintendo had realized that cartridge size would hold the N64 back more then bandwidth they may have made a different choice.  

As for the PS3, the price is only one barrier to overcome, as many other's have stated countless times.  The biggest problem for a console like the PS3 is future growth.  If developers give up on the PS3 due to the Wii's immence lead, there will be no way that the PS3 can turn things around for itself.  We're starting to see developers talk out against the PS3 and even Sony talking out against Dev's.  That's not a good sign...  it shows that the problems are much deeper then you can see on the surface.  

 As long as Nintendo never goes after the desktop market.  Microsoft will never try to go after Nintendo the same way they went after Sony.  Sony was a threat to Microsoft's bottom line, this is why they are in the console market, anything they make off the console would be considered gravy.  They have no intentions of sticking it out in the console market if Sony backs off the PC replacement idea. 

MS can't do anything to Nintendo. Nintendo manages their market pretty well, and as you can see for yourself, MS can't do anything to stop them.
That's the problem MS has in most industries: they can't innovate for the life of them, so eiher they go first and get trounced by innovative competition, or they're playing catchup with an inferior product, due to the fact that they don't understand where the product's appeal is.

One, what in the hell does BD have to do with what you quoted?

Two, you're still working off of baseless assumptions.  BD has a 45% attach rate, that's nice.  Would it achieve that attach rate on any other system?  No way in hell.  Every other system has, or will have, games in the same genre that Japanese players wnat even more.  Also, just tracking the numbers will tell you that a very large number of 360 owners too the plunge simply for that game, which explains its high attach rates.  If there was any other game on the system that Japanese gamers cared about it wouldn't be anywhere near 45%.

Furthermore, what if they have reached the games full potential on that system?  For all we know, it would have sold only just as well on the PS3.  If 90% of the people that wanted it got a 360 for it, then it wouldn't be getting your praise.  In fact, it'd be treated like a joke if it sold that poorly on the PS3.  Hell, even if it somehow managed to maintain the same attach rate it would still just be at HALF a million, which is half of what was previously claimed as a possibility for the game.  Sure, that'd make it far and away the best seller on the PS3 at the moment and Sony would be happy to have that going for them, but then you still have to consider that the statement is made under the assumtion that the game can somehow get a 45% attach rate on a noticably more popular console.

So, in short, BD has done well ONLY when considering what system it is on, which is not the same thing as being able to do as well comparatively on another system.  There's simply no evidence that the game would have performed noticably better anywhere else.  Saying otherwise is simply asinine.  It's fine to suspect that the game would have done well, but to say it'd have been a blockbuster when there's nothing supporting that is nonsense.

Or, to paraphrase a number of posters on this site: Saying that something is "doing well considering..." is the same thing as saying it's doing poorly.

 umm... 45%.. for a console that has sold less the 500k is pathetic. And in a country that lives and breaths RPGs normally.

 Are you kidding me!!!  I remember Sony saying somthing like that too (replacing the PC and all that).  Could this be the reason why Microsoft is in the console business?  Wow

Its not pathetic, blue dragon has sold around 215k in japan! Wait...never mind.

@ ChichiriMuyo

I read so much bs I had to post.

"Three, if the 360 is more accessable, offers better features, and compete on level ground on the most basic matter then I've gotta ask: Why does the PS3 sell more units when priced $100 more than the 360 while not providing a superior product? That should damn well be a tip that MS isn't really putting the hurt on Sony at all"

The 360 has out sold PS3 every month this year in the largest video game market. If that doesn't "put a hurt" your lost to reason.

"Of course, the truth about MS is that they don't give a crap about winning the console wars as long as Sony loses. "

It has been stated from the beginning. Microsoft wants in the living room. Webtv was the first step. Xbox was there offence. They are here to stay and its not just about some hate for another company. Its about money and the future.

"The PS3 did outsell the 360 while it cost $100 more, man. Imagine how lopsided their little battle would be if the consoles cost the same amount. And let's not forget, last generation essentially proved that MS would be forced out of the market if they charged more for their system than Sony does"

Out sold because of Japan. For what ever reason they are not interested in the 360. In NA as stated pervious they are outsold by 360. In europe the numbers are to close to call. In addition, MS was forced out of the market? What do you call the 360?

"PS1 came back against the Saturn and took a MASSIVE lead, eventually leading to Sega leaving the market."

The reason PS1 took the lead is because of a simple equation. More consoles sold = more games = more consoles sold = .. See how that works? Most of the population does not check message boards, hold some alligence, etc. Its about Games. Things are looking good for 360 in NA imo.

" I just don't think MS's choices, good or bad, are as influencial in who is going to win this generation as the first two factors. Not by any stretch of the imagination."

Im happy you inclused "think" because I also think your view is twisted. I believe 360 will beat the Ps3 in North America. Oh shit, that didn't take any imagination to call them influencial.

"let's be honest here, it's Sony's mistakes that really even allow MS the opportunity to damage them to begin with. It doesn't matter how much MS bites at Sony's ankles, it's still a two horse race and those two horses are the ones that decide how this ends"

Yean, Lets be honest. Its been a three horse race since last generation. xbox ps2 and gamecube. All 3 have seen next releases all 3 will do okay this generation. The market is large enough to support all 3. It doesn't matter that 360 is selling well in NA. Just ankle biting. I think it might get infected, you might wanna take a look at the ankle.

"Until MS finds a way to not be outsold by a more expensive machine they just aren't a big enough force here. Really, if you've got to undercut the competitor by 30%, spend millions on exclussives, and put out several AAA titles to the competiton's 0 and you still can't beat them by more than a small margin you've got troubles."

Well.. 10.51M sold 360, 4.32M sold Ps3. Clearly MS has troubles. (thats sarcasim)

"I look at it I just can't see MS as being anything but a side factor in the grand scheme and a minor influence in the eventual winner."

See Above stats.

"LtoK - So? Nothing else in the country sells, what's your point? The 360 has one, and only one, game worth buying in the minds of Japanese gamers."

Im sure you speak for the minds of all Japanese gamers. (sarcasim) I believe the 360s issues go beyond games into culture influences etc.

"Two, you're still working off of baseless assumptions. BD has a 45% attach rate, that's nice. Would it achieve that attach rate on any other system?"

Okay lets see, when the rest of the worlds sales numbers come in. At least the game will be turning a profit while also promoting 360 (to a degree) in Japan. Sounds like a win.

 yea... but theres nearly NO chance of grewth to 1 million sales of a game on a console that will take another year to make it to a million in the country. The actual point to that statement was for the PS3 and Wii, as a game like Folklore might have sold less then 40k now and sells 1+k a week, come this holiday, RPG vs RPG, console vs console, Folklore has a greater chance of selling close or passing 1 million then Blue Dragon will in Japan. Its also a matter of the genre, most genres fail in Japan, mainly FPSs. Mystwalker being 360 exclusive = failure for all of it's games in Japan and as most RPG fans dont own 360s failure WW. 

@ andrew pierce ...

you are absolutly right... under the right circumstance the enemy of your enemy is most certainly your friend...