Final Fantasy XIII-2 Sales

[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
Final Fantasy X-2 Sales (PS2) at gamrReview

[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:

[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.

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:


Source: USA Pre-Order Chart - VGChartz

[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!