| Shaunodon said:
I have a feeling Octopath Traveler will more than make up for this. |
I'd love that to be true, but I've a feeling it'll do better than bombs like Lost Sphear but among the sort of "ehh" performances of things like Star Ocean 5.
Remember - this is a company that didn't see the point in investing much money in Bravely Second despite the first game's almost runaway success.
| vgc said:
It's unfair to draw comparisons to other titles based on just 1 week of data in a single region. I think you've just contradicted yourself by saying Square Enix killed and Square Enix revived. A dormant franchise is not the same as a dead franchise, and IPs can co-exist on mobile and consoles. The mobile market is overcrowded and highly volatile. You can't just assign a new studio to mobile and hope for the best. Square Enix has already established a strong presence in the world of mobile. What they need is strength and depth in other markets. Tokyo RPG Factory was set up with the sole purpose of providing classic JRPGs on modern consoles. It's not always about maximizing profits. Square Enix have identified a new revenue stream with potential, and they will continue to pursue it. |
I don't think anyone who follows Japanese sales could say with any seriousness that an RPG (traditionally a genre with no legs) that debuts at this level can't be used to draw comparisons. It sold between 20-40% of its initial shipment on both platforms. Retailers and/or Square Enix hugely overestimated demand. It is going to have to hit bomba bins to remove the remaining stock. There is no other comparison to be drawn other than "that's an under-performance".
Re. mobile, I agree with you. But what I don't agree with is this:
|
vgc said: Square Enix have identified a new revenue stream with potential, and they will continue to pursue it. |
I am honestly struggling to see any potential in this revenue stream they're pursuing. I suppose if you classify mid-tier stuff as including the first Bravely Default and Dragon Quest Builders, then they've had some successes, but equally they've had a string of disappointments:
- Chaos Rings III
- SaGa Scarlet Grace
- Star Ocean 5
- Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (and that second Final Fantasy spinoff)
- World of Final Fantasy
Tokyo RPG Factory was a studio specifically designed to target this market and so far they've released one game that had a fairly muted performance (I am Setsuna) and you have a second game that performed nearly 5 x worse in first week sales. What do you say about that? "Oh, just keep trying, you'll find a hit eventually?" There has to be a point where something doesn't become feasible. For comparison, Lost Sphear has sold less in the first week than any of those other underperformances that I've listed.
Of course, perhaps western sales will be the saving grace of all this, but somehow I don't think they will.
