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Final Fantasy 16 Extremely Underperformed On PC; Sold Only 289K Units Since Launch

Muffdraul

Member
I've been an FF fanboy since 1994, FFVI, and FFXVI is the first FF I just straight up couldn't play simply because it flat out sucked. I assumed if I could play and finish FFX-2, FFXIII and FFXV, I could play though anything. WRONG.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Budget and expectations. Capcom didn't put many of it's eggs on the DD2 basket, so 3M might be enough for them.
Square Enix just likes to shit on all of their game sales. Its been like this for a decade. Remember when tomb raider sold 3.5 million in the first month and they were like this is a disappointment?

FF16 is a $70 game and sold 3 million in a week. Thats $210 million. SE are just being little bitches.
 

Gp1

Member
Lmao, yeah, surely the PeeCee Master Race will save Square Enix from evil Sony's exclusivity cheques. The multiplatform future looks bright for Square Enix!

Nothing looks bright for square enix

Their AAA are expensive to make, bland and does not perform well. 3m sales in one platform simply isn't enough for a game of that size.

Imho it looks like a BioWare in making sans DEI.

They simply can't hit the spot in the RPGs anymore (not with their AAA), can't balance their games and they need appeal to the masses in their high stakes game. And as a result, their games feel like something that tries to cater to everyone and fails to serve their RPG fans well.

Imho they has a massive identity crisis since last generation and the best thing that could happen is Square focusing on the smaller games.

A good game, but it is more like an action game like DMC, It lacks RPG element. This game is the one that they should labeled as Final Fantasy Versus, instead of numbered one. FF numbered must bring back it lighthearted approach and charm. Dark and for mature theme does not suit for FF series.

Funeral fantasy 15 is dark af when you consider all the cross-media.
Almost every numbered FF has a somewhat dark tone.
 
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FoxMcChief

Gold Member
I hate to break it to SE, Xbox, and Sony, but releasing games everywhere does not equate to exponentially higher sales. if you game is MID, it's going to be MID everywhere
tim and eric comedy GIF
 
It was a good game but not enough to move the needle in the grand scheme of things. I'm saddened to say this as FF is my in top 3 franchises but it's the truth.
 

Jinxed

Member
Spider-man remastered sold 1.5 millions copies in a month on steam/epic even though it had been out for an eternity on console

It has nothing to do with release it day one on all platforms. The game was just average
 
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The prevailing wisdom always used to be RTS, FPS, and sim games you play on PC, console for everything else.
And if you think about it, i can't imagine Counter Strike doing as good on consoles as it does on PC. Just like Valorant doesn't. It's okay. All sorts of options and audiences out there.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
I hope Square takes a long, hard look at BG3. Universally loved GOTY that made a shitload of money, while staying true to the series’ roots and feeling modern at the same time.

Square instead thinks it was a good idea to make everyone mash the X button and watch the screen fill with particle effects while Clive does somersaults. I tapped out on FF after FFXV and FF7R.
 

Mozzarella

Member
Thats because SquareEnix are so awful at marketing.

A game like Final Fantasy XVI could make a lot of money if they:
-Released it day 1 on PC, fully optimized and polished
-Did proper marketing with build up prior to its release, showing gameplay, releasing trailers and creating hype

You can't just stealth release a game 1 day later with no actual hype or build up and expect people to care, if im not wrong they also chose a date where another big game was released.

I hope Square takes a long, hard look at BG3. Universally loved GOTY that made a shitload of money, while staying true to the series’ roots and feeling modern at the same time.

Square instead thinks it was a good idea to make everyone mash the X button and watch the screen fill with particle effects while Clive does somersaults. I tapped out on FF after FFXV and FF7R.
Do you think that if Final Fantasy goes back to turn-based it will magically be more successful and make more money?
I honestly doubt it, i think their problem isn't being turnbased or action, its about proper marketing first and actual quality second.
If a game of Rebirth caliber were to release Day 1 on Steam, with proper marketing i'm nearly 100% sure it will have great numbers, they have all ingredients for success.

-Open World
-Action based so its more flashy
-Iconic cast of characters and has a legacy name behind it
-High quality all over the place
-Visually looks great

All they need to do is market it well and have it optimized for PC, then easy money printing.
 
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Budget? DD2 probably cost half of FF XVI to produce.

Well sounds like that's what they need to tackle is their budgeting. Shouldn't budget so much for a franchise that isn't selling well enough. They keep saying this for all their games. Tomb Raider was getting the same response from them.
 

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Well sounds like that's what they need to tackle is their budgeting. Shouldn't budget so much for a franchise that isn't selling well enough. They keep saying this for all their games. Tomb Raider was getting the same response from them.
I always use their metric of TR2013 selling under expectations and if any of their games can't sell 6 million in one month then it's a failure. So everything they put out are objectively failures by their own definitions.
 

Mayar

Member
It's very simple, if the game is good and was able to interest the consumer, they will buy it. If not, they don't buy it and it would be understandable if it showed bad results only on PC, but no, it also showed bad results on PS5, where sales of the series have always been very strong. It's just that Square Enix has abruptly changed course in recent years from, let's say, supporting its fan base, to reaching a larger audience and the American market. As a result, old fans of the series were left behind, and they were unable to attract new ones, and as a result, we have games that are hanging in vacuum. And yes, at the same time, they also spent a huge budget on all their games, which is why they are now in such pain and why they are now so eager.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I hope Square takes a long, hard look at BG3. Universally loved GOTY that made a shitload of money, while staying true to the series’ roots and feeling modern at the same time.

Square instead thinks it was a good idea to make everyone mash the X button and watch the screen fill with particle effects while Clive does somersaults. I tapped out on FF after FFXV and FF7R.
But XV is the best one.
It's such a weird and fantastic game.
I only played Remake, XV, 16, Rebirth and XV is my fav out of these and it's soundtrack is downright dangerous to play in a car lol
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife

Fbh

Member
Spider-man remastered sold 1.5 millions copies in a month on steam/epic even though it had been out for an eternity on console
It has nothing to do with release it day one on all platforms. The game was just average

I agree the game is average but Spider Man is also a bigger IP, and a bigger game that has sold multiple times more than any FF even on console.
Day 1 is important. Gamers have massive FOMO and Day 1 is the moment when hype and excitement is at the highest. There is a reason most games tend to make the most money and sell the most units during their launch window.
If everyone was just making rational purchasing decisions unaffected by hyped and FOMO we'd all just be waiting 6 months to buy a better version of the game after several patches and 40% off on some sale.

If you are releasing a game on another platform a year later the hype is no longer the same, opinions online will be more divided (this was specially true for FFXVI) and you'll be competing with newer releases that still have the hype and excitement and cost almost the same (like Space Marine 2 came out a week before and was just $10 more expensive).
 

Jinxed

Member
I agree the game is average but Spider Man is also a bigger IP, and a bigger game that has sold multiple times more than any FF even on console.
Day 1 is important. Gamers have massive FOMO and Day 1 is the moment when hype and excitement is at the highest. There is a reason most games tend to make the most money and sell the most units during their launch window.
If everyone was just making rational purchasing decisions unaffected by hyped and FOMO we'd all just be waiting 6 months to buy a better version of the game after several patches and 40% off on some sale.

If you are releasing a game on another platform a year later the hype is no longer the same, opinions online will be more divided (this was specially true for FFXVI) and you'll be competing with newer releases that still have the hype and excitement and cost almost the same (like Space Marine 2 came out a week before and was just $10 more expensive).
Horizon sold almost 4 million copies on PC after being released 3 years later. Good games sells.

FFXVI underperformed on ps5, it wasnt a very good game nor rpg.
It will not sell well on any other platforms, that's just it.
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
And that proves that quality of the game has nothing to do with it's sales lol.
Not saying that Manor Lords is bad but it's straight up mid quality jank.
Haven't played the game, so I can't comment on it's quality.

All I was saying is that games released exclusively on PC can sell a ton.
 

Elios83

Member
It's more than this. How is DD2 selling 2.5, in 11 days across multiplatforms a massive success for Capcom but FF16 doing 3 million in a week on one platform under expectations.

Different budgets lead to different expectations. Dragon's Dogma 2 wasn't really a a huge success either. And that probably played a part in the director/producer leaving Capcom.

Square Enix is simply out of touch with reality.
Final Fantasy is not a 10m seller IP like they would like it to be.
And it's their fault it isn't one with all the mediocrity they released for a decade that damaged the brand.
They're now finding out they're left with their 2.5-5m longtime fanbase and the rest of the market, especially younger generations, don't care about the IP.
They took ten years to deliver the game with no compromises, not half assed that the fanbase wanted with FF7 Rebirth.
They're also creating an identity problem with the constant deep, almost genre swapping changes to the formula they make to try to follow trends (FF16 was born with the mission to ride the success of Game of Thrones...) in the end they constantly lose groups of fans while hardly gaining others and the net effect is no growth.

Their solution to these issues with multiplatform is just a band-aid.
They need to step up the quality of their products but quite frankly I fear the opposite might happen, lower sales will lead to big budgets not being justified and even more cut corners.
 

Wolzard

Member
PC sales for Sony games aren't that impactful.

Considering the cost of the port, I would say they were impactful. From the Insomniac leak, we have some costs:

PC Ports budgets (as of Feb 2023):

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart PC Port: $2.5 million
Spider-Man Remastered PC Port: $2.3 million
Spider-Man Miles Morales PC Port: $1.5 million
Spider-Man 2 PC Port: $4.6 million
Wolverine PC Port: $4.0 million
Spider-Man 3 PC Port: $7.0 million

Considering that Nixxes must be the one that spends the most budget, as its ports are more elaborate, the cost of other games may be lower.

God of War Ragnarok was ported by just 4 people at Jetpak Interactive.
 

Darsxx82

Member
1. The source of those figures is less credible than a chocolate coin.

2. Releasing a port of a game more than a year later has consequences on sales compared to releasing it day one ALWAYS.

To that you add that it is a game with a pretty bad word of mouth, with a frankly poorly optimized port and released without marketing and during the release of other more interesting and newer games.... The die was cast.


Launching a game on day one allows you to capitalize on the initial hype and circumvent the risk of negative word-of-mouth.. In the case of FF you have the handicap that fans of the franchise have already decided to play on PS5 (or even buy this one) by having the exclusive. If it had been on more platforms day one, perhaps sales would have been distributed a little differently.

In the end, it remains that SE has realized that in the decision to make PS5 FF exclusive only Sony has benefited and hence the decision to change strategy. Maybe this change doesn't change things much either, but the normal thing when something doesn't work is to try other things and more when you see that rest of the publishers (SEGA, Capcom, KONAMI, BANDAI-NAMCO etc) have done really well.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Excuses

Sea of thieves released years later on PlayStation and did big numbers

Sea of Thieves is a much bigger game, though. And Xbox actually bothered to market it
Not a fair comparison.

These late ports that miss out on the launch marketing spree...not really the best for games at all.
 
First of all port is a garbage, second is that $70 price tag and third region lock

All 3 disaster recipe in one game and still sold over 250K is good result to me.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Square Enix is delusional if they think that multiplatform alone can replace quality, hard work on building the IP over the years, reaching out to new generations of players, understand what they want to be.

You realize that going multiplatform is a good way for publishers to try to reach out to new generations of players, and additional player base?

Not the only way, of course. Famous examples include the God of War reboot that brought in a whole new fanbase for Kratos. But not everyone can pull that off.

Square should be copying what Capcom does.
 

Killjoy-NL

Gold Member
Considering the cost of the port, I would say they were impactful. From the Insomniac leak, we have some costs:

PC Ports budgets (as of Feb 2023):

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart PC Port: $2.5 million
Spider-Man Remastered PC Port: $2.3 million
Spider-Man Miles Morales PC Port: $1.5 million
Spider-Man 2 PC Port: $4.6 million
Wolverine PC Port: $4.0 million
Spider-Man 3 PC Port: $7.0 million

Considering that Nixxes must be the one that spends the most budget, as its ports are more elaborate, the cost of other games may be lower.

God of War Ragnarok was ported by just 4 people at Jetpak Interactive.
They are profitable, yes. It's easy money.

In that light, I agree it's impactful.

For growing the business though, it isn't. Numbers aren't that big.

And it seems overall PC game sales are dropping, afaik.
 
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