Final Fantasy XIII Suffers Huge Second Week Drop

[moogling]

Like most Final Fantasy games in Japan, Final Fantasy XIII is subject to a huge sales drop off for it's second week sales. According to Media Create, Final Fantasy XIII has sold 189,000 in it's second week, which is only 12.6% compared to it's previous week sales of over 1.5 million.

For comparison, both FFX and FFXII had second week sales of about 13.3%. That difference may not sound very significant, but considering that both FFX and FFXII had larger first week sales than FFXIII, combine that with FFXIII's second week sales being lower than both of those games, the chance of it selling 3 million copies in Japan is looking slim, unless it continues to sell in excess of 100,000 copies for the next few weeks then it might be possible. But alas, if history repeats it's self, then the third week sales will be roughly 1 third of the game's second week sales.

Final Fantasy XIII currently sits at 1,690,000 copies sold in Japan.

Source: FF-XIII

 

[Fusionist]

When they said 3 million, did they mean 3 million in general, or in a specific amount of time?

Well, I don't know much about marketing, but selling more than half the estimated amount of the games in Japan in only the first week is pretty impressive. I think it would make sense the the FF fans get the game first and then it might ease off to just general PS3 owners curious about the game and such.

 

[Rezonate]

Despite the popularity of the Final Fantasy series, XIII has been getting mixed review scores. Even so, you would think the game would still sell extremely well. Honestly I've had a feeling in the back of my mind that Final Fantasy XIII wasn't going to be as good as we all hoped.

But I will just have to wait till March to see.

 

[saajuk]

Cause the game consoles are really expensive now compared to those previous final fantasy releases. Thats why I think sells were not better, damn expensive hardware.

 

[mattbgamer]

Cause the game consoles are really expensive now compared to those previous final fantasy releases. Thats why I think sells were not better, damn expensive hardware.

I think that is only a partial reason. I think it is also like Rezonate said that there is a lot of mixed reviews out there. In the first week it was out you had all the hard core FF fans buying the game no matter if it was "bad" or not. But as you go along you get the FF fans who read reviews and judge if they want to buy it or not. At least that is what I think.

 

[DeadFantasy]

Originally Posted by Coldbid
Cause the game consoles are really expensive now compared to those previous final fantasy releases. Thats why I think sells were not better, damn expensive hardware


^^That could be, but I mean as long as your making some cash to stash I mean they should be OK right? maybe it could also be because the reviews if, the reviews were bad (I know not all were) but, you'll be surprised how many people listen to that. I know I don't. It could also be due to the game itself and the expense it has? I have no clue how the marketing works in Japan. Maybe it could be because its hard to get at?? Well either way, I want that game

 

[Linnaete]

This really isn't really much of a big deal. There are several factors that help explain why the sales aren't as unprecedentedly high as the other games.

I still believe that the PS3's significantly lower install base has played a part. Japan does not have the same success story of HD console gaming as it has in the west. It is apparent that handheld gaming is more popular.

You can also argue that with the economy being in a recession, fewer people are prepared to invest on a PS3 to play the game. FFXIII in Japan does have quite a high price tag as well.

I will be annoyed if some negative reviews have played a part. Most of these "reviews" I have seen simply slag off FFXIII for very small reasons despite having not played that much of the game. It's time people just stop being hypodermically influenced and believing every bit of information.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

I don't like this whole comparing sales to FFX and FFXII business. You've got to look at that wasn't FFX released close to the launch of the PS2 so the sales would have been massive especially since the PS2 has never been all that expensive. FFXII is the opposite but with equal effect, there's what 138,000,000 PS2s sold. No wonder FFXII had huge sales.

They have to be realistic in the fact that the PS3 is still fairly expensive (though nowhere near what it was) and has only sold around 4 million in Japan. So that's over a third of all PS3 owners that own FFXIII. Not bad going imo.

 

[Solid Link]

I'm sure when it's all said and done it will pick up and the sales will be up. But as I mentiond in previous posts, I believe it's Square-Enix's fault for focusing too much on Graphics and Story, rather than Gameplay. Now Story is a great thing, but when they draw on the cutscenes too long to make it seem like a movie, then you just have yourself another Metal Gear Solid 4 (Which was not a bad game at all.) But I think the tremendously long cutscenes and graphics are what do it in. If Square just focused on The Battle System and the Story like they used to, than this wouldn't be happening.

But it is Square, and this little fallout means nothing. They will pull ahead soon, especially when the game is released in the U.S.

 

[Stoic Hero]

The narrative, in my opinion, is much more important than the presentation or gameplay. Final Fantasy is narrative, first and foremost. Then, gameplay needs to be unique and different from other games in the series, while still retaining a decent to good amount of interactivity. Finally, presentation should then be focused on at the end. They did XIII a little differently. By focusing on the presentation before the narrative and the gameplay, the game may suffer in the eyes of many longtime fans. I don't hate them for their choice, and the game does look extremely beautiful, but it's such a departure from, say, Final Fantasy VI and VII, which focused less on graphics and more on perfecting gameplay and story. Both games were HUGE successes. I don't claim to know anything about the game, though, since I haven't played it. Once I do get a copy and play it, I'll be able to form more of an opinion and confirm or deny my observations.

If XIII is as I think it is, then I don't think it will do very well. I will still purchase a copy, but it's a departure from what has made Final Fantasy popular. Only time will tell, I honestly can't wait for the game.

 

[Mitsuki]

I don't like this whole comparing sales to FFX and FFXII business. You've got to look at that wasn't FFX released close to the launch of the PS2 so the sales would have been massive especially since the PS2 has never been all that expensive. FFXII is the opposite but with equal effect, there's what 138,000,000 PS2s sold. No wonder FFXII had huge sales.

They have to be realistic in the fact that the PS3 is still fairly expensive (though nowhere near what it was) and has only sold around 4 million in Japan. So that's over a third of all PS3 owners that own FFXIII. Not bad going imo.

This.

That was my initial thought as well, although of course that's not the only factor to the dent in sales. But I am figuring that it has a lot to do with that and probably very little about the 'bad reviews' that people read for all we know. I mean we have many hardcore FF fans out there...you would think that those fans would still buy the game since it's a Final Fantasy title afterall. I'm not too fussed about the information, really...I wouldn't even consider that as a negative thing about the game.