WRT to 1), hasn't our own patio11 told us the normal pattern in big companies is that their young whippersnappers aren't allowed to cut production code for a decade or more? The whole inculcate new employees in the company way thing.
It's also worth remembering the social model of low risk, high gain and high risk, low gain companies (i.e. the big ones you've heard of vs. lots of small fry you haven't unless you have some focus on the country). With Japan now coming onto a "lost quarter century" the first model has been smashed and that perhaps has something to do with these giants losing their mojo.
The other issue which you bring up about startups is related to why small fry almost never make it big; I don't know too much about that, but it's a general issue that goes beyond high tech or this sort of high tech. Perhaps surprising given how leveraged writing software and running Internet services is....
It's also worth remembering the social model of low risk, high gain and high risk, low gain companies (i.e. the big ones you've heard of vs. lots of small fry you haven't unless you have some focus on the country). With Japan now coming onto a "lost quarter century" the first model has been smashed and that perhaps has something to do with these giants losing their mojo.
The other issue which you bring up about startups is related to why small fry almost never make it big; I don't know too much about that, but it's a general issue that goes beyond high tech or this sort of high tech. Perhaps surprising given how leveraged writing software and running Internet services is....