Japan: Square Enix 2008 Unit Sales Down Nearly 74%

SCThor - 391 days 10 hours ago

blame rushed titles with poor quality control like the console those games are exclusive released in.

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Mhassan - 391 days 10 hours ago

i am also wondering that too..

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ruibing - 391 days 10 hours ago

You know what the sad thing is? Their JRPGs, which used to be considered the flagship of Japanese titles coming onto western shores, are now being sold as almost budget titles. Infinite Undiscovery, barely three months old, and the just released Last Remnant (was available for preorder of only $40) can now be found for $20 and $30, respectively.

All this is going to do is reinforce their beliefs in releasing or remaking their old titles for the handhelds. But of course, the worst part is, I'm still going to buy all of them, like the recent Star Ocean remake on the PSP.

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ExcelKnight - 391 days 9 hours ago

The complete lack of any Final Fantasy and only one Dragon Quest branded game this year pretty much explains why everything's down.

Last year saw Dragon Quest 4, Crisis Core, FF4, FFXII:RW, FFCC:RoF, FFT:WOTL, FFTA2, FF.. You see what I mean?

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plain rice - 391 days 9 hours ago

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm........... Maybe publishing at least one game for the PS3 would help.

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Rock Bottom - 391 days 9 hours ago

Now they might consider making good games... on a good console. *_<

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Edge Maverick - 391 days 9 hours ago

Enough remakes and shovelware Square, get my freaking Star Ocean out, make it multi for better sales, get FFXIII rolling, focus on the PS3 for a change and get with the times and make the FFVII remake already!

THEN, things will be all good again. Until then, keep failing. You deserve. Closed theatre showings, developing for a console your fanbase DOESN'T WANT to buy into, constant garbage and rehashes, you freaking deserve this morons!

Now again, I repeat, get my STAR OCEAN out on time!!! NO delays, okay? March 3, 2009 starts your ressurection....maybe. Actually, knocking Wada outta the way might be a better idea, but, you know.

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Millah - 391 days 9 hours ago

God knows how many sales they would get if they would just remake FF7 already. I can't think of a single game that would sell more copies. A legitimate remake, not a port.

Then I can always hope and pray for a Xenogears remake so we can finally play the second disc as it was meant to be...but too bad Monolith is with Nintendo now :(

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Danja - 391 days 9 hours ago

well if they wanna start making more profits..they should stop Ignoring the PS3.....and to think they're even ignoring the Wii.....which would sell tons of software for SE...

but yet they rather focus on the 360...lol...They need to kick Wada outta the top spot..and then things will start looking up for them

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RemmM - 391 days 8 hours ago

For being greedy along with MS. Where's the money now?? I know its not entirely SE's fault but the idiot who wanted to put the JRPGs 360 alone.

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Alvadr - 391 days 8 hours ago

Yep, so amusing that they try blame the economy when they have released nothing but tripe all year.

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agmsd - 391 days 8 hours ago

Wow man that's reading my brain... entirely...

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Final_Rpg - 391 days 7 hours ago

Wada... So useless, I haven't like any product from Square under his power. I think we've located the source of SE's bad decisions. Wada, you're fired!

Seeing as SE has a lot of its masterminds working for them they must be lacking some of the creative ability that they use to have (just look at their recent releases for proof). If that's the problem, they should do the smart thing and remake games that the fans are dying for. It'd be hell of a lot easier seeing as they'll be following a bunch of formulas again that they used for the previous title, they don't have to create an awesome storyline ( I think they are incapable of that now) or be innovative at all (which I know they love). The only thing that square have to do is recreate the graphics... That's the only thing they seem to be half decent at any more. The layout is there for them, it's just money for the taking. With all sincerity I hope that Square Enix aren't sitting there wondering how they could make an easy buck out of the gamer audience. If I, and half the other readers on N4G that aren't professional game designers getting paid 100's of thousands of dollars to make a half decent game can work that out, why the hell can't they?!

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sirbigam - 391 days 7 hours ago

Let them keep suffering until they bring out a FF7 remake or not even having to do any work & put a none remake on PSN. Greedy bastards could even put the dam thing on xbox live for all I care.

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ultimolu - 391 days 6 hours ago

I wonder as well....*props*

Square: GET BACK ON TRACK. This is a wake up call morons!

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JoySticksFTW - 391 days 5 hours ago

When will they realize that only a small portion of the 360 community is into rpg's. Most bought it for Halo and other shooters. Yes, Xbox fans like Fable, but Xbox is not known as a rpg console. It's fans buy Xboxes for faster paced games - like shooters first and foremost

On the other hand, MANY PS3 owners bought their console in anticipation of the JRPG to come (just like rpg's came to PS2), and FFXIII was at the top of their list.

But where are the SE rpg's this generation? They're being sold exclusively to the 360 fanbase who doesn't want them, or in the case of FFXIII being delayed to release day and date with the 360 version once it's completed - eventhough SE did not feel obligated to hold back the 360 version of Last Remnant for the PS3 release.

And how did Last Remnant turn out anyways? ;P

Many PS3 fans have been waiting for some rpg goodness to buy up, but dumb-@ss SE doesn't see it.

And if you're worried about PS3's install base, release your damn games - the ones that people actually want - like FXIII and versus. Dissidia looks good, but I'd rather put their resources towards their flagship title.

And if you have to do remakes then do a true FFVII remake like was hinted at in the Crisis Core ending, and watch PS3 sales Hulk-leap

SE is focusing on the wrong fanbase. If they want to go multiplatform, then actually multiplatform.... that means release on all systems. Don't forget about the fans that have been buying your product for the last ten years.

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hay - 391 days 4 hours ago

Did you knew that "wada"(spelled more or less like "vada") means actually "flaw, defect, fault" in Polish? Fits really well here, lol

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callahan09 - 391 days 3 hours ago

I won't go into the reasons because I'm just some amateur. But I will put some more information out there.

Part of the reason their sales are a lot lower is beause they released fewer products. If you do 22 products one year and 10 the next, I should HOPE that your 22 products sold more in total than your 10. And that's what happened. 74% decline is an awkward figure because of the discrepency in number of products. So, to get a better picture (less bleak, but bleak none-the-less) you must consider it differently.

22 products sold 6.4 million, which is an average of 290,000 per game. 10 products sold 1.7 million, which is an average of 170,000 per game. This is approximately a 42% decline in revenue per game, on average.

Now, you could imply that the interest isn't as great for their games anymore. But that may not necessarily be true either. I didn't do the research on this, but last year they MAY HAVE (again, I don't know, I don't have time to do the research this morning) released MORE EXPENSIVE games. If you release 10 games for an average of 40 dollars one year, and 10 games for an average of 20 dollars the next year (they did release mostly DS games and WiiWare this year, if I'm not mistaken), then they could sell exactly the same amount of software, and still only rake in half the money.

But, again, on the other side of that argument, if they're releasing cheaper games and not outselling their more expensive releases, that could be representative of a decline in interest, as well.

Either way, it would seem that this is bleak news for the once-great giant.

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TheTwelve - 391 days 2 hours ago

Allow me to gladly add into the SE bashing. Ever since they made that flop of a movie, they've been selling out their integrity to try and get that money back. They deserve every bad report that they get.

12

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AAACE5 - 391 days 1 hour ago

The real blame is because they didn't put games on the Ps2 like they did last year, and they didn't focus on making alot of games for Ps3!

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tplarkin7 - 390 days 22 hours ago

...a total hack job. It's unfinished and I was fooled into thinking it was a AAA title.

Square is in big trouble if they put out more garbage like that.

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Fruit Loops - 391 days 9 hours ago

"Hold on, it's on the tip of my tounge.
Wait.....
Ah, where did we go wrong?"

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theEnemy - 391 days 9 hours ago

Good Riddance.

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TapiocaMilkTea - 391 days 8 hours ago

Yeah, that'll teach them a lesson not to delay the flagship title that everyone cares about.
And.....a lesson not to ignore the potential jrpg console.

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ruibing - 391 days 8 hours ago

Yeah, they need to realize we like JRPGs because they are Japanese in style, not just in origin. The reason why a lot of us love Atlus is because they give us the RPGs we can't get here from Western developers. They need to go back to focusing more on the storyline and style, taking a lesson from Persona, Lost Odyssey, and Valkryia Chronicles.

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ultimolu - 391 days 6 hours ago

Good for them.

I predicted they were going to regret the direction they were heading.

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v1c1ous - 390 days 18 hours ago

1) is it the 400 or so remakes a month on DS?

2) the fact that outside FF/DQ and FF/DQ related games squeenix has NO verifiable hit IP that doesn't have cloud's spiky hair in it?

or what you sony fanboys want to hear, because they release 2 games on 360? one of which is multiplatform. and even if it was ps3 exclusive, would have still been sucky games.

realize it. square-enix hasn't sold well because it wanted a quick cash-in and produced mediocre games. don't blame microsoft for it, cause a lemon on the 360 is a lemon on the ps3.

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blackpanther25 - 390 days 14 hours ago

@2.6
i understand what ure saying but nobody is blaming mircosoft, you should read their posts carefully they are blaming square-enix. A lemon is still a lemon anywhere but if they had release those games for the ps3 alot of people would have pre-ordered or bought it regardless of the reviews god knows how many ps2 fans bought shatty ass jrpgs in da past

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The gaming GOD - 391 days 10 hours ago

It's their president. And the bad part is, it's to the point that he had to threaten the employees to make games HE wants them to make or they'd be fired. The people in SE want to work on the ps3. But Yoichi Wada is denying them that

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rhood022 - 391 days 10 hours ago

While I can get behind SE's strategy of expanding into the west, I do not understand their complete disregard of the PS3 in the process. Granted, most of the games released so far have been sub-par but there are 16 million PS3 owners in the world and I would estimate a fourth of those would no doubt purchase a SE title if it were available to the platform.

As far as Wada goes, I really hope that these loses make the rest of the board reconsider his tenure as President and CEO. Unless Wada is able to strong arm the other directors that is. The company's US revenue dropped 46% as of Oct. 2008 with similar drops in Europe (-35%) and Asia (-41%). That was with big releases in all territories ranging from two Final Fantasy remakes, two new Dragon Quest games and Crisis Core.

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pwnsause - 391 days 9 hours ago

when FF XIII releases on the PS3, you'll see them come back for PS development. the game is suppose to launch in Japan Next year as a PS3 exclusive, although it sounds like they are thinking of reconsidering the move.

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Millah - 391 days 9 hours ago

Yea I really hope the slow sales for Square really makes people look at Wada and reconsider a new CEO....that guy has been the death of Square.

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ChanDangle - 391 days 10 hours ago

And that is why people question square enix for moving to the 360.

Ba Dum Cheeeee!

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xhi4 - 391 days 10 hours ago

that's why I love kingdom hearts so much, none of that pick your attack from a menu crap!

Everything you love about an RPG, with combat of an action game, perfect!

and maybe now SE will get the hint and that Mr. Wada president will listen to his only good developer now (Nomaru) and do what he's doing and stick with the PS3 like he is with Versus.

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0verdrive - 391 days 9 hours ago

mmm... im going to have to disagree.

ff12 took the series away from the traditional menu turn based battle systems, and it got a lot of critical discourse for it. i enjoyed the game, but i by no means wish to see jrpgs go the way for real time battles. menu, turn based systems make for a much more strategic, fun game. i think the real time battles cater more towards western audiences, who seem to have a much shorter attention span. infinite undiscovery, i believe, had gameplay that adopted real time action combat and dropped the menu attack system, and people hated it. im a traditionalist; i like my turn and menu based fighting systems, thank you very much. in all honesty i didnt even like KH that much, KH2 was a little better, though.

i mean, heaven forbid SE gives us FF14:dynasty warriors. uuuugh.

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Willio - 391 days 9 hours ago

i actually like the "pick your menu" crap lol. Lost Odyssey was great! If the framerates wasnt so-so, im sure it would have sold better. I guess im oldschool. =(. Regardless, im afraid ff13 will have similiar results because its watered down to 360. However, i could be wrong since its not an Unreal Engine.

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kesvalk - 391 days 5 hours ago

*looks at tales series battle style* ¬¬ yea, menu based is a little to slow...

thinking about it, tales of phantasia were pretty inovative for a snes game...

anyway, from where this wada guy came from? because i think he is intensionaly killing Square...

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Statix - 390 days 22 hours ago

No, we don't want anymore realtime battles. Did you see how Bethesda butchered the combat system of Fallout and turned it into Oblivion: FPS Mode? Enough with the mindless action-oriented, non-strategic gameplay. We already have a hundred different Halo and Gears clones for that.

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0verdrive - 391 days 9 hours ago

its fire, fira, firaga, and one more after that in the more recent final fantasies, but i forgot what its called. its not that difficult if you are using them on a regular basis. and even so, just pick the one at the bottom of the list, its bound to be the most powerful. =D

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kesvalk - 391 days 5 hours ago

firaja?

the names are starting to become a nusiance

gavity, gavira, gravidja...
aero, aera, aeora -_-

why don't they go back to fire,fire2,fire3...?

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0verdrive - 390 days 18 hours ago

fire
fire2
fire3

were only in the american/eu versions, i believe. the japanese seem to take to the naming system, but apparently the americans and europeans get confused.

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SonyOwnsNextYear - 391 days 4 hours ago

this is for siding with microsoft, the asian market has spoken and they are not happy.

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AngryTypingGuy - 390 days 18 hours ago

When you look at SE's game catalog, it definitely looks Asian to say the least. Maybe they should stick more with Sony or make every game multiplatform.

I don't think they make games that would appeal to the average 360 player. Like myself for instance. I don't want a Japanime game that's hack n' slash, lackluster gameplay, with a hero that looks like a sissy with long flowing locks and looks like he should be on the cover of GQ.

I'm exaggerating of course, as I am describing a stereotype of Japanese games, and not every one. But we're all gamers here, and you all know that there are differences between Eastern and Western games. As for me, I'll take my gory, bloody, rough and rugged Gears of War 2 any day of the week.

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waseem335 - 391 days 4 hours ago

this is why jrpg will never succeed on the 360

blue dragon 0.51m
lost odyssey 0.79m
last remnant 0.17m

are any of them over a million???

so ermm how will square be loaded wen ff13 releases on the 360?? care to elaborate??

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ultimolu - 391 days 2 hours ago

And guess what?

You forgot that *cough* that PS3 fans know that and that *cough* there's a reason why the FF franchise migrated to Sony!

And you are clearly out of your mind if you're alleging sales don't matter. Square should care about the sales because if they don't improve, they will go out of business!

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ultimolu - 391 days 2 hours ago

...Are you serious?

Why is it that Microsoft is trying to penetrate Japan? You must be a MORON to think Japan doesn't matter.

Square went where the money is and it blinded them.

...Why I'm explaining this to you, idk. It's like talking to a brick wall.

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Shane Kim - 391 days 4 hours ago

Chris said it. Eat this hot turd you bots.

Bu Bu Bu teh PSX3eez don't salez gamez.

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