40°

Final Fantasy Sales Expected To Decline Further

Final Fantasy Union: "Final Fantasy has been Square Enix's signature property for some time now, and perhaps at the present time, they need it to be successful more than ever. Final Fantasy XIII itself has been hugely anticipated ever since it was announced all those years ago, and Yoichi Wada has now voiced his expectations for the title. Surprisingly though, they are rather lower than most people would have probably expected as he only expects the title to shift around 6 million units worldwide.

While this may seem like a large figure in itself, it's actually quite the opposite when compared to previous Final Fantasy titles. It's even more surprising given the decision to release the game on the Xbox 360 as well, a move which was done to increase sales. Has the appeal of Final Fantasy really fallen this far?"

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finalfantasyunion.com
Selyah5749d ago

I guess it's always been a possibility. But then first FF game on every generation tends to get much more hype. FFXII seemed to slip under the radar more or less same with FFIX and FFVIII

SpoonyRedMage5749d ago (Edited 5749d ago )

I think it's just because there was a significant boom period when the PS1 hit and a lot of new gamers were introduced to these franchises, which were pushed massively by Sony.

It happened with DQ as well though VIII sold less than VII but obviously SE recognised this and putting it on the DS proved to be a brilliant decision as it's already the 14th best selling game of all time in Japan and is still going.

EDIT: It's also why I think advertising Crystal Bearers on the Wii a lot would be a good idea but I doubt they'll do it. Everyone knows that the Wii has a lot of new gamers and it's very possible that it could appeal to them. I think that's part of the aim of FF Gaiden on the DS as well.

mephman5749d ago

Well, Final Fantasy X still did exceptionally well.

They actually had a pretty big section of their booth dedicated to The Crystal Bearers at TGS, but it doesn't look like there will be much of an attempt to push it in the west.

SpoonyRedMage5749d ago

I think X might be the exception to the rule though and I think X has great publicity due to word of mouth and IX definitely didn't. IX was hated on a lot and the style put off a lot of people, which is sad because it's a great game.

Yer, from what I can tell(mostly from what SE said when they moved the date forward) there's a bit of hype for Crystal Bearers in Japan. Can't say the same for in the west though, it's even significantly underhyped compared to other Wii games.

It's still the game I'm looking forward to the most though. Hehe.

mephman5749d ago

X might be the exception, but I'd say that Final Fantasy XIII has been hyped way more than any other Final Fantasy game I can remember. For them to have such low projections, especially when looking at how well things like Halo and Gears are selling, it's just surprising.

SpoonyRedMage5749d ago

I actually don't think that XIII has been hyped that much, it's just that it's been in the making for a long time and we haven't had a main FF in three years(right?) because they only have one main FF team now.

FFIX, X, XI and XII were all made by different teams which is why they were able to be released relatively close together(although XII was delayed quite a bit). Then again we are getting Crystal Bearers, XIII and XIV quite close together...

You are right though it is a low estimate considering the numbers some mega franchises have pulled out this gen but then again may be they're the new kids on the block?

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Da One5749d ago

Like X and VII they were the first FF on their set of consoles, it's just that SE has been w***ing out the series ever since the merger, hell yeah the popularity has decreased

I still believe that XIII can surpass X(sitting at 8 million), but most likely will never surpass VII

also FFXIII is shaping up to be a master piece

mephman5749d ago

I agree, after watching the full TGS trailer, it's got me quite excited!

somekyle5749d ago

Decline, wait, that's opposite of incline. I'm Inclined to laugh! xD

ShawnCollier5749d ago

Looks like things aren't doing that well for SE.

mephman5749d ago

Well, I'd say 6 million units is still pretty decent.

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120°

Final Fantasy and SaGa series veteran Kazuyuki Shindo leaves Square Enix after 27 years

Kazuyuki Shindo, who worked on games including Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XIII, and SaGa: Emerald Beyond, has left Square Enix.

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automaton-media.com
70°

The 7 Best Final Fantasy Characters: Unveiling the Legends

While FFVII ranks highly, there's more to the series than one game. Here's Chit Hot's picks for the seven best Final Fantasy characters.

220°

The older it gets, the more I respect Final Fantasy XIII

Alex Donaldson: "Hindsight is a hell of a thing, however, and in the years since Final Fantasy XIII, my respect for the decisions its developers made has skyrocketed. In the two Final Fantasy titles since we see both the brilliance and the folly in alternative approaches - and in Final Fantasy VII Remake, we get a more nuanced understanding of what FF13 was trying to accomplish from many of the same development leads."

Einhander1972551d ago

FFXIII is actually one of the best Final Fantasy games.

I also sort of was disappointed at the time, never as much as the bandwagon. But really all the fantastic 3D rendered cutscenes and I actually liked the characters and the story though convoluted was actually fantastic and the ending was extremely emotional. So much budget and time were put into that game Square had such big plans, I actually have always felt kind of bad for how things played out.

I have been thinking for years how great it would be to get all three games on one disk for PS4 or 5.

Nyxus551d ago

I always liked this game, and I agree, a rerelease for current gen would be nice.

Shane Kim550d ago (Edited 550d ago )

Gotta take off the nostalgia glasses. It's the worst FF. Shiva as a bike, I mean come on.

Elda550d ago

Shiva as a bike is strange but saying FFXIII is the worst FF is not at all a fact, that's simply your opinion.

Terry_B549d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125550d ago (Edited 550d ago )

When I got my series X a year ago, I bought FF13 for nostalgia reasons but ended up being disappointed. When I first played it around the time it launched, I didn't have a lot of experience with final fantasy games, so I enjoyed it. Fast forward to when I played it again, I found that the game had many unnecessary filler moments instead of just giving us meaningful content.

The game is also very linear and a quote on the article said it best. "It is like a sewage pipe that leads to the ocean until it opens up on Grand Pulse."

The story didn't make much sense either and I believe it is my mistake as I played the FF7 remake on PS5 prior which is a night and day difference in terms of pacing, storytelling and likeable characters even though cloud is aloof.

FinalFantasyFanatic550d ago (Edited 550d ago )

Probably was a mistake to play any of the golden era FFs first (e.g. FF6 through FF10), it makes it harder to enjoy some of the FFs that aren't as good. I think FF12 was where major issues with the series started becoming apparent, and it just got worse from there.

FinalFantasyFanatic550d ago (Edited 550d ago )

I didn't really care for it that much, the only saving grace was that it had a better story than 15 (overall it was better than 15) and possibly 12, and even then, you had to read some of it through primers, like reading a book. Plus the battle system was reasonably fun for what it was, even if it was more the spectacle that was exciting for me (e.g. summoning). And to be fair, the 13 trilogy got better with every games, I still don't like Snow though.

Gamingsince1981550d ago

Ff13 is only good if you haven't played a ff before, or any other games that are decent for that matter.

-Foxtrot550d ago

It is in fact no way the best Final Fantasy game, it's one of the worst

Linear corridors, Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene...rinse and repeat

Dialogue and characters are pretty bad, especially Lightning as the main FF hero, they literally said they tried to make a "Female Cloud" and they failed.

Story was pretty awful

I could go on

I think the only alright thing that came from the game was the music.

Elda549d ago

That's not a fact that's your personal opinion. The game sold 11 million copies between its 2009 release up until 2014 including critically reviewed as an 8 out of 10 or an 80 out of 100. The game does have some issues but it's not at all a fact as one of the worst FF games.

-Foxtrot549d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy549d ago

N4G commenters such as yourself aren't the majority. The game was well received.

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gold_drake551d ago (Edited 551d ago )

i liked the game alot but i didnt like how they handled the terminology.

i dont mind reading data logs but it had soo many.

but i always loved the music and how it looked. the battle system wasnt too bad either.

but i like 13-2 more :)

i still dont understand why we never got a remaster of the trilogy

Eonjay550d ago

Xbox kinda did. Besides the video files of course which are still best on PS3 due to bluray.

Snookies12551d ago

XIII is a pretty solid game, but XIII-2 is WAY better. XIII-2 was one of the few games I decided to go for a Platinum trophy in, early on. Had so much fun the entire way through getting it too!

Eonjay550d ago

Totally agree. FF 13 was okay but 13-2 is my favorite FF game ever.

shinoff2183551d ago (Edited 551d ago )

I hated this to when it released. I haven't much liked a ff game since ff10 as much , aside from ff7remake. I decided to give it another shot on my series x since it's not on a current ps and was liking it quite a bit(just takes me some time to get over things ) until star ocean 2 remake came out I was all over that.

Square should definitely remaster it or something for ps4 ps5

KillerB550d ago

my favorite jrpg trilogy ever

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