quote of the year and so true.

its their fault for putting classic RPGS on the xbox it did not pay off and now they are suffering because of it. NOw its a new year (soon) and that will change. expect to see a lot more ps3 and Wii games over the xbox.

If what is meant by "Japanese developers" is those who produce JRPGs, then the Japanese game developers are facing SERIOUS problems.  The videogame industry is evolving and new genres are appearing, or at least multiple genres are fusing together.  The rest of the world is growing larger than the Japanese market, and they have their own preferences.  Japan is still a key area of influence, but one is hard pressed to say that it is now the center of the universe.  Japan still holds onto key top developers who have an impact, but the industry has moved beyond them.  It is a place now where, if something is huge in Japan it doesn't necessarily mean it will be huge everywhere.

Well, it's interesting: if they can't pay for HD graphics, there's a whole console out there with a great big ready-made fanbase that doesn't require them to develop HD graphics: indeed, not doing so is the norm. Developers report satisfactory profits even on games that sell only a couple hundred thousand copies; no need to sell 750,000+ just to break even.

It sounds to me as though the smart thing for these Japanese developers to do would be to work more with this console, and cultivate userbases there. Why do you suppose they refuse to do that?

yes exactly, japan hasnt' really shrunk but the west (especially europe) is getting so big and largely share the same interests in games.  Western developers can better afford to make HD games because there is a much bigger audience.  Most of the Japanese developers that are making games on HD consoles are making games for the western audience.  When they make games with the japanese audience in mind they usually make them on handhelds unless they are games that highly depend on graphics or require motion controls.  There is far less risk making a cheap game on DS and selling it to a known audience in Japan than making a PS3 game and taking your chances on the western market.  You're gonna have to invest a lot of money on marketing and the budget is gonna be far bigger.

This QUOTE really blew me away -

"Mr. Yoshida also points out that several of the games that were developed in Japan, like Metal Gear Solid 4 or Gran Turismo 5, which had really successful teams working on them, are rare examples of quality high-end titles, but they are just an exception, because all the rest don't even come close to them"

It is true that western developers like guerilla and naughty dog are putting their japanese counterparts to shame in the graphics department.   In fact, the most used game engines are created by western developers.  This puts japanese developers at an immediate disadvantage due to language barriers.

The DS is a lot cheaper than even the wii to develop for, and the userbase was almost as big as the PS2 when the wii first launched.  It might have worked to put stuff on wii if everyone was on board, but it was just easier to stay with the DS which is the market they know.  They also didn't expect the wii to be that successful when it first came out.

Everyone has very good points and comments on this discussion. I also hope that we get more RPGs on PS3 or on Xbox360. I would even be happy with RPGs on PS2 lol. Hopefully developers are getting used to the HD consoles so we should see more RPGs in the years to come like what happened on PS2 (RPGs were popping up crazy after 4-5 years of lifetime). RPGs developers should focus less on graphics, looks at Star ocean: the last hope and lost odyssey compare to tales of vesperia or compare to RPGs from last gen. It doesnt hold a candle.

@Icyedge - I totally agree. Substance is more important than graphics.

The PS3 is picking up steam now worldwide and in Japan BIG TIME. Nobody thought it would be outselling the wii even after wii price cut. The increased ps3 sales should help the Japanese game developers immensely.

they went handheld. PSP and DS  getting all the love

42 million handhelds sold, 14 million consoles sold this gen in Japan.  No need to wonder why.