Final Fantasy XVI, the latest main installment in the Japanese role-playing franchise, debuted in late June to very positive reception from players and critics. However, the initial sales data raised doubts among the community about its commercial success. Is it a failure? Square Enix broke the silence and addressed the issue.
A few weeks ago, the company announced that the JRPG sold 3 million copies worldwide in less than a week. It's an impressive figure, but it pales in comparison to the 5 million units the previous installment shipped on its first day in 2016. Additionally, it fell behind the 3.5 million games sold by FF VII Remake in 3 days.
The new entry in the series also saw a considerable drop in sales during its second week in markets like the UK and Japan. These figures caused concern and discussion, as some consider the game a commercial failure despite its positive reception.
Square Enix believes Final Fantasy XVI sales are "extremely solid"
Speaking to [IGN, Square Enix addressed the controversy surrounding the commercial performance of Final Fantasy XVI. The company stated that the sales are very good and that the difference with previous franchise releases is due to the size of the PlayStation 5 installed base.
"If you consider the sales figures of the acclaimed Final Fantasy VII Remake and the difference in the PlayStation 4 installed base at the time of its launch, you can see that the attach rate for Final Fantasy XVI is considerably high, owing to the PS5 installed base," explained the Japanese company.
Square Enix mentioned that they will work on initiatives to encourage more people to play the game, but they emphasized that "the initial sales results for Final Fantasy XVI are extremely solid."
A few days ago, producer Naoki Yoshida suggested the possibility of releasing DLC to expand the narrative, which seems to demonstrate that the game has piqued the interest of many players and has the potential for further expansion.
"Final Fantasy XVI launched into a market environment that was quite different from previous franchise releases such as FF VII Remake and FF XV, making comparisons problematic. For example, FF XVI is a PS5 exclusive and released earlier in the PS5 lifecycle than FF VII Remake in the PS4 lifecycle. When the active PS5 installed base is less than 40 million worldwide, 3 million sales are certainly not bad," stated Louise Wooldridge, research manager at Ampere Analysis.
Louise Wooldridge theorizes that the game's sales may be below the expectations of its creators, but she highlights that the context of the release and the mature rating "limit its potential" a bit. Additionally, she believes that having Naoki Yoshida at the helm of the project may have raised the company's expectations.
"It's not surprising that it didn't sell incredibly well in Japan, given the new direction the game took. FF XVI has more serious and dark themes than previous installments and, for most of the game, features an older cast of characters. Players in Japan overwhelmingly favor younger characters (...) The game seems much more aimed at the Western audience; it lacks the traditional JRPG style," the research manager pointed out.
But tell us, what do you think of this data? Did you enjoy the game? Let us know in the comments.
Final Fantasy XVI is available for PlayStation 5.
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