Another PC port that'll flop? Final Fantasy 16 debuts on Steam with 1470 player count

ethomaz

ethomaz

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Systemshock2023 said:
What I don't understand is why sony funds marketing costs when people anyway will buy FF on PS. I would understand Xbox doing that but PS?

That money could be used for first party games.
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Sony fund / help game developers (even more Japan game developers) all the time.
It is part of their delivery as platform holder.
And of of the key point of their success.

Nobody remember but most well know IPs from PS1 era were 3rd-party with Sony funding the development.
That is how FFVII ended being exclusive to PS1 after all previous games being on Nintendo platforms.
Square Soft was very excited to work with GCI and the CD space but the Sony fund is what really set the deal.
 
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thicc_girls_are_teh_best

thicc_girls_are_teh_best

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19.4K now on Steam; at this rate it should probably tap out between 25K-30K peak realistic.

FWIW, Persona 5 peaked at 35K, but that was a Day 1 PC release. And there's a small chance XVI could match or beat that game's peak CCU over the weekend.

I'm not saying any of this to imply the game isn't a "bomb"; CCUs don't tell us everything about sales metrics for example, and for all we know total sales could be on the lower side. But, with the numbers as they currently are, the game's probably going to be at least a modest success on Steam, probably 1 million copies between now and next year.

Still nothing compared to what the game sold on PS5, btw. And that's with pre-launch sabotage by Square-Enix themselves i.e already talking about the PC version publicly before even releasing the PS5 one (including fine print in the TV adverts; same thing happened with Rebirth BTW).
 
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Evilnemesis8

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thicc_girls_are_teh_best said:
19.4K now on Steam; at this rate it should probably tap out between 25K-30K peak realistic.

FWIW, Persona 5 peaked at 35K, but that was a Day 1 PC release. And there's a small chance XVI could match or beat that game's peak CCU over the weekend.

I'm not saying any of this to imply the game isn't a "bomb"; CCUs don't tell us everything about sales metrics for example, and for all we know total sales could be on the lower side. But, with the numbers as they currently are, the game's probably going to be at least a modest success on Steam, probably 1 million copies between now and next year.

Still nothing compared to what the game sold on PS5, btw. And that's with pre-launch sabotage by Square-Enix themselves i.e already talking about the PC version publicly before even releasing the PS5 one (including fine print in the TV adverts; same thing happened with Rebirth BTW).
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In my experience, as a watcher of Steam, JRPGs do about 10-25% of the launch sales even for Day 1 titles.
There's a few exceptions of course, like Granblue Fantasy Relink(but that's because 50% of reviews come from China.)

Looking at SteamDB estimates, and thinking of a "realistic" number for FF7RIntegrade's copies sold when it was an EGS exclusive, it seems that FF(FFXVI included, although that's TBD)titles are looking at being on the low end of the scale at 10%~

Now, like I said, some of that can be attributed to delayed launches/EGS deals/questionable quality of PC ports.
But even at a 20%+~ of launch/LTDs, PC is just a supplemental help.
It is not the "magic pill" to make FF sells many more copies.

Increasingly, it looks like if Square-Enix wants to sell a lot more copies for FF(mainline and/or spin-off) they need to release their titles on the Nintendo platform Day 1, or at least in a timely manner. But considering the trajectory of the FF franchise, in terms of scope/fidelity, it seems that without a drastic change, it's not looking very feasible.

I know folks here at not big fan of downsizing the scope of ambitions, at least how it manifest itself for FF. Likewise for the current crop of Producers/Directors in charge I think. A bit stuck between a rock and a hard place, it seems like.

I don't think we're going to see FFXVII in a long time. I imagine we won't know what kind of internal changes will be taking place as far as the direction for the franchise either. It is a curious time for sure over at S-E.
I imagine there's a lot of changes going on right now.
 
Systemshock2023

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They are inconsistent for sure. Same applies to FFVII REMake. Some of the greatest graphics ever (Aerith House and garden) and hideous textures and character models in other places.

Heard remake part 2 is an even worse offender as it traded quality for scale.
 
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Landiri

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Evilnemesis8 said:
I know folks here at not big fan of downsizing the scope of ambitions, at least how it manifest itself for FF. Likewise for the current crop of Producers/Directors in charge I think. A bit stuck between a rock and a hard place, it seems like.
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Downsizing would mean selling much less.
Most JRPGs are not Multi-Million Sellers, and rather niche in the west.

Big-Budget Visuals always made FF stick out. Take that away, and it will have much less pull.
 
anonpuffs

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If this hits 500k sold in launch week at $50 it'll be a decent infusion of cash if square really is strapped. Pretty sad state of affairs though.
 
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Wraith Phantom

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You know whats funny. They have not made a AAA game without Sony money.They make losses & they think multiplatform release day & date makes them more money. Seriously how do have so much data on your products & still make poor choices.
 
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Landiri

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rofif said:
Ive said it many times. Pc players are used to gaas now. Aside from er and some exemptions
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PC Gaming Culture is inherently different from Console Gaming Culture.
PC Gamers often want a Game as some sort of background noise, while watching YouTube/Netflix and/or sit on e.g. Discord, so that they have someone to talk to.

Many (Online-based) PC-Gamers are just lonely people, who don't even enjoy Videogames, but use them the "cool" thing to do, and have a chance for meeting people over them.
Just look at MMORPGs, which are basically glorified Chatrooms with a Skinnerbox attached, justifying parasocial interactions.

Console-Gamers on the other hand are more likely to pursue the goal of simply "sitting down and playing".
They have no Problem with focusing on a videogame solely while enjoying themselves, without Multi-Tasking 20 other applications on a second monitor.

Johnic said:
AAA gaming on PC is dead, minus a very few exceptions. I get XVI is too out there for some FF fans but the same goes for huge IPs like Resident Evil. A user base the fraction of the PC one, buys so much more.
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The Question is: What precisly is the definition of a "PC Gamer"?

- Does every PC Gamer have a system capable of running AAA Games?
- Does every PC Gamer has the interest in frequently buying Premium Games?
- Does every PC Gamer even has the money to buy Premium Games?

Meanwhile, on Console, every customer is prepared for any game releasing on their platform!
Piracy is not a thing (except on older modded systems MAYBE), so they know it is either buying or not playing.

With a Console you know what you got, and even more important: WHY you got it!

PC-Gaming is more like: "Yeah i could play a online-videogame, because everyone does it, so i should too...".
 
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rofif

rofif

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Landiri said:
PC Gaming Culture is inherently different from Console Gaming Culture.
PC Gamers often want a Game as some sort of background noise, while watching YouTube/Netflix and/or sit on e.g. Discord, so that they have someone to talk to.

Many (Online-based) PC-Gamers are just lonely people, who don't even enjoy Videogames, but use them the "cool" thing to do, and have a chance for meeting people over them.
Just look at MMORPGs, which are basically glorified Chatrooms with a Skinnerbox attached, justifying parasocial interactions.
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Good points. I used to be that distracted pc player. Everything started to be distracting at some point with raise of the internet and yt/streaming.
I find myself easier to focus on a game alone when I play on a console. And on pc, technical stuff can also be distracting for me.
I realize it's more personal thing but it is what it is
 
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