Even with Final Fantasy 16, PS5 Can't Outsell Switch in Japan

@Hylian-Likely It's still more than 10% of total global sales. I wouldn't say it's a flop, as the haters on Gematsu seem to be happy to call it.

Not a bad showing for Sony, considering they’re competing against a handheld in the land of handhelds. And I expect Switch will lock up the charts for the foreseeable future with Mario Wonder on the horizon. I haven’t been this excited for a Switch game since Odyssey.

@Sil_Am The Gematsu comments are a depressing read, especially for old people like me who remember the mod-chip/import heyday when Japanese developers were cranking out unique and interesting stuff at a breakneck pace. Sorry, I think my rose tinted glasses are fogging up.

10% of all PS5 owners in Japan isn't bad, especially as this is physical only I think. With digital sales included that's easily more than 1 in 5 Japanese PS5 owners.

@Sil_Am Are they actually "haters" or do they just have a different opinion to you?

@LifeGirl, haters for sure, they even go out of their way to bring sales charts and comparisons and seem to just want Nintento to rule everything. Just go there and look for yourself. 😄

Countdown till another Square Enix disappointment?

The game is fine. Those guys are never satisfied.

FF16 is too modernized. For old FF fans Final Fantasy is about turn based combat, controllable party members, romance, saving the world, beautiful world map to explore, hidden side quests/summons/party members, great soundtrack, and finally a happy ending.These modern ones have very few of those things.

SE has been obsessed with modernizing FF since 13 to attract a new generation of gamers. However, when you try to appeal to the new crowd, you lose your old one. And if the new one isn't bigger than the old one, you are screwed. Hence the declining sales, reputation, and fanbase for the FF series. For me FF series ended at FF10. FF12 is good but it is more of a Vagrant Story 2 than FF. The later ones just suck IMO.

@Sil_Am imagine saying that on a Push Square, where sales is all that matters here. lol.

Compared to Xbox, who they’re at least beating.

Expect the same results when the Switch Too comes out lol.

Quite surprised actually. Thought this would storm Japan.

Although, the more I learn about FFXVI, the more I see it's not a FF game

Not really all that bad and understandable since FFXVI is quite divisive among fans. I enjoyed the game personally (well not the combat in general but the story and characters are what sold me the most) but I can understand that this isn't appealing to those who would prefer traditional turn-based combats and Japanese fans are more used to those. DQXII might be that game that will appeal to most in Japan.

@OneWingedAngel
Im old school but cant stand to play a game with turnbased now.
I loved that FF16 is a more mature and action combat game.

@Amnesiac Pretty crazy that a system with a fraction of the power of current-gen can still churn out amazing experiences that actually has a negative effect on sales of said current-gen systems.

The gaming world literally shut down with the release of Tears of the Kingdom!

Just goes to show that 4K/60 (or some variable range up to 60) isn't everything! Sometimes I wish developers would focus more on the "game" part rather than the "spectacle" part.

Not saying there isn't room for spectacle, but sometimes I feel like that's all developers care about to justify the new hardware.

Look at Astro's Playroom. It's not the most technologically advanced game out there, but it's just pure gaming fun - and plus it actually used the new hardware in charming ways.

@Neverwild
Different strokes for different folks I guess. I like action combat but not in my FF. I just play DMC or Tales series for action. I can still enjoy turn based. Just finished playing and platinuming the whole Cold Steel series. Playing Legend of Dragoon right now.

I think those sales figures are for physical copies only. Makes sense that in 2023 physical sales would be down.

Japan is nearly all in on portable now, which is way smartphone and switch is the gaming leader there.

Considering switch 2 may have the same power roughly as ps4 / xbox one I think it will be cool if sony make another portable compatible with ps4 and some ps5 games.

Not really surprised about any of this. I did read earlier this week that PS5 is outselling the Switch in US and not just by revenue either, which I think is a bigger market in comparison to Japan. Is there any reasons why we only get UK and Japan numbers but not US or Europe numbers, or maybe they don't share numbers like UK or Japan does?

@eltomo if it's not a Final Fantasy game then why does it have Final Fantasy in the title which by all accounts makes it a Final Fantasy game

@Cashews And now I know what ChatGPT spits out when fed a strict diet of Nintendo Life and Gematsu.

@GamingFan4Lyf It's amazing, but also a little disheartening. A lot of the third party Japanese games that I enjoy have not seemed to evolve much over the past few years, as they need to run on the best selling system. I'd like to see either a more robust Nintendo system, or for Sony to grab enough market share so that Japanese developers find it worthwhile to create different versions of games that play to the strengths of each system.

I have been team green all gen (I'm in the states) but ff16 is what finally broke me and i bought a playstation for the first time.

@Mio_Nakashima yh possibly. But it is nice to know how some consoles are doing elsewhere, same with new game releases too. Getting the whole picture rather than just a slice or two

@Amnesiac Personally, I kind of like that Nintendo isn't playing the hardware game. I feel it forces its developers to find more interesting ways of entertaining the player beyond pixel counts, foliage density, and draw distances.

I also feel like it makes its engineers better because they really do have to force more thought towards efficient code to push more with less.

This will help even more going forward because stronger hardware becomes even more of a playground for them: they haven't had the privilege of just brute-forcing solutions with hardware specs.

A huge reason why many third-party PlayStation 5 games have been performing better than Series X is because Sony chose to simply brute force development by just making a stronger version of the PS4 Pro architecture.

Developers can continue "business as usual". There is no real reason to change any development mentality (at least for third-parties) - especially with PlayStation dominating the way it does.

Sure, it's worked out for Sony because games are performing well, but it does nothing to move the needle on the industry as a whole. It's just more of the "better hardware, not better code" mentality.

There is huge untapped potential for all platforms if developers don't start thinking about scalability with n-number of cores rather than focusing on only a small number of cores at n-speed.

One Piece Odyssey,
Hogwarts Legacy,
Forbidden West,
Jedi: Survivor,
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,
Diablo4,
F1-23,
FF16...

1 of 8 game I played the last 6 months on Day 1 were available on my Switch (or assuming best sellers in Japan) List easily Justifies my PS5.

Just be happy we are not only stuck with what most Japanese play (or plays on)... To each their own.

I'm so glad the digital edition of the PS5 is doing so poorly. It is encouraging, meaning a disc version PS6 is pretty certain.

@Mio_Nakashima yh that is a little annoying. I suppose it gives us a rough estimate to how a game is doing rather than their outright total figures. The best way to do it would be every month or 3 have total worldwide charts for both consoles sold and games purchased including boxed and digital and have a separate GamePass and PS Plus chart for their top downloaded games. Maybe to much work getting all the figures correct every month or 3, would be ideal though

The crazy part to consider here is the fact the switch is in year 6 and still selling numbers like it was year 3. Outselling the PS5 which people had a hard time finding and can finally be had fairly easily is just to show Nintendo has gold in the switch. All they have to do is make a Switch 2 with BC and more power and they will be in really good shape. It’s almost confirmed to have BC cause the Nintendo online account is a carry over, that was confirmed by Nintendo, they never had a true account system before. It was always a store locked to a platform, and we all know that didn’t work out so well. With a Nintendo account carrying over from Switch to Switch 2 that alone is going to drive numbers.

@MattBoothDev i own and preferred the Digital PS5, but i have been digital for over 10 years now. It’s what works for me. I am lucky that me and my wife work from home so we have 1000mbps fiber internet. I downloaded Diablo 4 at 75 GB’s in 12 mins. Thats faster than driving to a store one way. Physical is dying a slow death in the stores, my local GameStop, Bestbuy and even Walmart and target hardly have much games on the shelves. This makes me sad cause while digital is what i prefer and the future of course, i want players to have options. I want those that prefer a physical disc to be able to have it. I don’t think it’s an either or thing. They can co exist, but digital sales crushes physical lately and it appears the writing is on the wall. I do believe PS6 will have some form of a disc drive, maybe a separate purchase, but PS7 will not have a drive in it. Stores will barely carry physical games and if GameStop is even around it will be an action figure/T shirt store more than games. At the moment Sony produces less Digital consoles than physical, but the rumored PS5 upgrade will be a digital system that you buy a disc drive add on. That seems to be their way of weening physical away and move to digital.

@Mio_Nakashima I'm really fascinated to see how well the next new Nintendo console or hybrid does. I don't think Nintendo have had back to back successful consoles in a long time, last time I think was NES followed by the SNES, both being very succesful back to back for their time. Obviously hugely successful Nintendo handhelds inbetween and the hugely successful Wii of course

@MattBoothDev, It's also what Sony wants for now because they are shipping a lot more PS5s with a disc drive than without one.

@HonestHick well, I live in the UK, where discs are £10 cheaper and the internet sucks.

I don't see how discs are dying when the disc console is steadily outselling the digital console.

@Sil_Am Sony want you on digital, evidenced by the loss leading discount they've given on that SKU.

They want you on digital because they get a straight 30% cut of everything you buy. They don't get that with physical media, because we can trade physical games.

the comments on Gematsu show very well why we have the gaming market we have today.

Gamers get what they deserve.

SE and probably Sony are happy that's all that matters.

@MattBoothDev For sure they would prefer if everything was digital only, but the evidence is there that they are shipping more PS5s with a disc drive for the moment. I think less than a quarter of the PS5s sold are digital only.

@OneWingedAngel Well said.

Yet, It's not just that they have been modernized in my opinion. It's that they have done so poorly. FF16 is a perfect example of poorly attempting to follow trends and not even doing that well, and in the process tacking on lesser, half baked rpg elements to the already simple, basic linear walk to cut scene and shallow but flashy combat mechanics. FF16 is a subpar attempt of a great many things all put together, and only saved by those that overlook those things due to the spectacle apparent in the cut scenes and on rails boss encounters that comprise over 75% of the game.

For some that works, and that's great. To further gut an IP to do so was a bad move once again by square and feels more like an attempt to cash in on the IP branding at the expense of that IP brand and the fandom desperately hoping for it to release a finished and robust RPG in modern times.

@MattBoothDev console wise the disc edition sells more, but Digital game sales lead for Sony by a large margin. I think i read somewhere where Sony in the beginning at least was making 3-1 disc vs digital consoles, cause i wanted the Digital edition and it was hard to find, 2X harder to find than the disc and those were a unicorn. I linked you the push square digital sales. It’s not close buddy and i think physical won’t make PS7. Which again i have no horse in the physical race other than i want gamers to have choice

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/07/nearly-80percent-of-all-ps5-ps4-games-are-bought-digitally

@KundaliniRising333, Finished product? It's the most polished FF release in a long time. I don't know where you people come with these ideeas, have you even read more than one selective review that suits your agenda? Have you even played the game? It's fukin Final Fantasy how the creator wanted it to be. Move on already, because your type of FF has been gone for like 20 years now.

@Sil_Am I never said FF16 wasn't finished. It absolutely is aside from the technical shortcomings. I said finished RPG, which FF16 is absolutely not. Which for many FF fans, is not the take on modernization and refinement we had hoped for/wanted. Thats all.

Either you like it or you don't, either is totally fine.

@KundaliniRising333 I guess the thing for me is that you could show me footage of FFXVI and, if it didn't have a moogle, eikon, or chocobo, I'd have no idea it was supposed to even be a FF-related game, let alone a mainline entry. Based on what I've seen, it's an action game with light RPG elements and FF branding.

If DMC wearing a Final Fantasy skinsuit is what people want from the series, then I'm happy for them, but the only reason it's not gutting for me is because I'm used to being disappointed by new Final Fantasy games.

If DQXII is as "dark" and "adult" as S-E is letting on, though, I might cry.

@Ralizah Totally get it. Square on a whole has largely put out disappointing stuff as of late, so it was a fairly easy wait and see for me. Although i must admit I almost bought it day one or a few days after, because they hype, and mainstream reviews making it out to be a lot more than it is.

So glad i did some homework and read what was overlooked when giving final scores, and cross referenced that with my demo exp, and the more straight up you tube reviews.

Where did you see SE suggesting that the next DQ was growing up? I would definitely be interested in that as well, as long as they didn't gut every resemblance of it being an rpg in the process, but for hardcore fans i get it that's a much larger step away from what its been as of late than what FF16 tried.

@Sil_Am which fills me with hope 😁

@KundaliniRising333

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/05/dragon_quest_xii_the_flames_of_fate_is_a_more_adult_dragon_quest_has_player_choice_new_combat_style

New combat system. "Dragon Quest for adults."

Bleh.

@Ralizah ahh. missed this thank you. Hopefully it keeps enough of what you love from the series to still be interesting to you.

I suspect long term, and the tradeoffs that I suspect will become more evident as time passes, in regard to FF16, will ensure they don't make the same mistakes and make this some sort of roadmap going forward.

I do think there is a way to modernize and make more an IP "more appealing to a wider audience," yet retain the charm and loved aspects of an IP for the fans that made them such long running series.

@KundaliniRising333 While it's not perfect, I was pretty happy with Final Fantasy VII Remake in most respects. Especially the combat system, which, crucially, felt actioney without sacrificing controllable parties. Just... expand that, cut out the forced walking stuff, give it a full world map, and you'd have a pretty good current gen FF game, I think.

I believe it also sold well.

Hopefully FFXVII in 10+ years is more like that and less like XVI.

@MattBoothDev I disagree, I think Sony are aware that the physical option is a pretty big ace over pc, I think they'll defend it as best they can.

There are so many families with multiple Switches/Switch Lite but I don't know anyone who's bought 2 PS5 in the same family.

It's not surprising at all.

@HonestHick we're at least 20 years from a digital only gen imo. Many countries have infrastructure nowhere near good enough and most places still have data caps.

@Andy22385 you sure about that? Sure seems to me it’s closer than 20 years. Not saying you are wrong about internet speeds, tho data cap’s are not as much of a thing these day’s. I’ll link you the sales and let you decide.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/07/nearly-80percent-of-all-ps5-ps4-games-are-bought-digitally

I love how the comment sections make it seem like the game is of somehow debatable quality…

…those are pretty big numbers!
Happy for Square Enix: FFXVI deserves everything and more. There are many JRPG series playing it safe and giving us a slightly updated version of the same game all the times - I love FFXVI and hope FFXVII is nothing like it

@HonestHick I mean obviously not 100% but even in America they are so that says a lot

The article doesn't paint a true picture
It doesn't include indies which are digital only, it doesn't include the second hand market. And it likely includes PS plus downloads (remember you get a 'purchase receipt' for each one you download)

@Andy22385 that article tells me lot’s of downloads are happening and less and less people are going to the store cause the stores barely have any games in stock. Zelda was the only game i can think of that had a big supply in stores. I went to Best Buy when SF6 came out and they said they only got 6 copies for pre orders. I was like wow. Then you go to the aisle and it’s bare with just accessories. I think the overall picture is painted. It’s on it way out, but it won’t just disappear cause there is still plenty of gamers that like physical. I don’t want it to disappear for those gamers. But the numbers just aren’t in favor of it lasting to much longer. This gen from last is a huge difference in stores, by PS7 no way.