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Famitsu Sales: 12/6/21 – 12/12/21

FF7R in Japan: 703k first week, 839k first 3 weeks
PS5 sold in japan: ~1.2m

so yeah, its going to be:
- have a stupid attachment rate,
- only sell a fraction of ff7r
- get released on ps4 as well

but i do need to check the ww:jp ratio of SE games
So sales fell off of a cliff after week one?
 
It looks like FF16 is still exclusive to PS5, or it was when it was announced. But a lot has changed since then. I think we see FF16 on PS4 and if so we definitely see FF7R2 on PS4. No need to lock it down to PS5 with so few units sold.
By the time FFXVI is released later in 2022 probably around 30M PS5 are out there. It's hitting like 23M until March 2022 alone...
That's already a decent amount. If the game is also on PS4 then they already planned it since day one. Its not like they developed the PS5 version and then thought about releasing to a much weaker hardware.
 

Woopah

Member
Was that Intergrade? If so, that was just the PS5 version of the game. There weren't many differences.

But a mainline FF game that SE wants to sell 5M+ copies of, I would expect them to put it on the PS4 because otherwise they won't get there with just the PS5.And if they're using the same engine there is really no reason why it wouldn't be on the PS4.
with PS5 install base so small, that's highly unlikely
That shouldn't be a problem, at least not worldwide. PS5 versions outsell the PS4 versions most of the time anyway. Japan is a different story of course.
I highly doubt FF7R2 will be on PS4 if FFXVI and Forpsoken are not. It is true that most SE games will be on PS4 for the next few years, but the ones with Sony's financial backing won't be. Sony will be paying SE to keep those game as PS5 only.
It's 2021, not 2007.

PCs are not popular in Japan. Sure, they are becoming more popular... from an almost non-existent base. Xbox is still a no-name; there's just no existence of it in the Japanese zeitgeist. And while cash is still more popular than elsewhere, especially since the pandemic, cashless payments have exploded. Credit cards are much more common (there adverts and people trying to sign you up for them all over the place) and debit cards are much more common now (with several web only banks all offering them as default (including Sony)).

Japanese gamers have moved onto mobile games. The Switch is mobile, so scratches that itch. It's also cheap (as are smartphone games in a roundabout way as people already have smartphones for other reasons).
The Switch is not a mobile phone. Its software and offering are completely different and its success has basically nothing to do with mobile phones. Smartphones do helps Nintendo in that they push forward mobile technology, but their existence does not make people buy a Switch. The value proposition for Switch, as with any other video game hardware, is the software lineup. That is just as true in Japan as in any other region.
Didnt know that was common, how is that sustainable from a business standpoint? I would have figured by now that RPGs would be wildly popular. Its almost as if the hype around this IP is overblown.
With JRPGs you make back the money on investment in the first few weeks since initial sales are strong. The only JRPG franchises with legs in recent years are Pokemon and Dragon Quest XI S.
 

Lognor

Banned
I highly doubt FF7R2 will be on PS4 if FFXVI and Forpsoken are not. It is true that most SE games will be on PS4 for the next few years, but the ones with Sony's financial backing won't be. Sony will be paying SE to keep those game as PS5 only.

The Switch is not a mobile phone. Its software and offering are completely different and its success has basically nothing to do with mobile phones. Smartphones do helps Nintendo in that they push forward mobile technology, but their existence does not make people buy a Switch. The value proposition for Switch, as with any other video game hardware, is the software lineup. That is just as true in Japan as in any other region.

With JRPGs you make back the money on investment in the first few weeks since initial sales are strong. The only JRPG franchises with legs in recent years are Pokemon and Dragon Quest XI S.
That's a good point. If Sony is funding those games then yeah, they may be PS5 only. But I would guess there is some stipulations in that contract about install base and if the install base is not where it needs to be as we approach the release dates of those games, SE may have an out to release it on the PS4 as well. I mean, look at Sony themselves. They've done a complete 180 and are releasing most of their games on the PS4. There comes a point where with these big budget games that decision needs to be made. FFXI right now is PS5 only. We'll see if that changes. And Forspoken is not a big budget AAA game. It looks janky as hell and more in line with a AA game. So I'm not surprised that is PS5 only.
 

Woopah

Member
That's a good point. If Sony is funding those games then yeah, they may be PS5 only. But I would guess there is some stipulations in that contract about install base and if the install base is not where it needs to be as we approach the release dates of those games, SE may have an out to release it on the PS4 as well. I mean, look at Sony themselves. They've done a complete 180 and are releasing most of their games on the PS4. There comes a point where with these big budget games that decision needs to be made. FFXI right now is PS5 only. We'll see if that changes. And Forspoken is not a big budget AAA game. It looks janky as hell and more in line with a AA game. So I'm not surprised that is PS5 only.
There's certainly some jank to Forspoken but from what we've heard SE sees it as a very high profile project. I think we see FFXVI in 20223 and FFVII R2 in 2024/25 so the PS5 userbase will be bigger by then.
 

Lognor

Banned
By the time FFXVI is released later in 2022 probably around 30M PS5 are out there. It's hitting like 23M until March 2022 alone...
That's already a decent amount. If the game is also on PS4 then they already planned it since day one. Its not like they developed the PS5 version and then thought about releasing to a much weaker hardware.
I dunno. Didn't Sony do a complete 180 and make all these PS5 exclusives titles also available on PS4? Or were they lying out of the gate? Which is it?
 

Lognor

Banned
There's certainly some jank to Forspoken but from what we've heard SE sees it as a very high profile project. I think we see FFXVI in 20223 and FFVII R2 in 2024/25 so the PS5 userbase will be bigger by then.
Well it's a high profile title because it is THE only bigger SE game releasing any time soon. SE and Sony are throwing a lot of marketing behind it, sure. But it certainly does not have anywhere near the development costs of FFXVI or FF7R. For SE I'd say it's much more of a AA game.
 

Tams

Gold Member
The Switch is not a mobile phone. Its software and offering are completely different and its success has basically nothing to do with mobile phones. Smartphones do helps Nintendo in that they push forward mobile technology, but their existence does not make people buy a Switch. The value proposition for Switch, as with any other video game hardware, is the software lineup. That is just as true in Japan as in any other region.

I addressed that. The portability of the Switch absolutely helps, as does the compactness, both of which it shares more with smartphones that home consoles. And the Switch is cheap, which if you consider most people have smartphones, is in comparison to 'free'. And the younger generations only computer is increasingly only their smartphone; it's what they are used to.

Of course the selection of games helps a lot, but that's not the only reason.
 
Well it's a high profile title because it is THE only bigger SE game releasing any time soon. SE and Sony are throwing a lot of marketing behind it, sure. But it certainly does not have anywhere near the development costs of FFXVI or FF7R. For SE I'd say it's much more of a AA game.
Im about 85% sure forspoken is gonna bomb.
 

Woopah

Member
Well it's a high profile title because it is THE only bigger SE game releasing any time soon. SE and Sony are throwing a lot of marketing behind it, sure. But it certainly does not have anywhere near the development costs of FFXVI or FF7R. For SE I'd say it's much more of a AA game.
It'll have a bigger budget than 90% of games being put out by SE, its an open world RPG with plenty of voice acting, motion capture work etc etc. I think SE wants this to be their next FF/DQ/KH type IP. An AA titles would be something like Trial of Mana or Triangle Strategy.

I addressed that. The portability of the Switch absolutely helps, as does the compactness, both of which it shares more with smartphones that home consoles. And the Switch is cheap, which if you consider most people have smartphones, is in comparison to 'free'. And the younger generations only computer is increasingly only their smartphone; it's what they are used to.

Of course the selection of games helps a lot, but that's not the only reason.
The DS sold 32 million in Japan and 150 million worldwide. Smartphones neither invented nor popularised playing on the go. Switch's hybrid nature does help as it offers people flexibility, but its success in Japan or any other country is not related to smartphones.

What do you mean by "cheap is a comparison to free?" How is someone playing a free-to-play game on the phone they already own, comparable to someone spending ¥37,980 on a Switch OLED and then another ¥11,000+ on a couple of games? A Switch OLED costs more than a PS4 did for most of it its life. That's not free or cheap at all.
 
I addressed that. The portability of the Switch absolutely helps, as does the compactness, both of which it shares more with smartphones that home consoles. And the Switch is cheap, which if you consider most people have smartphones, is in comparison to 'free'. And the younger generations only computer is increasingly only their smartphone; it's what they are used to.

Of course the selection of games helps a lot, but that's not the only reason.

Switch OLED: 37,980 yen
PS5 Digital: 39,980 yen
Xbox Series S: 29,980 yen
 
Agreed! And when it does I think that gives SE all the more reason to ensure that FFXVI and FF7R2 also release on PS4.
Maybe, I honestly think SE has been over their heads recently and needs to scale back on the # of titles in development. These guys dont seem to have a handle on making games performant.
 
Mate, no Xbox has sold well in Japan, even after Microsoft spent a lot and tried very hard with the first one.

And people in Japan just aren't really aware of the Xbox brand.

Hell, globally, Xbox is very much a NA thing. A bit like how only NA has an obsession with iMessage. There's the UK as well, but nowadays even there it's no doing so hot.
The 360 sold a million units in Japan. In a market where Nintendo had struggled to sell 3 million Gamecubes the previous generation. No company would be disappointed in hitting a million units in what was then a new market.

MS had achieved POS in many stores only to blow it with the Xbox one. Getting POS in Japan is a real challenge because it involves getting a buyer to risk investing on potential sales. As far as I know Japan does not have the same system as the US where a company can offer sale or return.

This is why people in sales threads type paragraphs of concern about Sony's current problem. If software does not sell at retailers, retailers won't buy software. This in turn reduces POS in stores for PS products. When we see gaming PCs in Japanese retailers that means they are seeing big returns in PC gaming.. Joshin giving retail space to gaming PCs means the buying team see that as a growth market.
 

Orbital2060

Member
Famitsu has published its estimated physical game software and hardware sales data for Japan for the week of December 6, 2021 to December 12, 2021.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl for Switch remained the highest selling titles for the fourth consecutive week since launch, moving another 130,772 retail units. Mario Party Superstars for Switch followed at an additional 53,824 units.
On the hardware side, the Switch family sold 192,335 units, the PlayStation 5 family sold 1,470 units, the Xbox Series family sold 805 units, and the PlayStation 4 family sold 103 units. Next-generation consoles continue to face stock issues.

Think the 1470 number is wrong in the article.

Software Sales (followed by lifetime sales)

[NSW] Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl (The Pokemon Company, 11/19/21) – 130,772 (2,046,040)
[NSW] Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo, 10/29/21) – 53,824 (459,001)
[NSW] Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain (Nintendo, 12/03/21) – 33,092 (70,020)
[NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 26,256 (2,336,145)
[NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 03/20/20) – 23,786 (7,010,861)
[NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 21,819 (4,191,268)
[NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo, 12/07/18) – 20,364 (4,552,841)
[NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! (Konami, 11/19/20) – 14,709 (2,448,283)
[NSW] Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo, 10/18/19) – 13,765 (2,956,485)
[NSW] Pokemon Sword / Shield (The Pokemon Company, 11/15/19) – 12,825 (4,227,847)
Rankings 11 to 30 will be announced on December 17.

Hardware Sales (followed by lifetime sales)

Switch OLED Model – 90,076 (582,248)
Switch – 59,460 (17,634,683)
Switch Lite – 42,799 (4,327,684)
PlayStation 5 – 1,020 (998,625)
Xbox Series X – 450 (70,908)
New 2DS LL (including 2DS) – 391 (1,178,644)
Xbox Series S – 355 (53,225)
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – 113 (190,659)
PlayStation 4 – 103 (7,819,116)


- 10/10 games for NSW
- 300 gap between PS5 and Xbox Series
- PS5 now behind PS4 in terms of LTD sales (40k gap)

Graph's
PlHJ7AU.png
Another Top30 for NSW this week

https://s.famitsu.com/ranking/game-sales/

(from InstallBase)
 
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