Ben-DutkaWe distinctly recall some guy at Microsoft claiming Final Fantasy XIII would sell more copies on the Xbox 360. We know Square-Enix thought going multiplatform with the series was the right thing to do.
Well, we hope the veteran role-playing publisher is happy with a million and a half sales of the 360 version worldwide. That's about 1/3 of the overall number, according to a recent VGChartz update , where it seems Microsoft's prediction (even analysts found it to be a little nutty) fell flat. With worldwide sales of about 5.75 million and 4.24 million copies of the PS3 version, it's clear that Sony's platform is still the console of choice for followers of the legendary franchise. We could bear in mind that the game didn't release for the 360 in Japan, but then again, what if it had ? There are about 12 360s in that region so it probably wouldn't have mattered much, and Square-Enix obviously knew that. Besides, the PS3 version still sold twice as many copies as the 360 version in Europe, and it even won in North America. Remember that the 360 has a much larger lead in terms of console sales in the US – the gap shrinks to about 4 million if you count all global sales – so this statistic is also very significant.
Will this dissuade Square-Enix in the future? Nah. We're certain they view those 1.5 million 360 copies as a stone-cold success. Now we'll just wait for Versus XIII to be announced for the 360…and sell 1/4 what the PS3 version does.
Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII
Well, as distasteful as it is to see their betrayal of a loyal fanbase, selling 1.5 million copies of a game at about $60 a pop is $90 million in sales revenue of which they will see something like $25-$30 million. I would bet a large chunk of that that it cost them less than that to port the game to the 360, and the sweetener from MS helped too. So from their business point of view it makes sense.
On the other hand, the PS3 is clearly more fertile territory for them, both in Japan, and in the western markets. The statistics for the sales in the US are particularly impressive for the PS3 as it really does have a significant disadvantage vs the 360 install base in the US. A multi-plat game where the PS3 version outsells the 360 version in the US? That has to be a first.
Also considering the advertising only mentioned the 360 version I would say that is pretty huge.
Absolutely, I'd forgotten that.
Wonder whether the moro…businessmen in charge at SE will realize that they have a loyal base on the PS3. Of course, if they do, they'll probably just worry that they haven't got as many on the 360…
Right. With the incentives from Microsoft and the profit earned on 360 sales, Final Fantasy will continue to be multiplatform.
This is more likely the reason for FFvXIII delay beyond 2011.
And even the arrogant silly little fanboy from M$ – Aaron Greenberg said that the Xbox 360 version of the game will sell more than the PS3. WOW – for the first time in a while I hear Xbots in silence regarding FFXIII.
Oh and I believe the day is coming soon when MyVoucherCodes.co.uk goes bankrupt considering their moronic claim that the Xbox 360 version of FFXIII will outsell the PS3 version by 2:1.
http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/02/final-fantasy-xiii-xbox-360-will-outsell-ps3-version-by-21/
Ridiculous huh?
Said it before and I'll say it again….
Microsoft ruined the video game market!!!!
This is a clear indication of how they failed to do what they've been doing with other games and other franchises. They buy the rights, with no artistic credit themselves, and claim their console and their version of the game is better.
If it weren't for Xbox Live and Halo, Xbox would be a memory like the 3DO, or Sega Saturn, or Virtual Boy.
Damn you Microsoft Gaming division. You managed to take a beautiful artistic industry and turn it into a money-hungry soulless corporate business. Thanks to you, games are about making millions of dollars with a sub-par prodcuct. I don't know how those guys sleep at night.
This game does not deserve these sales.
Why not?
these sales should have gone to gow3 or uncharted 2. this game was a huge letdown that's why. that's my opinion of course.
Yea the game blew chunks for a Final Fantasy.
Fair enough.
I do agree it was a let down of a Final Fantasy, but the game in and of itself deserves above average sales. Compare it's actual quality (not perceived due to fan loyalty) to that of MW2. I know they're different genres, but I mean, there are worse games than FFXIII that still sold better.
Meh,
I've grown to appreciate FFXIII for what it does right and I LOVE the soundtrack and the storyline. While it may not be the best within the FF series it's one of the best games I've played thus far this generation and I've put far more hrs into FFXIII than UC2.
Not me. I havent even finished it yet. I got to the end and gave up. The game started to feel like a chore and the battle system was unbearable by the end. I may go back to it at some point but as of right now it's not doing for me what other Final Fantasy have done. Besides X-2 this is the only other FF I gave up on before completion.
*gasp*
X-2 had great depth in its gameplay and the multiple endings were a great ending to the storyline introduced in X.
Ha I never made it past the Thunder fields or what ever they were called. I still own it. I may give it another try since we are lacking proper JRPG's this gen.
Last edited by Jawknee on 9/3/2010 4:27:20 PM
X-2's battle system was probably one of the best as far as turn base is concerned in a FF game. So far, FF13 is the only ff game that im certain i will never play more than once. Beating it once was enough for me, didn't even try to grab the trophies
about time a game blows away the 360 that is multiplat. i still think the game was gimped for the 360. 1.5 million is still a lot of sales to justify going multiplat but i just wish the other system was on the same page as the one i play my games on.
how bout the stats on how many people traded in their copy of it? lol
Notice how most if not all once 3rd party exclusives to Sony have gone down in terms of quality this gen after going multiplatform?
Man Jawknee. You speak the truth.
Its common knowledge
Games gotta be made to the lowest common denominator… And that just happens to be the 360… It's really no wonder PS3 exclusives blow everything the 360 has out of the water all the way around…
Ye, if Vs.XIII goes multiplat, thats the final nail in the coffin for Square-Enix in my books. Seriously I see their drop in quality as the biggest ever in game history. They were literally the RPG kings for about 2.5 gens (they did awesomely on the snes and PS1, and for about half of the PS2 gen). What the HELL, S-E?
They're still trying to take FFXIV multi, so why not Ys. XIII?
The delay on the PS3 version has nothing (IMHO) to do with coding prolbems with that version, it's all to do with them still trying to secure a release on the 360.
You are probably right Highlander, and of course they would want a simultaneous release.
This isn't surprising at all.
Highlander is right.
And I posted an article on it earlier in another FF thread about SE begging MS to change some XBL restrictions, so MS can re-fill SE's bungholes again with more soft 2-ply greenbacks.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 9/3/2010 10:30:01 PM
The funny thing is that FFXIII would have sold the same amount of copies if the 360 version didn't exist.
The only thing SE accomplished was preventing Sony from selling another million-plus PS3s, which is funny because Sony holds stock in SE.
I'm not sure if Square cares much about this. They'll still pay attention to the number of 360s [shipped] and will continue to cater to that fan base.
Greentoad says a lot of things that aren't true.
No one should be surprised over this. I sure hope SE isn't. I also sure hope that SE learned a thing or two about the Playstation 3 fan base.
The 1.5 million 360 versions sold are an indicator of 360 loyalty to me, nothing more, nothing less.
I know I'm late to the conversation but I read on a lot of sites like Kotaku where xbots where saying they have both systems, but were buying it for xbox to show their love to M$.
i bought this game for 20 bucks brand new at best buy, and i still feel ripped off. all i did was press the x button the whole time. smh this game sucks
Not to nitpick, but I'm pretty sure you only press one button in most all FFs. You only selected commands with one button in turn-based RPGs, remember?
That's hardly the reason FFXIII was sub-par for the series. Overall, it was a great game in its own right.
Even I bought FF13 for the PS3 thanks to that Best Buy deal….and trust me, at this point, that's saying something.
I started dozing off during a battle and won by the time I woke.
This happened.
BTW vgcharts is not the most reliable source in the internet. they are a joke.
A joke that's been cited by numerous news sites around the world, none or very few that are illegitimate news sites ("fanboy sites" are one kind)?
Their predictions are at least close, and far better than other "tracking sites" I've seen on the net.
What you're saying is a joke, and a bad one at that.
Last edited by Victor321 on 9/3/2010 12:13:04 PM
Well you got me.and as you say (Their predictions) what makes you sure they are close to the real one ?
They've been tracking console and game sales for over a decade now, and they've always been not off the mark. There are things I can nitpick at, such as their estimates for the PS3 sales (they're at least 4 million off lol…) but in the grand scheme of things, they're reliable.
Additionally, they do really really long analysis articles, forecasts, and the like. It's probably late, but sorry if I came off rude.
Do not worry about it I know that the majority of this site are good guys and true gamers.
Thanks for the reply, you put me at ease Wissam =)
I'm afraid even though they can clearly see who are their royal fanbase, they will not change their way.
The most humorous thing about all of this is that like you state Ben, SE most likely sees those 1.5 million copies on the 360 a huge success and rightly so. 1.5 million copies is nothing to scoff at, but on the other hand, had they made a more traditional FF game and left it exclusive to the PS3 and it had only sold 4 million copies they would have looked at that and regarded it as a failure. I am certain of this.
That kind of attitude is why they changed the game up in the first place, because the "Western" market had not been coming around to their Japanese style in their eyes. These 1.5 million sales might be paltry in comparison to the sales of the PS3 but I can guarantee that they see it as a clear indicator that catering to the western "twitch" gamer is the way they need to go to succeed, instead of seeing it rationally and thinking that most people bought it on name recognition alone and were expecting something else.
as long as SE don't f*** up vXIII by going multi I don't really care about those numbers. FFXVIII was a decent game, but a disappointing RPG/FF.
I'm putting all my faith in FFvXIII – the game I've been looking forward to since I've got my PS3 – should SE screw this up for a 360 port then I'm most likely done buying their games.
Last edited by ro kurorai on 9/3/2010 12:20:25 PM
To be honest I think it is just a matter of time before we hear the posting announcement. Everything that is surrounding FFvXIII is much too reminiscent of what happened with XIII. Though, I don't think they will remove the world map, NPCs, and towns again even if they do release it on both systems. I'd like to believe that they learned their lesson with the amount of fan backlash over that in XIII, but that could just be wishful thinking.
We'll see. If it is a multiplat game I am definitely going to be waiting on reviews and to see actual game play before buying it.
i don't really think SE has felt any backlash from fans.
Remember when a couple months ago, Wada was absolutely shocked that people would actually like a FFVII remake? Something people had been screaming for since the tech demo 4-5 years ago?
Great point Underdog. I didn't want to believe it but I think they are so detached from their fans that they really have no idea what they want or the fact that the number of real fans they have are dwindling away before their eyes.
"Now we'll just wait for Versus XIII to be announced for the 360…and sell 1/4 what the PS3 version does."
And hope that the superior version doesn't get compromised by that amount, maybe even more.
Now I can wait for MS to add the number of copies available in those unsold FFXIII 360 bundles, which is a guaranteed, what 4 million? and then go "AH SEE? WE SOLD MORE THAN PS3".
What fun!
Both versions still sucked… (IMO)