Final Fantasy 16 sales should be seen relative to PS5 install base

In a statement to IGN, Square Enix said that FF16 has performed well considering the PS5’s install base — echoing what many have pointed out in response to sales comparisons with past titles.

“Taking into consideration the sales figures of the acclaimed Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the difference in size of the install base of the PlayStation 4 at the time of this title’s release, we can see that the attach rate of Final Fantasy 16 is considerably high, given the PS5 install base,” Square Enix said, adding that it considers FF16’s initial results to be “extremely strong.” The company also said that it will “continue to carry out a wide range of initiatives” to encourage more people to play the game.

Square Enix has earned a reputation for openly expressing its disappointment with game sales. The company said as much with reference to the popular Tomb Raider (2013) reboot among numerous other titles. Earlier this year, Square Enix admitted that Forspoken has flopped. In light of this, we’ll take the official word on FF16 sales over a random Twitter profile’s.

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Final Fantasy 16 DLC news “hopefully” coming soon

In response to a question about FF16’s DLC, Yoshida said that the development team approached the game’s development with the view to delivering a complete experience. Yoshida said that he wanted to give fans something to enjoy “100% from beginning to end without any DLC.”

While Yoshida believes that FF16’s development team was able to achieve its vision, he acknowledged that feedback received from “a lot of players” revolve around potential DLC. “We’re taking that [feedback] and thinking about our options,” Yoshida continued. “So, hopefully, in the near future we have something that we can give to you all.”

Final Fantasy 16 launched to positive reviews from fans and critics alike, and went on to sell over 3 million copies worldwide within its first week. However, its sales performance has become the subject of heated debates on social media, with some spelling doom for the franchise.

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Square Enix has a treasure trove of beloved IP, and it’s not just fans asking for more revivals. At a recent Annual Shareholders meeting, a shareholder brought up Xenogears when quizzing executives about more remasters in the future.

Square Enix teasing “forthcoming announcements” of more remasters

As of May 2023, FF Pixel Remaster sales have crossed 2 million copies across all platforms. When a shareholder asked if more remasters were a possibility considering the game’s success, Square Enix remained a little coy. While it understandably refused to divulge details, the company asked shareholders to look out for announcements.

“We are considering various ideas within the company and hope that you will look forward to forthcoming announcements,” Square Enix responded.

Fans have since taken to social media and gaming forums with wish lists, a common theme among which is Parasite Eve. The PlayStation RPG has garnered quite the cult following over the years, but unfortunately, every glimmer of hope thus far has been dashed. The last time Parasite Eve fans thought they were getting a new entry, Square Enix announced an NFT called “Symbiogenesis.”

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Are Final Fantasy 16 sales really all that bad?

FF16 launched on a single platform, so compared to its predecessor — which hit 5 million copies sold at launch — it understandably posted lower numbers. Add to that the fact that FF16 has landed on an install base of roughly 40 million consoles and has a PC version coming in the future.

Nevertheless, a report by Bloomberg has seemingly spelled doom for FF16 in Japan at least, and its reporter insists that Square Enix is to blame.

The data above shows a similar percentage of second week sales drop-off for the last three Final Fantasy games, and while FF16’s position seems weak, it’s worth noting that these figures do not include digital copies.

That said, even with the lack of digital data considered, it looks like FF16 will fall behind previous entries due to its limited reach.

What we don’t know, however, is how profitable FF16 will be for Square Enix especially since its PS5 exclusivity wouldn’t have come without financial compensation from Sony. Square Enix also revealed that it received marketing and development assistance from Sony, but it’s unclear if that helped cut development costs significantly or not.

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Final Fantasy 16 mostly overheating launch PS5 consoles

Quite a few players who reported the issue of FF16 overheating their console also reported that they purchased their unit at launch. Since then, a number of players claim to have successfully resolved the issue simply by cleaning their PS5s. FF16 is a graphically intensive game, so dusty PS5s will certainly get those fans going into overdrive mode.

“I took it [PS5] apart and gave it a thorough cleaning and it hasn’t happened since,” wrote one user, echoing numerous others. Another user added that Diablo 4 has also been causing PS5s to shut down and cleaning out the console fixed the problem. YouTuber TheSphereHunter even posted that their PS5 got so hot during a boss fight that it shut off.

In other words, it’s unlikely that your hardware is faulty and a game update probably won’t fix the issue. Cleaning out your console is your best bet. If that fails, we’ve got a handy guide with some other fixes that you can try.

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The Final Fantasy 16 1.000.003 update patch notes contain a few features

This 267.1MB update lets players pick between three extra control schemes. These three new control schemes (D, E, and F) swap around the triggers, shoulder buttons, and a few of the face buttons, but it’s still not possible to configure each button individually.

The other changes are more geared towards the visuals or camera. Motion blur can now be dialed down or turned off completely in the graphics settings. Players are also now able to toggle if the camera will zoom behind Clive when moving or attacking, and its overall sensitivity can also be more finely tuned since its maximum is now 20 (which is up from 10).

It’s currently unclear if this has addressed some of the performance woes, which Square Enix stated it was working on. Regardless, here are the full Final Fantasy 16 1.000.003 update patch notes:

• Adds the following items to the System tab of the Main Menu:
  • Motion Blur Strength
    • Allows the player to adjust the strength of the motion blur effect when the character or camera is in motion. The default setting is the maximum of 5. This can be lowered to reduce the strength of the motion blur effect, or set to 0 to turn it off completely.
  • Player Follow (Movement)
  • Player Follow (Attack)
    • Turning these settings off prevents the camera from automatically following the player while moving and attacking respectively.
• Changes the maximum setting of the Camera Sensitivity (Horizontal) and Camera Sensitivity (Vertical) items from 10 to 20.
• Adds three new controller layouts: types D, E, and F.
• Corrects an issue that affected the stability of some menus.
• Corrects some text issues.
• Adds the hashtag #FF16 when sharing screenshots or video clips on Twitter

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Microsoft wanted to launch Square Enix games on Xbox Game Pass

In a “highly confidential” presentation in 2019, Microsoft mulled over a strategy for acquiring Square Enix. Its idea was to continue supporting existing Square Enix games and shipping already announced titles on multiple platforms. However, future releases were to be exclusively launched day-and-date on Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft then goes on to admit that its plan would have a negative impact on game sales and revenue due to Game Pass “cannibalizing” sales.

In 2020, when reports first emerged that Microsoft was considering purchasing a major Japanese publisher, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer went on record to deny this. Thanks to the poorly-redacted court documents — which have now been pulled after someone realized the blooper a little too late — we now know that Square Enix and Sega were both on Microsoft’s radar.

The post Microsoft Considered Acquiring Square Enix and Making Its Games Exclusive appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Final Fantasy 16 sales reach 3 million copies

Square Enix revealed today Final Fantasy 16 has passed 3 million sold both digitally and at retail since release. While the publisher was reportedly concerned about the game’s pre-order numbers, Final Fantasy 16 is the sixth fastest-selling PlayStation exclusive of all time and the fastest-selling PS5 exclusive.

God of War Ragnarok is the fastest-selling PlayStation exclusive of all time, and shifted 5.1 million copies in its first week. The game was released simultaneously on PS5 and PS4 in November 2022 and has since sold around 11 million copies. Twitter user @Zuby_Tech compiled the rest of the list complete with figures for their first week and lifetime sales, which includes games from several of Sony’s own studios:

1. God Of War Ragnarok: 5.1+ million (11+ million lifetime sales)
2. The Last Of Us Part II: 4+ million (10+ million lifetime sales)
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake: 3.5+ million (5+ million shipped)
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man: 3.3+ million (20+ million lifetime sales)
5. God Of War: 3.1+ million (23+ million lifetime sales)
6. Final Fantasy XVI: 3+ million
7. Ghost Of Tsushima: 2.4+ million (9.73+ million lifetime sales)

Meanwhile, the relationship between Sony and Square Enix has “never been stronger” according to PlayStation head Jim Ryan. Rumors persist that Sony is looking to buy Square Enix, but no evidence exists to support this claim at the moment. However, recent reports from the ongoing FTC vs. Microsoft hearing revealed that Microsoft drew up a proposal to purchase Square Enix to add to its Xbox portfolio in 2019. Of course, this deal never materialized.

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How Final Fantasy 16 ended up being a PS5 console exclusive

It’s no secret that Sony does strike third-party exclusivity deals which — by their very nature — involve skipping a rival platform either for specific content or for the entire game altogether. However, when it comes to Final Fantasy 16, Square Enix revealed that it approached multiple publishers with the game and opted to go with Sony because it made the “best offer.”

Square Enix understandably didn’t reveal what Sony’s offer was, but did say that as part of the deal, Sony would handle Final Fantasy 16’s marketing as well as provide development support to the company, thereby reducing costs incurred to Square Enix.

Square Enix also said that developing games on a single platform allows the development team to remain focused, which is exactly what Bethesda’s Pete Hines said in court when he was quizzed about Starfield’s Xbox exclusivity.

The FTC is doing a pretty poor job of trying to justify blocking Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but Final Fantasy 16’s exclusivity isn’t the “gotcha” that fans — and even some politicians — were looking for.

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How to prevent Final Fantasy 16 from overheating PS5

Here are some ways to make sure that Final Fantasy 16 doesn’t burn up your PlayStation 5:

• Switch the FF16 from “Graphics” to “Frame Rate” – In the game’s settings, choose the “Frame Rate” option or effectively Performance mode to make sure that the PS5’s CPU isn’t overly taxed.
• Turn off HDR – Head to the PS5 settings, Screen and Video, Video Output, and toggle off HDR. This will make the graphics have less color contrast, but it will help in performance.
• Place the PS5 in an open area and off the floor – This will prevent the PS5 from collecting dust and allow the heat to escape quickly.

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Using these solutions will also help if FF16 is stuttering for you. If you find that the PS5’s fans are running constantly and there is indeed too much dust in the vents, you can follow our guide on how to stop your PS5 from overheating in general.

It’s unclear whether Final Fantasy 16 is indeed responsible for overheating the PS5 or if the graphical requirements for the game have made some maintenance issues more glaring. That said, some users on Reddit report that boss fights in the game (and the demo) have caused a notification to pop up saying that the PS5 was getting too hot.

For more Final Fantasy 16 news, Square Enix has acknowledged that the game won’t satisfy the whole fanbase.

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