I bet Square is regretting signing that exclusivity deal right about now. This is retail only, but the PS5 install base in Japan is over 1m above where it was when FF16 released last June (Square Enix told shareholders that PS5's lower install base was the reason why 16 underperformed), so unless the digital/physical ratio hugely grew since just last June, FF7 Rebirth moved less copies than FF16.
If a similar situation happened outside of Japan, Square is going to be hurting for sure, they already lost a good bit of their stock value due to FF16 (and other games) underperforming, dropping from a high of 26 per share down to a low of 16 per share, and though a strong Holiday quarter partially recovered some of that loss, back up to 20 a share, their stock value will likely start dropping again if FF7 Rebirth underperformed.
Last edited by shikamaru317 - on 07 March 2024
