Can some clear this up?

I have heard from several people and sources that games made for the European market, especially driving games, are made to be harder than the same games released in America and Japan?

Yep, that's true. If you get multiple difficulty settings in a game then often (not always) the easy setting will correspond to the normal setting in Japan.

Actually that's in Europe, I don't know where America fits in, I think they get harder games like Europe.

I don't think its because the Japanese are rubbish at games or anything, but maybe they have less time and more money, so they can afford more games and want to spend less time on each one.

Also I read that Japanese don't like to see their charcter die in games so much.

Metal Gear Solid II even had a European Hardcore Extreme difficulty (or something like that)

The only thing I can comment on is that some games released in Japan/America first, are made harder before being given a European release, probably because the developers have time to implement aload of new stuff that they didn't have time for in the original release. This happens on the Metal Gear's and Final Fantasy's. I doubt it's because we're like some elite gaming nation. More like because we're such insipid moaners that we get alot of extra content to shut us up.

It's a case by case situation. Search around... there are some games that are harder in Japan, but usually they're released in Japan first, then move on to the other markets where they're made harder. This doesn't seem to happen as much as it used to (16-bit era being the main culprit, AFAIK) and I'm only referring to Japanese-developed games.

would like to believe this is true seeming it took me ages and ages to complete the Gran Turismo's !!!

interesting metal gear: SOL on euro extreme is rock even if you have the bandana and the stealth suit, btw its if very funny if you play s snake in the tanker to wear the goofy glasses and get found in the speech bit, also do a attack combo on the corner guards in the hulls to make them do a skittle like thing where they knock the others down like dominoes try it, but remember to hide like a sissy!