Final Fantasy XIII-2 Sales

[nirojan]

I'll update First Post with any new info regarding sales of FFXIII-2!

SALES UPDATE:FEB 2012

JPN Media Create Top 20:
[PS3] Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Square Enix, 12.15.2011): 97,359 (794,505)*
*Weekly sales Italicized and Total sales Bolded.

SALES(in millions):
PS3 North America: 0.46, Europe: 0.26, Japan: 0.79, GLOBAL: 1.64
Xbox 360 North America: 0.17, Europe: 0.15, Japan: 0.1, GLOBAL: 0.36

TOTAL WORLD WIDE SALES: ~2.00 million units

[Wolf Kanno]

Well considering you can count how many 360 owner there are in Japan on one hand...

[VeloZer0]

FYI FF13 was 1.5 million on it's first week. I feel like saying something snarky or supportive, but now that I think about it this I pretty much what I expected.

[Levian]

and that's why companies make sequels. ;)

[VeloZer0]

Well logically FF13-3 will only sell 170,000 copies on it's first week, so they are going to have to start innovating soon.

[nirojan]

A small update:
Media Create Spots 20 to 30: No Xbox 360 FFXIII-2, More Vita Games -- Andriasang.com (http://andriasang.com/comzgp/media_create_20_to_30/)

apparently the 360 version failed to clock into the top 30.

[Wolf Kanno]

As I said, earlier, I wouldn't put much weight into Japan's 360 numbers. The system has done abysmal over there, so it's numbers won't be that great. The 360 vs. PS3 debate will have to wait until the western release, where the 360 has more ground to show off real numbers.

[Raistlin]

FYI FF13 was 1.5 million on it's first week. I feel like saying something snarky or supportive, but now that I think about it this I pretty much what I expected.

Does that mean the numbers for FFXIII-2 are bad? If it doesn't do so hot in Japan, that doesn't leave much promise for the US.

[ShinGundam]

FYI FF13 was 1.5 million on it's first week. I feel like saying something snarky or supportive, but now that I think about it this I pretty much what I expected.

Does that mean the numbers for FFXIII-2 are bad? If it doesn't do so hot in Japan, that doesn't leave much promise for the US.
Pretty much, It is very alarming even though it is still good numbers but couple that with DQX being an MMO on Wii this is just shape to be a colossal fail on its own. IMO, that is just more and more weight on Tetsuya Nomura to deliver a mega hit with Versus XIII. I think the whole FF situation is interesting and it shows that people in Japan want powerhouse and original title rather than a sequel.

[Elpizo]

With all the expectations about Versus XIII it's almost guaranteed to be the flop of the century, no matter how fantastic (or not) the game will be, there's no way it'll please all those (often ridiculously) high expectations.

[ShinGundam]

With all the expectations about Versus XIII it's almost guaranteed to be the flop of the century, no matter how fantastic (or not) the game will be, there's no way it'll please all those (often ridiculously) high expectations.
That is completely true, they need luck! A lot of it.

[Wolf Kanno]

Looks like its not going over so well... (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/39292/Final_Fantasy_XIII2s_Diminished_Debut_May_Spell_Trouble_For_The_Franchise.php) its sales have dropped more significantly in its second week to about 180,000 units. Guess the U.S./PAL sales will have to pick up the slack.

[Bolivar]

^ Drop-offs like that are normal in the game industry.

Overall this thing is probably on track to do 1-2 million in Japan alone. That's a lot. Yakuza 3 sold like 500k in Japan and was considered a massive success and one of the most popular games at its time.

I don't know if the 360 numbers should surprise anyone. We know it won't come close to PS3 in Japan and we already have considerable evidence of how games like this sell more on PS3 in the States as well. The console wars have died down to a nice level these last few years, if anyone wants to reignite it, comparing sales numbers is probably the least meaningful and most wasteful way to go about it.

Anyway, I'm sure Square is going to recover on this game. I know we all want a higher caliber of product from them right now, but hoping for failure isn't necessarily going to do that.

[Shlup]

I have no idea if this is good or bad. How did X-2 do compared to X?

[Mirage]

Doesn't really matter. They spent a lot less money developing FF13-2, so they won't need nearly as high numbers to make good money on it.

[Wolf Kanno]

It's true, they will make money from it but it is a bit disconcerting that Japan, which seemed to genuinely like FFXIII did not give it's sequel much fanfare. 2/3rds decrease in sales is not a good thing, even if you did break even. 500,000 units is a success in Japan and the gaming world, but FF titles usually hit 1 million units pretty easily, the drop off shouldn't have been as sharp the second week, but then again, I guess Bolivar is right about this being the norm nowadays. Looking up a few games to compare, Type-0 is still below XIII-2 sales despite being out longer (course the game has been largely ignored by everyone), and I never realized that Crisis Core's bulk of sales was from the first week in Japan, it did pretty poorly in PAL regions and not as good in US as in Japan. It's only finally hit 2 million+ after being out for so long.

Course, it will probably hit a million+ units sold once it hits the West, we just have more people and its not like XIII-2 isn't coming out in a lull period of the gaming Calendar, I mean what is it even up against in February? Most of the big titles have already been released for the holiday season, so Squenix is at least smart enough to know when to release a title.

[Bolivar]

I think we'd have to compare this game's sales to FFX-2's to make a fair assessment of how well it actually did. I think the public knows its a spin-off, and like other media, I think it's safe to say that people play FF for a reason the spin-offs don't satisfy, and those games stay for the niche parts of the fanbase. I'm sad to hear about Type-0 because I thought Japan loses its mind for those PSP multiplayer action-RPGs, so that might not be a good sign for RPGs and it might be an even worse sign for the Vita.

Anyway, I just hope this gets them back all of that money sunk in the Crystal Tools/White/Luminous engine(s) and we maybe get back to some creative stuff.

[nirojan]

Since you guys have been asking:
FFX 1st Week in Japan:
1,906,152

FFX-2 1st Week in Japan:
1,561,553

Life time Sales (Worldwide);
FFX: 5,474,784
FFX-2: 3,931,206

Courtesy of VGCHARTS
Final Fantasy X Sales (PS2) at gamrReview (http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/sales-data/759/final-fantasy-x/)
Final Fantasy X-2 Sales (PS2) at gamrReview (http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/sales-data/760/final-fantasy-x-2/)

[VeloZer0]

So FF10-2 sold better in it's first week than FF13? Oh man.

[Mirage]

That's how bad FF13 is.

[nirojan]

Well Square Enix did say FFXIII underperformed initially. But with lifetime sales standing at 6.5 million its hard to argue it was a failure.

January 1st, 2012 Japan Weekly Sales:
4) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) - 81,000

Here are U.S. Pre-order numbers for December 26, 2011:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Trunkswd/VGChartz/FFXIIIvsFFXIII-2-1.png

[VeloZer0]

FF13's big sales draw was that it was on PS3 and 360. Which of course wouldn't do anything to boost Japanese sales.

It is interesting that FF13-2 pre orders are higher than FF13, yet sales are lower.

[Mirage]

Well Square Enix did say FFXIII underperformed initially. But with lifetime sales standing at 6.5 million its hard to argue it was a failure.

January 1st, 2012 Japan Weekly Sales:
4) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) - 81,000

Here are U.S. Pre-order numbers for December 26, 2011:


I never said FF13 was a financial failure, that would be a blatant lie. The point is that when you've already bought a game, it's too late to hand it back to the store and demand your money back. Instead, you see a decrease in sequel sales.

FF10 was good and sold well, FF10-2 sold well. FF13 was bad but sold well, FF13-2 sells poorly.

[nirojan]

@Mirage: The "failure" part wasn't directed at anyone in particular. My apologies if it came off like that.

@VeloZero: PS3 sales for FFXIII stand at about 5 million accounting for a bit more than 75% of sales. The 360 version was not the big sales draw. In the minds of gamers, the Final Fantasy series is still very much still associated with the Playstation brand apparently.

[VeloZer0]

1.5 million is still a decent chunk of change as far as I am concerned. ;)

And if you break it down the 360 version was 40% of the non Japanese sales.

[Mirage]

Yeah, even with "only" 25% of sales, the 360 port was a very very good investment for SE to make. It's "almost" free money.

[Lamia]

...

To those who are laughing it up about Final Fantasy X-2 selling more than XIII in it's their first weeks forget that consoles are in decline in Japan and handhelds are now all the rage. The PS3 had a very rough start and is only now catching up.

Oh, and would people still stop calling XIII "bad" as if it is a fact? Especially when talking about something objective like sales number. When asked for your opinion it makes sense to say it is "bad" if you really thought so but XIII is not universally panned by critics or players. So stuff it. It is not objectively a "bad" game and has nothing to do with XIII's first week sales. :roll2

As for XIII-2's sales, it is a spin-off so it is not surprising. There are also a small, but substantial enough group that didn't buy it because they didn't like XIII. I also read an article that said the it was the decrease in female buyers that largely affected sales. This actually does make sense as I have noticed that many women are drawn to the character Lightning. Yes, Lightning is in XIII-2 but she is only a temporary playable character and has also had a makeover which may have deterred those female consumers. That's just speculation though.

Either way, XIII-2 is still enjoying great sales... The game had a considerably shorter development time and probably did not cost near as much as XIII to make. It's acceptable that it's sales are lower.

I'm surprised at how well X-2 sold... I know I didn't buy it. :|

[nirojan]

SALES UPDATE:
Currently in Japan (JAN 12, 2012)

[PS3] 07. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Square Enix, 12/15): 35,325 (739,561)
*Weekly sales italicized and Lifetime sales Bolded.

CURRENT US PRE-ORDER NUMBERS:
PS3 version stands at 242,386 with 43,374 added last week. 360 pre-order numbers reached 78,482 with 9,572 added last week.

FFXIII-2 VS FFXIII PS3 Pre-orders:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Trunkswd/VGChartz/FFXIIIvsFFXIII-2-3.png

Source: USA Pre-Order Chart - VGChartz (http://www.vgchartz.com/preorders//)

[VeloZer0]

Just curious, what were the pre-order bonuses for FF13 like? I wonder if that is affecting the results. Not that I think the FF13-2 pre order bonuses are all that great a motivator.

[nirojan]

Just curious, what were the pre-order bonuses for FF13 like? I wonder if that is affecting the results. Not that I think the FF13-2 pre order bonuses are all that great a motivator.

Nothing for most retailers. When I walked into Gamestop to pick it up, they gave me a mini-guide for XIII. It was only a handful of pages but had some gorgeous artwork.

EDIT: I also got a poster!

[VeloZer0]

Well the fact that FF13-2 has something might be the explanation behind the increase in pre-orders. Either way it will sure be interesting to compare the sales to FF13.

[Jiro]

Those are some promising stats. I'm surprised still, because I know there are a lot of people who didn't recommend XIII to their friends and would not even give XIII-2 a look because they disliked the first one so much. Though VeloZer0's theory could be right there.

[nirojan]

SALES UPDATE:

JPN Media Create Top 20:
[PS3] 11. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Square Enix, 12/15): 8,706 (762,674)*
*Weekly sales Italicized and Total sales Bolded.

USA Pre-Order Numbers:
The top 3 Pre-ordered titles stateside are all RPGs:
1 Mass Effect 3 X360 7 62,062 598,324
2 Diablo III PC N/A 37,768 559,455
3 Final Fantasy XIII-2 PS3 2 65,266 354,416
.
.
10 Final Fantasy XIII-2 X360 2 23,505 115,319
Underlined is Weeks to launch, Italicized is how many new order last week and Bolded is total Preorders.

35518
"Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) is at number three, as it adds 65,000 pre-orders, up from 47,000 last week, for a total of 354,000. The game has passed its predecessor, Final Fantasy XIII (PS3). The game is two weeks away from launch, January 31, 2012 in the USA."

[VeloZer0]

It's funny how D3 is up there without even a release date.

[champagne supernova]

With all the expectations about Versus XIII it's almost guaranteed to be the flop of the century, no matter how fantastic (or not) the game will be, there's no way it'll please all those (often ridiculously) high expectations.

Some games manage to meet their expectations. GTA IV, FFVII, MGS4, God of War 3, etc. Although I don't know what people are expecting, because details are still scarce.

[VeloZer0]

Some people are expecting it to simultaneously save the franchise while making up for a decade of lackluster releases.

I can't say for sure because I haven't played it, but I remain skeptical that these expectations are live-up-to-able.

[champagne supernova]

I didn't really follow games that heavily at the time, but didn't VII also have a lengthy development cycle and the weight of FFVI on its shoulders? It turned out alright. Anyway, I also hope that Versus XIII is awesome (and not necessarily the best game, or even FF, ever made) and, given the amount of work been done on it, I think it should meet that.

I don't understand why XIII-2 is selling so badly in Japan though. Didn't it get a 40/40 from Famitsu.

[ShinGundam]

I didn't really follow games that heavily at the time, but didn't VII also have a lengthy development cycle and the weight of FFVI on its shoulders? It turned out alright. Anyway, I also hope that Versus XIII is awesome (and not necessarily the best game, or even FF, ever made) and, given the amount of work been done on it, I think it should meet that.

I don't understand why XIII-2 is selling so badly in Japan though. Didn't it get a 40/40 from Famitsu.
You mean the weight of FFIV not FFVI because FFVI wasn't Japan's fan favorite or peak of FF or anything like that. FFVII did have a long cycle but that because it did have a completely original assets and engine while the older may recycle a lot of stuff.

[nirojan]

Sorry for bumping just wanted to share the updated sales!


SALES (in millions):
PS3 North America: 0.46, Europe: 0.26, Japan: 0.79, GLOBAL: 1.64
Xbox 360 North America: 0.17, Europe: 0.15, Japan: 0.1, GLOBAL: 0.36

*GLOBAL units includes "other regions"

TOTAL WORLD WIDE SALES: ~2.00 million units