If Nintendo, Sony and SEGA never existed, I would have been happy to let the industry die with E.T.

Sealand!

Game publisher
Japan - Nintendo, Sony, Sega, Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, Tecmo, Koei, SNK, Level 5
USA - Microsoft, Atari, EA, Activison, Blizzard, Bethesda, Bungie, Disney, Epic, Take two, THQ

Console
Japan - NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, PS, PS2, PS3, Sega Master, Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast ,PSP, Gameboy, GBA, NDS,
US - Magnavox, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Xbox, Xbox 360

Notable franchise
Japan - Mario, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Zelda, Resident Evil, Wii series, Metal Gear, Dragon Quest, Team ICO, Sonic, Gran Turismo, Donkey Kong, Kingdom Heart, Tekken, Brain Age, Street Fighter,
USA - Sims, Need for Speed, Halo, Madden, Tom clancy, Crash, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Gears, Starcraft, Warcraft, Half life, FIFA,


Definately Japan >> US >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Others.

Japan. If anyone else didn't develop, we'd still have shitloads of games to play... and aside from certain Sony and MS first party titles, along with some WRPG's, we wouldn't lose much either...

USA is pretty easily tops, followed by Japan.

And then probably the UK.

Miyamoto damn near carries Japan by himself.

I'm getting a little bit peeved by all the people saying Japan, USA and then the others. Take another look at my case for the UK! It's definitely head and shoulders above the 'others' and it has a nice balance of PC AND console classics:

All the Grand Theft Auto games, Lemmings, Goldeneye, Worms, Fable, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Little Big Planet, Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper, Black and White, Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Micro Machines, Black and White, Syndicate, Elite, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Tomb Raider, Cannon Fodder, Perfect Dark, Time Splitters, Banjo Kazooie, Rome: Total War. And many more besides.

Tell me that isn't an amazing mix of AAAs, multi-million sellers and damn revolutionary titles! I'm not disputing that Japan and USA come first, but I want more love for the UK!

Overall:

Japan
US
UK
Russia - just for Tetris (the creator was Russian, right?)

I think that US has been more important this gen than before, as aknowledged by many Japanese developers, but on the other hand the sales of Wii and Wii titles speak for themselves - globally, more people are playing Japanese driven videgame experiences than US.

USA stomps Japan. Anyone arguing otherwise is just a JRPG lover or Nintendo fan.

1. USA
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2. Japan
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3. UK

The creator IS Russian :P

Japan and United States since they more or less created it