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- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was one of this year’s most anticipated titles.
- It has been reported that the game sold over 262K copies in its first week in Japan.
- This makes the launch sales 22% worse than Final Fantasy 16’s sales in the first week.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is one of the IP’s highest-rated games to date, but it seems the JRPG might not find the same commercial success as its predecessors.
According to the latest numbers from Famitsu, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has sold over 262K physical units in Japan on its debut. While impressive, this is much worse than the last two mainline entries.
Why it matters: This JRPG was a major release for Square Enix, so these launch figures might not be the most encouraging.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth sold 262,656 retail copies first week in Japan 🔥
Other FF first week retail sales in Japan for comparison:
▶️ Final Fantasy 16 – 336,027
▶️ Final Fantasy VII Remake – 702,853See more: https://t.co/4NidAZ38bR pic.twitter.com/YJsmopHxda
— Hunter 🎮 (@NextGenPlayer) March 7, 2024
Famitsu’s latest weekly data states Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth topped the Japanese sales charts, with 262,656 physical copies sold in the first week.
However, when compared to its predecessors, this release falls behind. Last year’s Final Fantasy 16, which was not considered a bit polarizing for the IP, sold 336,027 copies in the first week.
Final Fantasy 16 also strayed away from the tastes of the Japanese audience, introducing real-time combat. On the other hand, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is closer to the traditional fan-favorite JRPG.
While these are physical figures, the comparison is relevant since both titles came out less than a year apart. If this trend holds, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth sales might be worse in general.
Final Fantasy 16 sold 3 million units in a single week. However, over a week later, Square Enix and PlayStation have yet to announce a sales update for the latest release, hinting at an impending disappointment.
Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 7 Remake sold thrice as many copies during its debut in 2020, though this game launched to a bigger player base on the PS4.
Recently, the producer of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth stated that PS5 exclusivity helped the team create a seamless world in the game. While the exclusivity was beneficial for the developers, it could negatively impact sales.
Square Enix has begun to reduce its exclusivity window for Final Fantasy titles. At this rate, the gaming giant could abandon exclusivity altogether, releasing future games on all platforms at once.
Titles like the latest Like a Dragon and Persona games have shown that there is still a massive audience for JRPGs on Steam, so Square Enix is missing out by choosing to continue its PlayStation exclusivity.
Nonetheless, this is only the first week, and we have seen multiple games bounce back recently.
Helldivers 2 and Palworld immediately come to mind, and while both games are very different in nature, a similar trend cannot be ruled out for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Therefore, we look forward to a sales update from Square Enix in the next week.
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[News Reporter]
Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.
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