Sq. Enix has revealed that it’s not in any respect involved in regards to the gross sales of Remaining fantasy 16 till now. The sport, launched solely on PS5 on June 22, shipped and offered digitally for a complete of three million items in its first week.
That determine is decrease than latest releases within the sequence, and whereas Sq. Enix has by no means formally revealed gross sales targets for the sport, it stays decrease than one would count on from the sale of the following main entry within the legendary Remaining Fantasy sequence.
However, in line with Sq. Enix, gross sales of the sport are “extraordinarily sturdy”. The writer’s argument is that the PS5’s put in base is smaller, in comparison with that of PS4 when Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake – which offered 3.5 million copies in three days – was launched solely on the platform.
“With 38 million PS5 consoles shipped worldwide (as of March 31, 2023), gross sales of Remaining Fantasy 16 surpassed three million items worldwide a number of days after its launch on June 22, 2023,” Sq. Enix advised IGN.
“Bearing in mind the gross sales figures of the acclaimed Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake and the distinction in dimension of the PlayStation 4 put in base on the time of this title’s launch, we will see that the assault charge of Remaining Fantasy 16 is significantly excessive, given the PS5 put in base.”
The corporate added that whereas it’s happy with the sport’s efficiency to this point, it “will proceed to pursue a variety of initiatives to encourage much more folks to play.”
Placing apart the variations between a remake and a brand new mainline entry, Remaining Fantasy 16’s gross sales additionally lag behind Remaining Fantasy 15. That recreation was launched in 2016 and managed to promote over 5 million items at launch, making it the fastest-selling Remaining Fantasy ever (a document that has but to be damaged).
In fact, the primary distinction right here is that Remaining Fantasy 15 launched on PS4 and Xbox One on the similar time. The sport would go on to hit over 6 million in gross sales simply a few months later, effectively earlier than it even hit PC.
Whereas Sq. Enix’s argument about Remaining Fantasy 16’s assault charge in comparison with earlier titles has advantage, the scenario is not a lot totally different than when Remaining Fantasy 15 got here out. That recreation got here out in November 2016, three years after the PS4 and Xbox One started life.
Remaining Fantasy 16 launched in June 2023, two and a half years into the lifetime of the PS5. Proper now, there are over 38 million PS5 consoles in circulation. Across the launch of Remaining Fantasy 15, over 50 million PS4s existed, together with over 30 million Xbox One consoles.
Whereas Remaining Fantasy 16 will little question proceed to promote extra within the months and years to return (because the PS5 set up base grows and the sport’s value drops), Sq. Enix’s is fake. The corporate ignores the existence of the Xbox Sequence X and S consoles, in addition to the PC. Maybe, if the sport had been launched on extra platforms than simply the PlayStation 5, its first week gross sales would have matched and even exceeded Remaining Fantasy 15.
Even outdoors of comparisons to earlier Remaining Fantasy video games, all three of those figures are fairly sparse when seen alongside blockbusters like Elden Ring, God of Battle Ragnarok, and so many fashionable titles with present roots.
If something, the gross sales of every new mainline Remaining Fantasy recreation ought to develop the fan base; simply collide with the most important releases of the 12 months. This could have been even simpler to attain for Remaining Fantasy 16, contemplating it was designed as a real motion recreation, impressed by God of Battle and Sport of Thrones, all of which place it effectively to be many gamers’ first foray into the sequence.
Sadly, the longer Sq. Enix continues to fake the PlayStation is the one console in existence, any viewers keen to immerse themselves within the sequence should look elsewhere if they do not personal a PlayStation. Hopefully, eventually, Sq. Enix realizes that it wants to fulfill gamers the place they’re.
