Not really, stories have taken a back-seat when it comes to western games. wRPGs are a great example, people actually think open quests make a great story, but I have stated that time and time again and people still defend it. Guns, multiplayer, open side quests = 3 key ingredients in making a successful western game.

As for the name changes, I can understand that a little. Names of games attract certain people and the American culture is different from the Japanese culture, so a title 'Ni No Kou Gi Jin' would be useless if trying to appeal to American gamers. I am sure games here would have the same effect from Japanese gamers, but I do not pretend to be an expert in Japanese culture, so I have no idea what games that may be.

just like movies, its starting to run into the problem that so many stories have been told that writers are running out of truly new and unique ideas. there are a few new spins you can take on old stories but you still run of risk of the story being hackneyed.