Looks like FF Type-0 has completely flopped in Japan.

[BrokenHeart]

Now that's a troubling sign for Final Fantasy XV.

Though FF Type-0 HD came with a 4 hour playable demo for the next mainline FF, it has failed to finish its initial shipment of 150K in two weeks of sale. That initial shipment is very low for a FF game, especially one that's the debut of single-player FF on a new PlayStation hardware and comes with a 4 hour playable demo of the next mainline FF. As it stands Type-0 is at 105K after two weeks. Places like Amazon.co.jp are already selling it at 50% off the RRP.

The way I see it, FFXV will most definitely not sell over 2 million in Japan. Also, anybody that thinks it will sell more than FFXIII is delusional. There's also nothing the eventual 40/40 from Famitsu can do to boost its sales, as the 40/40 for FFXIII-2 already proved. This IP is in decline in that country and Monster Hunter has taken its spot.

Personally, I see FFXV selling 900K first week in Japan and having lifetime sales of 1.2 million. My second guess is it opening at 1.2 million first week and having lifetime of 1.5 million. Even with the later guess, to put it in perspective, FFXIII sold 1.5 million in its debut week and had a lifetime of 1.9 million. The last FF to break 2 million lifetime was FFXII in 2006. On the other hand, almost every Monster Hunter game released in Japan since 2007 has sold over 2 million lifetime, some even breaking 4 million.

It will be interesting to see if Hiroyuki Ito can reverse Japan's plummeting sales for mainline FF with Final Fantasy XVI. The PS4 install base should be really big by the time it releases. Only time will tell. Regardless, the future of mainline FF sales in Japan does not look promising by any means.

 

[Sora96]

The game already sold like close to a million copies 3.5 years ago in Japan. Not to mention these numbers don't include digital and the PS4 isn't that big in Japan.

 

[coffee-san]

There's a variety of factors that play into this.
The biggest one being that Console Gaming Market in Japan is a dying force.
Console Gaming in JP loses big time to Mobile Gaming (because no one is ever really home to play games.), which leads to PS4 not taking off there like people assumed it would, and the "poor" sales that next-gen console games in general, not just FF, are getting.

Tabata said before that FFXV is kinda their way of seeing what they'll do in the future, depending on how it sells in Japan, will determine whether or not they [SE], pursue more ventures in Mobage rather than consoles.

 

[yeah_93]

Well, you have to take into account that this game had already been released 4 years ago, and this is merely a remake.

Also, why would you think Ito has what it takes to make a game sell more copies? The way I see it, the director's name matters little if the IP is on decline. People don't really care who is directing the game.

 

[Fin]

Aside from install base being a lot smaller, people don't want to buy something they probably already played a few years ago. Improved graphics aren't much of a draw. And it's a lot of money to pay just to play a demo.

All things considered the number doesn't look that bad, but I don't know what Squarenix was expecting with that shipment size. Only really hardcore fans are going to be interested in the XV demo. As for XV predictions based on these sales I dunno, but I think a lot of hype died out say, 5 or so years ago. It's going to be an uphill battle to get the general audience interested again no matter how good the game ends up being. A large portion of the target audience for Versus XIII are now grown up and working 40+ hours a week.

 

[APZonerunner]

Whatever way you slice it, the performance of Type-0 isn't too great - even with Install Base considerations and everything and the fact it's a remaster, you wouldn't expect it to do that much worse than FFX HD (which did 340k, over double, in its first week).

It's unfortunate, but I doubt it's a huge indicator for FF15 either way - this is a spin-off after all.

 

[Misty]

Square knows that the market for console games in the East has severely contracted in favor of mobile; it's why FFXV is taking such a heavy influence from Western franchises -- because they know that, to make FFXV a success, it must do well in the West.

Type-0 HD was never going to do extremely well in Japan. It has the novelty factor in the West of being a game that was never before released here as well as the obvious included demo -- but someone who has already played Type-0 and may not even own a PS4 certainly won't shell out for a game just because it includes a four hour demo, no matter how anticipated that demo is.

FFXV and Type-0 are two totally different animals. We can't make predictions about XV based on Type-0.

 

[Flash Over]

It was still the #1 seller last week.

 

[Jenova]

This is another one of those "flamebait" threads?

 

[BrokenHeart]

Whoa! I didn't expect everybody to be so defensive for Type-0 HD's poor sales in Japan. I thought this was a community where people thought impartially and not blinded by their fandom. Guess I was wrong.

Type-0 HD performed poorly. Even if it's a port of a PSP game originally released in 2011, these sales are bad. After all, the Monster Hunter series regularly gets re-releases of recently released games, and they end up selling just as much, sometimes even more, than their original versions. Also, many of you are ignoring the fact Type-0 HD came with a 4 hour playable demo of FFXV. You'd expect poor sales like this only if the Type-0 HD came just be itself. Really, the Japanese sales are awful no matter how you try to sugar coat it and what angle you choose to look at it.

Whatever way you slice it, the performance of Type-0 isn't too great - even with Install Base considerations and everything and the fact it's a remaster, you wouldn't expect it to do that much worse than FFX HD (which did 340k, over double, in its first week).

Spot on. Also, FFX|X-2 HD didn't even come with a playable demo for FFX-3.

Also, why would you think Ito has what it takes to make a game sell more copies? The way I see it, the director's name matters little if the IP is on decline. People don't really care who is directing the game.

They seem to care a lot in Japan. Immediately after I found out Hiroyuki Ito was still at Square Enix via him working on Deadman's Cross, I did some research. In Japan forums, there are people who no longer buy FF games and often mock the current state of the series. These people say that they will only buy another FF if either Hiroyuki Ito is the director or Hironobu Sakaguchi comes back to oversee game development. These are people that have completely lost interest in modern FF, yet the appeal of an Ito directed game seems to be enough to bring the back.

 

[Lucina]

I like how people sometimes throw numbers around sounding smart. I just have one question, did Type-0 HD break-even?

 

[BladeRunner]

Whoa! I didn't expect everybody to be so defensive for Type-0 HD's poor sales in Japan. I thought this was a community where people thought impartially and not blinded by their fandom. Guess I was wrong.

Those filthy blind fanboys! How dare they disagree with you!
Wait... No one in this thread has even disagreed about Type-0 HD selling poorly. They just named a few factors affecting this issue that should be taken into consideration before we assume it's a major indicator of FFXV sales.

They seem to care a lot in Japan. Immediately after I found out Hiroyuki Ito was still at Square Enix via him working on Deadman's Cross, I did some research. In Japan forums, there are people who no longer buy FF games and often mock the current state of the series. These people say that they will only buy another FF if either Hiroyuki Ito is the director or Hironobu Sakaguchi comes back to oversee game development. These are people that have completely lost interest in modern FF, yet the appeal of an Ito directed game seems to be enough to bring the back.

Oh, yes! Ito's small but dedicated fanbase is definitely going to make a huge impact on FF sales. Let's just completely ignore that most of FF's audience aren't hardcore fans and they not only don't care who directs these games but also don't even know who Hiroyuki Ito is. That's not delusional at all.

 

[Cadet]

On Twitter, many Japanese users have expressed interest in buying a PS4 only when either XV or KH3 come out. Not many are interested in Type-0 because, as people here have said, the core FF fans would have played the game on PSP already 3 years ago.

Not to mention the average Japanese person is a bit more patient than your average folk. lol With the exception of a few who have been dying to play the demo, most are probably willing to wait another year or so for the full game.

 

[BrokenHeart]

Those filthy blind fanboys! How dare they disagree with you!
Wait... No one in this thread has even disagreed about Type-0 HD selling poorly. They just named a few factors affecting this issue that should be taken into consideration before we assume it's a major indicator of FFXV sales.

Oh, yes! Ito's small but dedicated fanbase is definitely going to make a huge impact on FF sales. Let's just completely ignore that most of FF's audience aren't hardcore fans and they not only don't care who directs these games but also don't even know who Hiroyuki Ito is. That's not delusional at all.

Ease up with the hostility there, friend. I don't want no drama.

I'm sorry, but let's be real here, no matter what excuse you make, you can't deny that these sales are low for a game that includes a 4 hour demo of the next mainline FF. Yes, there are various factors, but none great enough to demean that point. I just did some research and found that Advent Children Complete with the FFXIII demo sold 275K first week. Compare that to Type-0 HD selling 95K (PS4/XB1 combined) first week and you can see there is a massive drop. Also, it's worth noting that the price difference between the two was only around $7. Also, the Blu-ray install base in Japan in April 2009 was way less than the PS4 install base when Type-0 HD released. Honestly, these are all hard facts that prove that the Type-0 HD sales are a troubling sign for FFXV in Japan.

As for Ito, most FF fans in Japan seem to know the different directors at Square Enix. I think this is because unlike other video game series, each mainline FF is very different from the last. The only way one can gain an inkling of what to expect from a new mainline FF is by knowing who's directing it. As for the West, I don't think most FF fans are as informed about FF staff. In my case, I'd given up on FF after playing FFXIII, but finding out Hiroyuki Ito is still at Square Enix (I only found this out a few weeks ago) has made me optimistic for FFXVI, provided he's the one directing it. There's other people worldwide that are share this mindset, which means that more and more people are beginning to pay attention to the actual directors and teams, not just the FF brand.

 

[Fin]

Like it or not, the FF brand isn't as relevant to pop culture as it was when AC came out on Blu-Ray. FFXIII was quite a while ago. XIV only attracts a specific crowd.

FF games come out pretty regularly these days, but they are mostly spinoffs or remasters (FFXHD did okay sales-wise).

XV's potential sales number isn't very predictable. They lost a chunk of their original target audience just because of the passage of time during development. The FF series is not very fresh in the minds of young people any more and it's going to take effort to get them to pay attention. But there could also just be a ton of people quietly waiting. I don't personally know anyone here in Japan who is getting XV; Persona seems more popular by anecdote.

 

[BrokenHeart]

Like it or not, the FF brand isn't as relevant to pop culture as it was when AC came out on Blu-Ray. FFXIII was quite a while ago. XIV only attracts a specific crowd.

FF games come out pretty regularly these days, but they are mostly spinoffs or remasters (FFXHD did okay sales-wise).

XV's potential sales number isn't very predictable. They lost a chunk of their original target audience just because of the passage of time during development. The FF series is not very fresh in the minds of young people any more and it's going to take effort to get them to pay attention. But there could also just be a ton of people quietly waiting. I don't personally know anyone here in Japan who is getting XV; Persona seems more popular by anecdote.

So you're based in Japan? From what I'm aware, Monster Hunter has totally eclipsed Final Fantasy in mainstream popularity over there to become to third most popular RPG series behind Dragon Quest and Pokemon. As if that wasn't bad, there's now a new IP from Level-5 that is also becoming really popular and selling more than FF games. Provided that Persona 5 is really good and Atlus begin to get mainline Persona games out every 1-2 years, I can see that IP also surpassing FF in Japan. Really, IMO, the only shot FF has of recapturing Japan is getting Hironobu Sakaguchi back and making a huge publicity campaign about him returning to oversee FF.

 

[BladeRunner]

Ease up with the hostility there, friend. I don't want no drama.

Captain Hindsight: If you didn't want hostility, you shouldn't have called people blinded fanboys.

And again, no one is denying Type-0 HD's poor sales and FF's declining popularity in Japan. But as said above FFXV's sales can't be predicted this easily. To be fair, predicting how well something will sell is generally quite a complex issue.

Oh, and btw I wish people would cite their sources whenever bringing up any numbers. Now, I'm not accusing anyone of lying, but sources make information more verifiable. Sources are good.

 

[APZonerunner]

Those filthy blind fanboys! How dare they disagree with you!
Wait... No one in this thread has even disagreed about Type-0 HD selling poorly. They just named a few factors affecting this issue that should be taken into consideration before we assume it's a major indicator of FFXV sales.

Oh, yes! Ito's small but dedicated fanbase is definitely going to make a huge impact on FF sales. Let's just completely ignore that most of FF's audience aren't hardcore fans and they not only don't care who directs these games but also don't even know who Hiroyuki Ito is. That's not delusional at all.

To be fair, RE Ito, people don't care who is behind the game, they just care about the quality of the game itself. It's like, nobody's screaming out that Miyamoto isn't working on Mario or Zelda so much any more because he's found and put in place people who work well in his stead.

A lot of those people who know the behind the scenes are calling for Ito because they feel he can deliver something missing from the experience. That's fair enough. That's not insanity; even Sakaguchi himself is part of that club.

 

[hui43210]

I reiterate, 1truth2lies, you are insane.

 

[BrokenHeart]

To be fair, RE Ito, people don't care who is behind the game, they just care about the quality of the game itself. It's like, nobody's screaming out that Miyamoto isn't working on Mario or Zelda so much any more because he's found and put in place people who work well in his stead.

A lot of those people who know the behind the scenes are calling for Ito because they feel he can deliver something missing from the experience. That's fair enough. That's not insanity; even Sakaguchi himself is part of that club.

Yes, this is what I feel is at play here. Had the FF series still been universally acclaimed and scoring 90+ on Metacritic, nobody would be asking for Hiroyuki Ito to direct again or for the return of Hironobu Sakaguchi. It's wholly linked to the decline in quality of FF games in general. I can guarantee that if FFXIII been the second coming of FFVII, almost nobody would be asking for Ito as director again.