author: Zuzanna Domeradzka
Final Fantasy XVI Sales Disappointed Square Enix? Company Debunks Rumors
How did the latest game from Square Enix, Final Fantasy XVI, sell, and is the company satisfied with the results? The publisher has debunked rumors that also this title has disappointed, like many others in its output.
Final Fantasy XVI debuted on the PlayStation 5 console less than a month ago. Not long ago Square Enix reported that the game sold 3 million copies in its first week of release. But did such a result satisfy the publisher?
What does Square Enix think?
In a statement to IGN Square Enix addressed the financial results of Final Fantasy XVI. The company is pleased with the game's initial sales, given the 38 million PS5 consoles sold (as of March this year).
"Square Enix believes that the initial sales results of Final Fantasy XVI are extremely good, and will continue to implement a wide range of initiatives to encourage even more people to play the game."
The above statement may come as a surprise, as in recent times it has become somewhat of a norm that Square Enix is not satisfied with the financial results of its games.. Let's take Forspoken as an example, which at launch faced many technical problems, and was criticized by players for things like storyline. Unsatisfactory revenues were also reported by Marvel's Avengers, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Outriders.
Response to recent rumors
Square Enix's satisfaction with the results of the latest Final Fantasy can be taken as a dismissal of recent rumors. Bloomberg website reported some time ago that sales of Final Fantasy XVI in Japan had already dropped dramatically (by some 90 percent) in the second week after its release. IGN's sources confirmed this information, but stressed that this does not reflect badly on the reception of the game. As Louise Wooldridge, research manager at Ampere Analysis, said:
"It's not surprising that the game didn't sell very well in Japan, given the new direction it's taken.. FF16 has a more serious, darker theme than previous installments of the series [...]. FF16 seems much more aimed at a Western audience - it lacks the traditional jRPG style."
Even so one might have suspected that the publisher was not amused by the game's sales due to the higher financial results of previous installments. The company, within three days of the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake moved and sold 3.5 million copies of the game digitally. Released in 2016, part fifteen moved 5 million copies in a similar time. This was also referenced by Wooldridge:
"Final Fantasy XVI was launched under completely different conditions than previous installments in the series, such as FF7R and FF15, so comparisons are problematic. For example, FF16 is a game available exclusively on the PS5 and appeared earlier in the PS5 life cycle than FF7R in PS4's lifecycle. Since there are less than 40 million PS5 owners worldwide, sales of three million are certainly not a poor result."
Recall that Final Fantasy XVI debuted on PS5 on June 22 and received very good ratings from the critics. The game is expected to come out at a later date for PCs as well, which will probably attract even more players.
