Because it wont until one capitulates to the other, and that wont happen unless one platform fails bigtime.

PS3 is already halfway there IMO.

It's pretty clear that Sony can't make many more mistakes, and won't beable to take the same risks next gen.

MS have made a few big mistakes also with poor manufacturing QC and hardware which runs hot and noisy.

I think they could both gain from joining to make the next console together, as could consumers and developers, but like you say its very unlikely, Sony have proven they have bad work ethics if Nintendo and Toshiba are anything to go by.

Another scenario i could see it happening with is if EA decided to enter the console space with there own iteration, this could indeed then force MS and Sony to combine powers, that is of course if MS and EA did not jump into bed together instead.

EA entering the console business sounds doubtful. Their #1 income must be selling games and if they launch their own console they will probably stop making games for other consoles and thus putting themselves in a very difficult position cause...what if it doesn't sell? What then? They have nothing to lean back on. MS has a whole lot of other shit going, like office and stuff. Sony has the A/V side and nintendo is well enough established that they know their games will sell but EA? Nah i don't think that'll happen.

EA would definitely be in bed with one of the major players rather than go it alone.

Yeah its been mentioned a few times, but i cant see it happing.

Top 100 games by sales - Famitsu (Not media Create)

01. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom) 2,452,111
02. [NDS] Pokemon Platinum (Pokemon) 2,187,337
03. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) 2,149,131 / 2,967,297
04. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) 2,003,315
05. [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo) 1,747,113
06. [NDS] Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo) 1,350,671
07. [NDS] Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (Square Enix) 1,176,082
08. [WII] Animal Crossing: City Folk (Nintendo) 895,302
09. [NDS] Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo) 855,427
10. [WII] Wii Sports (Nintendo) 841,736 / 3,306,470

11. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami) 686,254
12. [PSP] Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Square Enix) 660,262
13. [NDS] Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (Pokemon) 636,777
14. [PSP] Phantasy Star Portable (Sega) 633,954
15. [NDS] Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel (Level 5) 628,143
16. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) 621,890 / 3,317,318
17. [WII] Wii Play (Nintendo) 602,625 / 2,593,294
18. [NDS] Mario Party DS (Nintendo) 599,621 / 1,832,265
19. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode (Nintendo) 549,348
20. [PS2] Super Robot Taisen Z (Bandai Namco) 480,093

21. [NDS] Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken (Bandai Namco) 444,133
22. [NDS] Chrono Trigger (Square Enix) 433,988
23. [NDS] DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo) 425,272
24. [NDS] Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo) 424,477
25. [PS2] Warriors Orochi 2 (Koei) 411,019
26. [NDS] New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo) 377,034 / 5,372,187
27. [NDS] Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo) 376,632
28. [PSP] Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam (Bandai Namco) 357,783
29. [NDS] Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo) 338,531 / 4,852,053
30. [WII] Wii Music (Nintendo) 323,882

31. [PS3] Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom) 310,012
32. [PS3] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami) 297,896
33. [PS2] Persona 4 (Atlus) 294,214
34. [PSP] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 3 (Konami) 286,901
35. [NDS] Derby Stallion DS (Enterbrain) 286,682
36. [PS2] Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (Bandai Namco) 277,182
37. [PS3] Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! (Sega) 270,438
38. [WII] Mario Party 8 (Nintendo) 256,832 / 1,310,766
39. [NDS] Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Nintendo) 252,309
40. [PSP] Gundam Battle Universe (Bandai Namco) 252,092

41. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Bandai Namco) 251,083
42. [NDS] Professor Layton and the Devil's Box (Level 5) 250,616 / 865,954
43. [NDS] Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Touch de Dokodon! (Bandai Namco) 245,829 / 524,827
44. [WII] Deca Sports (Hudson) 241,701
45. [NDS] Bokura wa Kaseki Holder (Nintendo) 240,176
46. [NDS] Little Magicians Magic Adventure (Konami) 233,449
47. [WII] Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo) 231,056 / 594,157
48. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2 (Capcom) 230,499 / 1,720,397
49. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven (Level 5) 229,011
50. [WII] Link's Crossbow Training (Nintendo) 227,621

51. [NDS] Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (Pokemon) 227,226 / 5,624,430
52. [PS3] Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec III (SCE) 223,837
53. [PS2] Dynasty Warriors 6 (Koei) 223,328 / 555,496
54. [NDS] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness (Pokemon) 223,328 / 1,479,844
55. [PS2] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 (Konami) 213,551
56. [NDS] Tokoton Kanji Brain (IE Institute) 213,088 / 324,351
57. [WII] Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Bandai Namco) 212,408
58. [NDS] Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (Nintendo) 209,812 / 939,125
59. [PS3] Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 (Bandai Namco) 206,438
60. [WII] Mario Super Sluggers (Nintendo) 204,553

61. [PS3] White Knight Chronicles (SCE) 203,033
62. [PS2] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 5 (Konami) 199,789
63. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, PSP the Best (Capcom) 199,117
64. [WII] Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo) 197,422 / 945,106
65. [PS2] J-League Winning Eleven 2008 Club Championship (Konami) 196,788
66. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto IV (Capcom) 195,779
67. [PSP] Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami) 190,140
68. [NDS] Dragon Ball DS (Bandai Namco) 185,229
69. [NDS] Brain Age 2 (Nintendo) 184,560 / 4,967,131
70. [NDS] Ganbaru Watashi no Kakei Diary (Nintendo) 180,563 / 550,022

71. [NDS] Tottadoo! Yoiko no Mujintou Seikatsu (Bandai Namco) 179,007
72. [NDS] Tales of Hearts: CG Movie Edition/Anime Movie Edition (Bandai Namco) 176,526
73. [NDS] Quiz Magic Academy (Konami) 175,636
74. [NDS] Final Fantasy IV (Square Enix) 175,388 / 622,475
75. [NDS] Ryuusei no RockMan 3: Black Ace/Red Joker (Capcom) 174,426
76. [PSP] Kidou Senshi Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui (Bandai Namco) 174,107
77. [PSP] Super Robot Taisen A Portable (Bandai Namco) 171,475
78. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai Namco) 163,010
79. [NDS] Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Level 5) 162,839 / 928,597
80. [PSP] Warriors Orochi (Koei) 162,403

81. [NDS] Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (Square Enix) 161,783 / 1,214,610
82. [360] Tales of Vesperia (Bandai Namco) 161,070
83. [NDS] SimCity DS 2: Kodai kara Mirai e Tsuduku Machi (EA) 159,245
84. [NDS] Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (Konami) 154,987
85. [NDS] Tamagotchi Kira Kira Omisecchi (Bandai Namco) 154,939
86. [NDS] Bokujou Monogatari: Kira Kira Taiyou to Nakama Tachi (Marvelous) 154,525
87. [PSP] Macross Ace Frontier (Bandai Namco) 149,131
88. [PSP] Yuusha no Namaikida 2 (SCE) 146,767
89. [NDS] Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (Atlus) 145,421
90. [PSP] Star Ocean 2: Second Evolution (Square Enix) 143,424

91. [NDS] Nintendogs (Nintendo) 142,591 / 1,850,984
92. [PS2] Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut (Bandai Namco) 142,301
93. [PS3] Valkyria Chronicles (Sega) 141,589
94. [NDS] Brain Age (Nintendo 140,992 / 3,750,890
95. [PS2] Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi (Bandai Namco) 139,425
96. [NDS] Saka-Tsuku DS: Touch and Direct (Sega) 137,051
97. [NDS] Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (Square Enix) 136,948
98. [PS2] Ryu ga Gotoku 2, PlayStation 2 the Best (Sega) 136,809 / 201,866
99. [NDS] Zaidan Houjin Nippon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai Kounin: KanKen DS 2 + Jouyou Kanji Jiten (Rocket Company) 136,750 / 297 873
100. [PS2] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami) 135,128 / 680,152

Hardware Sales
Hardware | 2008 | LTD <br /> NDS | 4,029,804 | 25,135,276<br /> PSP | 3,543,171 | 11,078,484<br /> Wii | 2,908,342 | 7,526,821<br /> PS3 | 991,303 | 2,664,366<br /> PS2 | 480,664 | 21,547,802<br /> 360 | 317,859 | 866,167<br /> ----------------------------------<br /> DSi | 1,280,092 | <br /> PSP-3000 | 788,764 |
Software Sales
Hardware | 2008 | 2007<br /> NDS | 28,260,498 | 39,130,595<br /> PSP | 9,745,758 | 6,750,169<br /> Wii | 13,802,220 | 11,665,679<br /> PS3 | 5,155,082 | 2,951,390<br /> PS2 | 7,111,971 | 13,262,872<br /> 360 | 1,770,034 | 1,480,551<br /> Other | 210,100 | 612,905

TOP 5 Publishers

| 2008 | 2007<br /> Nintendo | 19,100,000 | 23,520,000<br /> Bandai Namco | 8,550,000 | 7,580,000<br /> Capcom | 5,340,000 | 7,500,000<br /> Konami | 5,040,000 | 5,560,000<br /> Square Enix | 4,040,000 | 4,910,000


Shamelessly stolen from GAF ;)
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=14457...

I can see why the Japan devs are looking to the west for game sales.

01. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom) 2,452,111

holy hell

the wii game is gonna sell a crap load.

Whys that exactly ?

Because the PS3/360 games are selling in low numbers in Japan.

Yea but DS, Wii and PSP aren't.

There is probably more profit to be made from DS games than any other platform, mainly because the cost of development.

What i meant to say is i can understand why Japan is looking to the west with all its big nextgen games, as Japan is just not buying into the nextgen market.

Yup, strangly enough for a technological advanced country they are now lacking behind in the gamesindustry when it comes to tech.. I really have no idea why they don't seem to care about next-gen.. First and only Xbox 360 game at #82 Tales of Vesperia is just very weird.. I guess they live in a (gaming)world of their own overthere..

It's also one of the main reasons why I'm not really interested what happens overthere when it comes to gaming.. I simply cannot related to them at all..

Well its easy, the Japanese don't like non Japanese tech (ipod excluded), the PS3 is too expensive and isn't providing enough games, so I think its pretty simple to understand.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUS...

You're probably right.. I keep saying they are culturally so much different to us Westerners (US and Europe).. That's also why I don't understand why we still think their choices in the gamesmarket are that important to us.. The Japanese choices (sales etc) mean very little to nothing to me.. But it's kindof fun to discuss it anyway, just because they are so weird..

I think thats a little close minded, they aren't weird they just have different values.It depends if you like Japanese games or not I suppose, personally I don't see the infatuation with sales numbers western or otherwise.

Values ? I think u mean taste ;)

Yeah I agree. They have completely different tastes and I think that's what makes the games that come out of there pretty unique. If it weren't for that we wouldn't be getting games like Personna, Siren ....etc not to mention all those JRPGs.

Simple, you either like them or you don't - that's the nature of things after all. There is no fine line in between.

Well I wasn't just refering to gaming or entertainment, but either would be sufficient.

If it's about value's.. They are pretty conservative when it comes to demands for innovations in graphics and gameplay.. Lots of Japanese games still use oldfashioned gameplay (just look at their RPG's for example), and it's pretty obvious they do not care that much about innovations in graphics etc aswell (simply look at the nex-gen console sales overthere).. It's like they are stuck in the 1990's when it comes to gaming..

I hope the rumors of price drop in the spring are true. I wouldn't mind being able to pick up a PS3

You forget that some people like traditional style RPGs, you can't excpect a franchise to rewrite the way it plays you will end up alienating the fanbase.

I think there is bias in your opinon on graphics also, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Final Fantasy 13, Star Ocean 4, Resident Evil 5 and Tales Of Vesperia (just a handful of games)all look great graphically, yea they may not meet your paticular artistic preferences but they are all still "next-gen" in quality.

I must say, I can only agree with Resident Evil 5 on that list. I havent see FFXIII in motion to make a decision that, but only Resident Evil 5 can hold its own against great looking western titles.

I have to agree with Inflatable on this one, Japanese devs really need to step up in terms of overall visuals and animation.

But to be honest, NG2 has some of the best animation i've seen in game and Resi 5 is the best looking game i've ever seen. I think its more to do with the complacency of the majority of Japanese devs than anything else.

Perhaps you should ask yourself why you think that though, and I'm pretty sure it will come down to art style, RE5 aims for realism which has a lot in common with most western games, you shouldn't mistake that for great graphics.

RE5 may look good but its not the best looking game around by a fair margin, infact it has some of the worst texture detail around.

I'd easily say RE5 is one of the best games I've seen despite some poor texture detail and weak animation. I mean if MGS4 can be called one of the best looking games with its shoddy textures and animation, surely it's not a stretch saying RE5 is up there.