Final Fantasy is a big deal in Japan. So big, in fact, that Cloud is more of a national icon than he is a video game hero.

And this is why Famitsu has predicted that Final Fantasy XIII will crack the million-sold barrier…in the first week .  As you all know by now, FFXIII is slated to launch in Japan on December 17 and according to the country's most popular gaming publication, it'll hit the one million plateau before Christmas. Now, here's the thing: they aren't releasing the Xbox 360 version of the game in Japan, which means Sony should see a massive sales boost for the PS3 in the Land of the Rising Sun when Lightning and Co. land on store shelves. In this country, we've already seen a sales surge thanks to the price drop and introduction of the new Slim model, and you can bet more consumers will respond when the likes of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves drops next month. Oh, and let's not forget about Gran Turismo 5 , which should almost certainly arrive this year (we become more and more convinced of that with every passing day). But will any title match the success of FFXIII in Japan? Er…maybe GT5 has a shot, but other than that…

Famitsu made more sales predictions , too, if you care to check them out. They're usually not far off with these guesses.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII

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NightHawk17
NightHawk17
13 years ago

pretty gutsy thing to say, since they dont believe the slim will have any effect in japan

ed_winchester
ed_winchester
13 years ago

Where's Patcher with his prediction

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
13 years ago

I predict a prediction that is most predictable by the end of the week.

cowboy828
cowboy828
13 years ago

I predict that I will buy this game.
and I hope this is true I love final fantasy.

Godslim
Godslim
13 years ago

haha same i will buy it day one!

godsman
godsman
13 years ago

I dont know if it's culture or not, but i noticed that Japanese sales tapers much faster than US & UK sales in any games. I don't know if this means that Japan hypes up their preorders more than US.

For ex. MGS4 that continues to sell well in US months after, but in Japan, after they have a huge week of sales then it drops significantly.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
13 years ago

probably because there are so relatively few people in Japan (lots for the land area though) and everyone who can get it does so right away.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
13 years ago

If they sell that many copies of FFXIII in one week in Japan it will single handedly outsell both Star Ocean4 and The Last Remnant in only one week of sales. Do you think that might send a message to the brain trust at Square Enix?

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
13 years ago

SE Brain trust = oxymoron these days

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
13 years ago

Indeed, I should have used the <irony> tag…

😉

Banky A
Banky A
13 years ago

Oh the irony.

bebestorm
bebestorm
13 years ago

Its possible… DQ9 sales were amazing.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

They need to make a dragonquest on the PS3 with an updated version of the dragonquest VIII engine. I think a Chrono Trigger remake with that engine would be awesome too.

mexgeo86
mexgeo86
13 years ago

I second a Dragon Quest installment on the ps3

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

It won't happen for awhile. I just heard Squares plans for DragonQuest X are slated for the Wii. It's so far off though, maybe that will change. I like the Wii so I wouldn't mind it but I know many of your would prefer it be in the PS3.

Andysw
Andysw
13 years ago

"But will any title match the success of FFXIII in Japan?"

How about final fantasy versus XIII?

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

I don't know. That seems like a bold prediction. Anyone remember or know how well XII sold in it's first week?

Cloud a national icon? That's funny. After playing Dissidia and the other Final Fantasy VII compilation games Cloud seems like a different character then what I remember in VII. I don't remember him being so melancholy.

I_defenestrate
I_defenestrate
13 years ago

My complete memory of VII is a bit hazy, but when playing Dissidia I felt that Cloud was true to his character post VII and I haven't seen him in Crisis Core yet, so..my point being, I need to download VII from the PSN and play it again.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

Maybe it's just the terrible voice actor they picked for him. I think in VII the characters not having voice overs gave us more imaginative freedom over how the characters expressed themselves. Cloud didn't say much in Crisis Core but the English version of Advent Children and Dissidia, Cloud doesn't fit how I imagined him I guess back in the day.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

Ok I stand corrected. Maybe over a million in a week isn't so bold after all. Just checked Wikipedia, XII managed to sell 1,764,000 copies in first week in Japan.

Sir Shak
Sir Shak
13 years ago

I expect them to be more .

Ricochet
Ricochet
13 years ago

If it does, then it shows FFXIII is truly a hot game, regardless of the changes made when it was exclusive for the PS3.

dante_zero
dante_zero
13 years ago

well lets hope that it pushes Square-enix to get other regions out the door faster and get back to the real superstar Final Fantasy 13 vesus.

Godslim
Godslim
13 years ago

i dunno dude i think 13 will be better than versus

Douchebaguette
Douchebaguette
13 years ago

I dunno either, Godslim; judging from the trailers, FFvsXIII seemed like it was packed with stronger aura & presence from the very beginning.

Hexen
Hexen
13 years ago

I doubt SE is going into Versus thinking "well this won't be better then our previous game 13 but it's good enough".That just Dog dumb.

therabbitkinge
therabbitkinge
13 years ago

Well the japanese have been well known for showing EXTREME love to the FF franchise so its not an off prediction and at the very least all it says is that japan likes it. I hope it fairs well when it hits western shores ^_^

kreate
kreate
13 years ago

assuming these predictions come true. Microsoft should drop their xbox advertisement and stop pouring money into the xbox in japan. but just contiuosly support what they already have there, since there are xbox users in japan.

xbox is such a success in north america and the machine doesnt seem to penetrate into asian markets, mine as well focus all the resources on the regions where the xbox is succeeding.

it seems like a waste to try to sell a machine that asians doesnt want. or, they can make a high profile exclusive (meaning no pc, no ds ports, no psp ports, etc) that fits the the japanese taste in games. halo, gears of war, fable is just not what japanese wants to play.

Godslim
Godslim
13 years ago

have to agree mate….its annoying though how well 360 is doing in america

smileys_007
smileys_007
13 years ago

This is a no brainer. FFXIII will EASILY sell 1 million copies in Japan on its first week and sony will see a massive sales boost on the ps3. It's an expected win-win situation for sony.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
13 years ago

I'll buy a million copies if what Wada said was true: that we would see it stateside in 3 months from Japan's release. I'll eat my bloody hat too.

shadowpal2
shadowpal2
13 years ago

1 million in its first week? NO SHIT. I mean for crying out loud this is Japan we are talking about here. Of course they're going to buy it. Also think about just how many people are going to import it?

Will this boost the PS3 sales…yes it will considering there's a PS3 FFXIII bundle.

Don't you guys remember at all back when Square Enix released the FFXIII demo along with FFVII Advent Children Complete? Did you guys not hear about PS3 sales increasing by a lot? Because I certainly did.

Metallisnake
Metallisnake
13 years ago

of courrce it sell more than hotcakes…..i may be a final fantasy noob which i have 7 8 n 12 but i havent beaten any yet cause they r soo dam hard and challenging and im trying to get into jrpgs but ill buy this day 1 with the strategy guide i know im terrible and suk major balls…..man the easiest rpg ever could easily be to me kingdom hearts 1 and 2 but thats just me……………anyways this game will ROCK!!!!!!

Banky A
Banky A
13 years ago

FFvXIII is the Dark Knight of this party of three.
And I always go with the Dark Knight ^_^

<End off topic-ness>

eLLeJuss
eLLeJuss
13 years ago

Yup. maybe even 2 million.

Jonesy555
Jonesy555
13 years ago

"Newsflash: Final Fantasy XIII will sell one million in one week!

In other news, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and smelling shit is never a good idea"

In other words, this news really doesn't surprise me SE.