Bombed is overdoing it, but it's not selling as well as Final Fantasy 13 did.
| Final Fantasy XIII (both versions combined) | Final Fantasy XIII-2 (both versions combined) | |
| Japan first 8-weeks total: | 1,836,000 | 801,000 |
| USA first week: | 815,000 | 577,000 |
| Europe first week: | 688,000 | 409,000 |
So, in percentages, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is at 44% of XIII in Japan, at 71% in USA, and at 60% in Europe.
Let's say this percentage sticks in each area. That's rather likely. There's no reason FFXIII-2 should have worse legs compared to its launch than FFXIII did. In fact, it's more probable that it'll do better compared to the launch than FFXIII did. That would put the total sales in each region at
Japan: 822,000
Americas: 1,803,000
Europe: 924,000
Rest of the world: ~500,000
Worldwide: Just over 4 million.
That would be the lowest since the series went over to Playstation, at roughly a million less than X-2 and IX. However, the entirity of that drop has happened in Japan. In other word, it's not a franchise dying, it's a franchise not performing too well in Japan, while staying roughly constant in the rest of the world.
Which is roughly identical to what is happening with another series, namely The Legend of Zelda. The first title in the 7th gen reached top-of-the-line sales, but the second outing didn't, and only saw average sales for the series in the west, and lower in Japan. Now, is Zelda a dying franchise? Not at all.
I'm not sure if that analogy helps, but the point is that Final Fantasy is solely experiencing a gradual decline in Japan, and staying roughy constant in the west. That's hardly bombing.
