Final Fantasy 16 stumbles – only one thing can save the action RPG

Final Fantasy 16 has been out since June 22nd, delighting millions of JRPG fans. Only in its home country of Japan can the role-playing game not really convince the fans. We explain to you why this is so and what drastic step Bloomberg is proposing.

Final Fantasy 16 is a success, just not in Japan

After many years of waiting, Final Fantasy 16 was released on June 22, 2023 for the PlayStation 5 – exclusively mind you. And the release was really something to be proud of. The reviews were very good with an average of 87 percent (see Metacritic) and publisher Square Enix proudly announced the first sales figures shortly after the release:

Accordingly, Final Fantasy 16 has sold around three million copies within a very short time. So the action RPG is up to date the fastest selling PlayStation 5 exclusive.

To be fair, it has to be said here that big PlayStation blockbusters like God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Forbidden West have also been released for the PS4, which is why these games were not included in the evaluation.

Nevertheless: Final Fantasy 16 is apparently a complete success! Only in his homeland of Japan, the game is not really well received. According to Bloomberg, a news and information services provider, the sales of FF 16 collapsed massively in the second week.

Even the start of the game was rather restrained in Japan. The role-playing game was able to sell around 336,000 copies when it was released. For comparison: the two predecessors, ie Final Fantasy 15 and the remake of Final Fantasy 7, went over the counter more than 700,000 times in the same time.

Can a sale save the situation in Japan?

Bloomberg sees only one solution: Square Enix has had to significantly reduce the game’s price in Japan. Otherwise, sales will stagnate completely after just two weeks.

But why is that? As previously mentioned, FF 16 is a PS5 exclusive and the console isn’t that widespread yet. But the fans on Twitter see a completely different problem: Japanese gamers prefer turn-based and classic role-playing games.

However, Final Fantasy 16 is a solid action RPG and is strongly based on western models with its story and setting. The game’s story is often compared to the Game of Thrones series. That too could deter many Japanese. It remains to be seen whether Square Enix will react immediately to the weak sales figures in Japan.