With a dying presence of console gaming in Japan, and a serious rise in Western software around the world, Eastern-style gaming has been rather quiet this gen. Though the handhelds, the DS in particular, have provided plenty of Japanese-inspired titles, the home consoles have been bereft of them. High quality Japanese RPGs especially have been hard to come by, with most of them still stuck in Japan or not even released yet.

Another pair may be on the way, though, in the form of Xenoblade and The Last Story, as recently announced by Nintendo. This was a reveal that few anticipated, and perhaps because so, it’s gotten a lot of Wii owners quite excited at the possibilities, what with the brilliant design-teams behind them (Mistwalker for The Last Story, Monolith Soft for Xenoblade).

Expected or unexpected, however, it’s one of most believable moves that Nintendo has made since the Wii’s launch. Two blockbuster JRPGs are perfect for the console and the image it’s created for itself. Although the 360 may have more JRPGs, few are very noteworthy, and even less are exclusive to the system. The Wii, on the other hand, could easily solidify itself as the console for Japanese RPGs within the next year.

It’s already accrued the likes of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Rune Factory Frontier, Tales of Graces, Fragile Dreams, Arc Rise Fantasia and Monster Hunter Tri. Throw in the oncoming Dragon Quest X and the two new titles from Nintendo into the mix, and you have a lineup that no other platform can compete with in the near future.

Because the thing is, while the Wii is regularly criticized as being too underpowered for the standards of ‘hardcore gaming’ this gen, not every single genre absolutely needs HD tech. RPGs can definitely benefit from what the PS3 and 360 provide to be very pretty games, but at the end of the day that advanced hardware will almost never make the gameplay more complex. By all means, an RPG on the Wii can be far deeper than one on the opposing systems as long as the developer has the ambition.

Considering the gaming culture in Japan, one that doesn’t glamorize high-end technology nor has embraced the 360 and PS3 as much as the West, it’s no surprise that a lot of big time JRPGs are finding their way to the Wii. That is, after all, the most popular system in the region. And regardless of how console gaming has lost much of its influence there, the Japanese have shown that they’ll still buy software for it when a title catches their interest (Final Fantasy XIII, Tales of Vesperia/Graces, Monster Hunter 3 etc.)

In that regard, Nintendo pushing a pair of [new] RPG titles is a very smart choice. But it also makes sense for their worldwide marketing. This current generation is three and a half years old, and by now, the various platforms have established their ‘hooks’. The 360 and PS3 are systems which are built around blockbuster action games with Western style. The Wii, on the other hand, is the system which has the most Eastern flair. The third parties that do approach it typically are the ones that want to make colorful, zany titles with some kind of Eastern style, be it in the visuals or content. Not surprisingly, the third parties in question are almost always Japanese.

By now, gaming enthusiasts that play on the Wii regularly have been given the kind of titles that made with a Japanese mentality. Games like Little King’s Story, Muramasa, No More Heroes, Rune Factory Frontier etc. They’re not supposed to be epics like what’s available on the HD consoles, and they’re intentionally supposed to be rather off-the-wall. “Niche” is the term commonly used to describe their appeal in North America and Europe. These titles may not be selling in the millions like popular third party software on the 360 and PS3, but they’re the type of games that we come to expect for the Wii, and believe it or not there is a certain crowd that will enjoy them.

In other words, Nintendo is catering to the audience is has in the West with Xenoblade and The Last Story. They’re not trying to secure any of the crowd that primarily uses the 360 or PS3. Longtime gamers that have a love of Japanese design, and live in the Americas or Europe, most likely own a Wii. Those people that still have a fondness for something like the Tales franchise or Dragon Quest are the ones who will be excited for these RPGs, and even if they own an HD console, chances say they’ve got a Wii in their house as well.

Beyond the typical gamer, though, Nintendo is indirectly accommodating a specific fanbase with their RPGs; the die-hard Nintendo fans themselves. Whether completely satisfied with Nintendo and their systems this gen or not, Nintendo enthusiasts still remain very large in number. That’s why you see a Mario Galaxy or a Twilight Princess or a Smash Bros. Brawl selling between 6-9 million copies.

The Nintendo fanbase is one that has grown up loving (and still does) franchises that share many of the same qualities that most JRPGs do. Even their more serious IP, like Metroid, Fire Emblem and, occasionally, Zelda, are all very colorful and diverse in comparison to the rest of the industry. The rest of Nintendo’s characters are very whacky and zany, attributes that generally pop up in a Japanese RPG regardless of whether its intentional or not. The genre is also almost entirely single-player oriented, with lengthy story modes accompanied by hours-worth of side content. They offer the kind of value that Nintendo fans expect from one of their AAA first party titles.

Their new RPG titles, along with the third party software still looking to make it out of Japan, are most likely several months away. It could be even longer, what with translation and all. But Japanese RPG fans can rest easy knowing that the Wii is on its way to building up a potentially grandiose lineup of games from the genre. Meanwhile, Nintendo/Wii fans have been shown a clear indication that the Big N knows their audience, and does have a genuine interest in supplying them in the midst of the Blue Ocean Strategy.