It seems that the best games in every genre, except fighting perhaps, are now made by the West. Among the old guard of Japanese franchises, some have been bested, some now have very stiff competition from the West.

Resident Evil (survival horror) has been panned by critics, told that the game feels ancient, and no longer scary. Dead Space and Bioshock have risen to be strong contenders for the king of the horror genre.

Devil May Cry (hack and slash), which once was the premier slasher, has fallen to the wayside, and has been soundly replaced by God of War.

Metal Gear Solid (stealth action), once the most revolutionary and advanced game of it's genre, is now under stiff competition from the likes of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed, and Splinter Cell.

Gran Turismo (racing) has always had an air of invincibility. Though the 5th installment has yet to release, it already has stiff competition from Forza, with reviewers hailing it to be at the least an equal to Polyphony's racer.

Final Fantasy (RPG) also has had this air of invincibility, but trends show that it's popularity is declining. 13 would be a clear signal of where this franchise will go in the future, but right now, Bethesda's Fallout and Oblivion series are already claiming the mantles of best RPGs.

It seems Mario is the only giant Japanese franchise left that has yet to have a true rival.

On the other side of the coin, the West has games in other genres that have no rivals at all from Japan. Japan does not produce shooters, RTS, or sandbox games that are worth noting. Innovation has also mostly been coming from the West, with games like Littlebigplanet.

So do you guys think that Japanese games can still catch up with the West? 

In terms of sales lets not kid ourselves:

GT5 will be the best selling racing game on HD systems

FF13 will be the best selling RPG (not just JRPG) on Hd consoles

MGS4 sold tons & tons

meh i still perfer asian games over western crap anyday

'Oblivion series'?

>.

I believe the question is whether or not Western games will ever catch Japanese games.

Don't get me wrong, there have been better games from western developers in this generation than any other generation. But for the most part their games rely too much on accomplishments and intuitiveness rather than purpose and substance. Those are needed so much more if you plan on replaying a game for as long as the disc works. Uncharted 1 and 2 are examples of games that can last forever and not be thrown away for the next-next-next big sequel.

what about the fact the japan is very limited in terms of creating games in other genres, like shooters, RTS, and sandbox?

your comparisons seem a bit off to me. RE5 not being like the others is not a matter of "catching up". System Shock 2 was just as scary as Bioshock and that was 10 years ago too. you also picked only a few examples, and not really the best - AC and Batman are miles away from either Splinter Cell or MGS as "stealth" games.

I don't think they need to make great games in every genre...

Very very ignorant views. But on your second question: Shooters don't sell in japan. RTS don't sell on consoles unless its Halo and No More Heroes is sandbox and if you realy think about it, there are not realy many sandbox games, perhaps 1-2 per year.

Eh, I disagree. I believe that the West is just now catching to the East in terms of quality.

God of War is the best Action series these days, but other than that not much is lost.

Also, Bioshock is not a horror game in any way.