Well, FF16 launch was underwhelming, looks like that report about Square Enix panicking about pre-orders being down compared to the previous two FF games was accurate. In spite of good reviews, FF16 shipped + sold digitally 3m in 7 days, down from 3.5m in 3 days for FF7R and 5m in 24 hours for FF15. Hopefully Square learns some lessons from this such as don't skip Xbox and PC launches, bring back JP style art designs and writing instead of chasing after WRPG's, bring back full parties with playable party members, and do a much better job on the technical side of game development instead of releasing a fast paced DMC like action game that is basically locked to 30 fps and causing some PS5's to overheat.

3m for the install base sounds pretty good, no? But we all know SE's predictions are always higher lol

Xbox's "Next 12 Months" (Not Including Expansions).

• As Dusk Falls - Hit
• Grounded - Hit
• Pentiment - Hit
• Minecraft Legends - Hit
• Redfall - Hit
• Starfield - Miss by 3 Months
• Forza Motorsport - Miss by 4 Months
• Ara: History Untold - Miss by ????

So not bad overall as even the misses aren't that drastic but when Xbox says "we plan this for the next X amount of months" then you might as well add an extra 6 months to that estimate and you then probably have a more accurate timeframe, Lol. So if Aaron is saying next 18 months then I suppose there's a fairly good chance that Clockwork Legacy and Fable could be early 2025.

It's decent compared to FF7R when you take into account that FF7R released in 2020, when PS4's install base was already over 100m, compared to 39m for PS5 when FF16 launched. But you also have to consider that FF7R wasn't a full game, and people knew it wasn't a full game, so many decided to hold off and wait to buy it on discount since FF7R is split into 3 parts. FF7R part 1 actually had fairly poor legs too, it went from 3.5m in 3 days to only 5m after 3 months, and Square has never given us any updated numbers after the 5m in 3 months, which may mean late life legs were even poorer. Even after the PS5 and PC releases for FF7R, Square still never gave us updated lifetime sales for FF7R part 1. It's different from FF15, Square gave us numbers for it after first 24 hours (5m), 1 month (6m), 3 years (8.9m) and 5.5 years (10m).

As for the FF15 vs FF16 comparison, that is less favorable for FF16. PS4 had only sold about 11m more units than PS5 when FF15 released, but FF15 shipped + sold digitally around 4.2-4.3m copies in 24 hours on PS4 alone, compared to 3m in 7 days for FF16. Xbox One version of FFXV seemingly shipped + sold digitally around 700-800k copies in the first 24 hours on an install base of about 26m consoles.

CNBC - YouTube

And of course, seeing that Ryan wants us to believe Square is telling him that GamePass is value destructive and not exclusivity deals.

LONDON (Reuters) -Activision Blizzard said its studio that developed "Call of Duty" would set up shop in Barcelona, putting into action its pledge to invest in Europe after Brussels approved Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s $69 billion acquisition of the company in May.

The U.S. company said on Wednesday its game developer Infinity Ward, which created the blockbuster first-person shooter game, would join its Digital Legends mobile games unit in the Spanish city.

The decision comes after Britain blocked the Microsoft takeover, prompting Activision, which has studios in Guildford and Warrington in England, to say it would "reassess" its growth plans in the country.

In contrast, it said it would "meaningfully expand" its investment and workforce in the European Union after the deal received the green light there.

'Call of Duty' Maker to Invest in Barcelona After EU Approves Microsoft Deal (Investing.com)

I'm really disappointed by the gameplay, the story is amazing but this is really an arcade game the more I play it. I'm maybe 30 hours in and I have hard time going back in again... Cause I know I'm going to smash buttons for hours. There is very little "RPG" element to it compare to 7R.

I can say today, based on my taste, that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is the better game and by a long shot. Esp. for me who never played the original (so the story was also new to me). I'm super hyped for the second part of 7 coming early next year.

But Final Fantasy 16 is really a letdown, I was hoping for the combat to get better but the mechanisms are very limited... smash button/timing + switch eikon here and there to do some combos. There is really no character-building. Gear sucks like all FF :) (That's not only 16) and I'm not using the "timed" thingies but really try to use the best accessories, but again, super limited. 

They could have done a simple movie that it would have been more enjoyable for me. 

Hope Ryuu has stocked up on Wheaties to get him through today and tomorrow.

3 M is certainly not bad at all especially considering it didn't release in any holiday like FFXV did.

Anyway the news of Activision investing in Barcelona is wild.