I'm sure that Yamaha and Casio will never stop making entry-level "auto-accompaniment" home keyboards. They make for a blockbuster Christmas gift and a great way to get kids interested in music. The question is, are we now seeing the last generation of PROFESSIONAL high-end arranger workstations?

I've never been overseas and have no idea of the market conditions there. The fact that Roland's latest MOTL was marketed as the E"A"-7 suggests that there might be more of a demand for these instruments in other continents and cultures. Is this gloomy outlook purely from an English-speaking, Western point of view?