In the next Gen, if Microsoft's next console handles Nintendo's next console the way the 360 has handled the PS3 and is the victor of the next gen, what would that mean for the Japanese Games Industry as a whole?

     If Sony fails to generate that much more heat this gen (I'm not trying to start a Sony is doomed thread but look hypothetically at how future trends might affect the gaming industry), and as a result doesn't play a major role in the next gen, then Nintendo and Microsoft would emerge as the two dominant console makers.  Most Japanese gaming would of course shift towards development on the Nintendo system.  However, Microsoft might be able to get all of the Western studios that have been making games for both the 360 and PS3 to make games exclusively for the 360 leading to almost a monopoly of Western games and series coming to the 360.  This could enable the Microsoft's next system to be as successful against the future Nintendo console as the 360 has been this gen against the PS3.

     This would be especially true if Nintendo's next console is not that much more powerful versus the PS3 as the Wii is versus the original xbox, and if Nintendo remains unable to generate any more mass market appeal for mature games on their system as has been seen so far this gen while at the same time Microsoft once again has a super console that is still as affordabl in the next gen as he 360 is in this one and they manage to generate a more PS2-esque reputation for the games on its system appealing to all gamers than that of the Wii where Mario Kart Wii sells 15 million copies but titles like No More Heroes and Madworld struggle to sell 500,000 copies.

     What do you think this would mean for the Japanese game industry as a whole?  Do you think Microsoft would have much interest in pursuing Japanese games on their system if they didn't need them to be the dominant console?

     Why Square (and Capcom) are smart.  They may see a situation like the one I describe above shaping up.  Which would explain why they continue to announce new ips for the 360 when in the case of the Square games we've seen so far on the system, they haven't been selling all that well so far in this gen.  It's true that the PS3 could outsell the 360 by 10 to 2 million this gen in Japan this gen and as a result attract the most development of the hd consoles from Japanese third parties; however, if the PS3 doesn't generate the same amount of viability abroad than it does at home, then it could also take many of these third parties along with it into obscurity.  Square may see that if they want to continue to sell their games worldwide in coming gens, then they need to show strong support for the 360 with no regard for lower sales now or poor sales of their current games in Japan.  And, this would show that they are smarter than those Japanese developers that would choose to put their games on PS3 simply because it has a much greater affinity with most Japanese gamers than the 360 since it is a Japanese console.

What do you think of these situatons I've outline here?

i completely agree with you

by the end of next gen (if not this one), sony is out, and its gonna be ms doin hd and ninty doin the fun systems

its been that way in my house for the last two gens really

i have a ps2 but i never played it compared to my xbox

the 360 has not handled the ps3 nearly as much as microsoft hopped. if they continue to be hardcore next gen then nintendo will win, if they go casual then sony will win. c how it works?

Its an interesting perspective. Have you thought about the Tie-in factor of Xbox Live/PSN? Nintendo may be dropping the ball on that one as theres fewer factors which stops a Wii user from becoming a PS4/Xbox 3 user, but for Sony/Microsoft they have significant community factors with PSN/Xbox Live. Which is why Home despite its failings may not be the white elephant it appears to be now in reality.

Microsoft has an 8M lead over the PS3 thats actually pretty small. Getting handled is the PS2 vs Xbox and Gamecube. Sony is going to be here the next gen and many other following gens.

i doubt sony will drop out. But M$ has done alot better this gen and i would say they might have a chance next gen to pose a threat to nintendo and sony

Microsoft aint exactly "handled" SONY.

Unless by handled you mean "gone way cheaper"

So SE and Campcom are smart, because MS is simply going to own Sony next gen??? How are we going to know that if we don't know anything about the next gen consoles? Isn't this the exact same type of arrogance and over confidence that made Sony lose their number 1 spot?

lol, I didn't get past the first sentence/paragraph. If the next Microsoft console handles the Next Nintendo console like it did the PS3 we are going to have a very close race.

If you really wanted to make an argument you should have started out with how the Wii handled the PS3 as they are the farthest apart.

I think Square and Capcom are ultimately being stupid, and not smart. This effort to specifically appeal to the Western hardcore gamer isn't going to be very productive for them in the long run. Nintendo has shown that you can energize all the markets, and Square Enix and Capcom are paying too much attention to the naysayers (internet fanboys/ "game journalists") in the West that are saying Japan is old hat, and are feeding into the myth that Western and Japanese tastes are irrevocably separate, and must be catered to separately

I feel the same way about Kojima, really.