Shipped vs Sales of FFXV

[Alantor32]

The game has sold 5 million copies worldwide in physical and digital according to SE, however, there are some haters and trolls who think that's wrong and claiming it has shipped 5 million worldwide and thinking the game will immeditantly fail. So who is in the right here? The fans or the haters and trolls?

 

I know the game was reviewed well and SE confirmed that five million copies were sold worldwide, so who is right? Please help me out here.

[SnowxSakura]

Shipped and sold are not the same thing, they may have shipped 5 million worldwide, but how many of those copies are going to sit on store shelves for years?

[starcrunch061]

Sakura is right. While Square certainly gets money from stores who bought their games to stock their shelves, if those games don't sell, it has a negative effect both on the company and the franchise. Remember when Square was touting that "worldwide demand" was high for sequels to FFXIII? That was because they looked only at shipped copies, and not at sold copies. The results, of course, were less than stellar for the franchise, as sales plummeted on the sequels, and it even led to the firing of a few higher-ups.

 

Digital is (kind of) changing the way we think about this, but you still can't ignore the realities of physical sales. That being said, there's nothing yet to say that sales of shipped copies aren't high (except in the case of the Xbox example you gave earlier). We still have to wait and see. But, ask any store owner or manager, and they'll tell you that shipped copies are CERTAINLY not the same as sold copies.

[SnowxSakura]

Sakura is right. While Square certainly gets money from stores who bought their games to stock their shelves, if those games don't sell, it has a negative effect both on the company and the franchise. Remember when Square was touting that "worldwide demand" was high for sequels to FFXIII? That was because they looked only at shipped copies, and not at sold copies. The results, of course, were less than stellar for the franchise, as sales plummeted on the sequels, and it even led to the firing of a few higher-ups.

 

Digital is (kind of) changing the way we think about this, but you still can't ignore the realities of physical sales. That being said, there's nothing yet to say that sales of shipped copies aren't high (except in the case of the Xbox example you gave earlier). We still have to wait and see. But, ask any store owner or manager, and they'll tell you that shipped copies are CERTAINLY not the same as sold copies.

Not only that, but it could discourage smaller retailers from carrying games from them in the future

[Alantor32]

Ok, thanks you two for telling me this. Hopefully, we'll get some info soon about the sales figure of FFXV. But PS4 versions of FFXV were high at 79% like I said in that other thread. So you're right about the Xbone not a high thing for JRPGs, so I'm guessing the demand for PS4 versions of FFXV were high in the UK.

[DaivRules]

Ok, thanks you two for telling me this. Hopefully, we'll get some info soon about the sales figure of FFXV. But PS4 versions of FFXV were high at 79% like I said in that other thread. So you're right about the Xbone not a high thing for JRPGs, so I'm guessing the demand for PS4 versions of FFXV were high in the UK.

 

FFXV isn't seen as a failure at all. Don't take it so personally.

 

The dispute is merely the shipped does not equal sold statistic.

 

Don't worry. This game is not seen as a failure by anyone with two brain cells as it's already the fastest selling Final Fantasy.

 

 

there are some haters and trolls who think that's wrong and claiming it has shipped 5 million worldwide and thinking the game will immeditantly fail.

 

And people aren't haters OR trolls for informing the unformed that shipped does not mean sold. Hell, even just shipping 5 million units (physically and digitally) already means it's not an immediate fail.

[MilanYildirim]

Why would anyone be labelled as hater / troll for claiming something?

[Alantor32]

Why would anyone be labelled as hater / troll for claiming something?

Well, there's this site called Gamefaqs (Really hate that site btw) in which the FF Boards continue to bash it nonstop, there are those who like the game there, they claimed the game will bomb (The trolls of Gamefaqs) since they made up bullcrap info about Nomura being a terrible director and saying stupid crap like FF 7 through 10 was the golden era of Final Fantasy which is utter bullcrap. So that's why I said trolls and haters claimed the game shipped 5 million copies to retailers and it hasn't made profit yet and they made bogus claims the game will be reviewed badly and sell poorly. I apologized, I just have bad memories of Gamefaqs.

[MilanYildirim]

Well, there's this site called Gamefaqs (Really hate that site btw) in which the FF Boards continue to bash it nonstop, there are those who like the game there, they claimed the game will bomb (The trolls of Gamefaqs) since they made up bullcrap info about Nomura being a terrible director and saying stupid crap like FF 7 through 10 was the golden era of Final Fantasy which is utter bullcrap. So that's why I said trolls and haters claimed the game shipped 5 million copies to retailers and it hasn't made profit yet and they made bogus claims the game will be reviewed badly and sell poorly. I apologized, I just have bad memories of Gamefaqs.

I see. However, FF XV has been out for a rather short time. It is not completely unrealistic to think that game would shipped 5 million instead of sold. I mean, shipping 5 million sounds more reasonable to me. When l read the OP l was like,  well l suppose l am also a troll / hater without even knowing it

Edited December 5, 2016 by MilanYildirim

[Alantor32]

I see. However, FF XV has been out for a rather short time. It is not completely unrealistic to think that game would shipped 5 million instead of sold. I mean, shipping 5 million sounds more reasonable to me. When l read the OP's post l was like,  well l suppose l am also a troll / hater without even knowing it

Sorry about that, I should have been more clear with my OP.

[Caesar Clown]

Don't worry. This game is not seen as a failure by anyone with two brain cells as it's already the fastest selling Final Fantasy.

 

 

 

Except it's not. Read that quote again. SquareEnix says they shipped 5 million, and proclaimed it the "fastest selling FF ever", then at the end, it says there's no actual sales numbers and the entire thing is based on how many games they shipped. SquareEnix is literally claiming because they shipped so many copies of the game, that it somehow sold way more than any other FF in history.

 

Now I'm not saying it's a failure, in no ways do I think it will fail. It's easy to see that in the past, they could have shipped just 100 000 to stores on release day, meaning they know by shipping 5 million, they obviously will beat their previous record of just 100k. But there's the off-chance that it won't. I don't know how many copies of FF13 they shipped. Or 12. But this is all moot without actual sales records.

 

The whole point is marketing teams use deceit to trick their investors. By publishing that statement, they've fooled a whole lot of people into thinking they've sold 5 million copies in the span of a week. A lot of people here are missing the "They haven't actually sold 5 million", which further proves the point. This is the company that also refuses to say how many active players are paying monthly fees for FF14, which is another trick to keep investors happy. But that doesn't matter with FF15, all that matters is the initial purchase of the game.

[MMDE]

Then there's Final Fantasy VII, which they've sold 10-15 million copies of. Will they outsell it?

 

Will it even outsell Final Fantasy X, which is above 10 million at this point?

 

What about Final Fantasy VIII that's at around 9 million?

 

I could go on, but suffice to say, it's not looking that good.

 

And as for those who wonder about Final Fantasy XIII, that game sold pretty well at around 7.5 million... but as expected after people played FF13, the sequels didn't sell all that well.

Edited December 5, 2016 by MMDE

[damon8r351]

The 5 million figure is a combination of units shipped to retailers and records of digital sales. Final Fantasy XV set a new record in number of day one digital sales for Japan. So seems alright by me.

 

Also, don't nobody quote me later on with some smartass post saying "Except yadda yadda yah, blase blase blah", because chances are high I'm not going to give enough of a shit to read it.

[Alantor32]

The 5 million figure is a combination of units shipped to retailers and records of digital sales. Final Fantasy XV set a new record in number of day one digital sales for Japan. So seems alright by me.

 

Also, don't nobody quote me later on with some smartass post saying "Except yadda yadda yah, blase blase blah", because chances are high I'm not going to give enough of a shit to read it.

Yeah, it did well in digital sales, even the UK today said that 79% of PS4 copies sold really well there.  There's even this bogus claim that FFXV got a bad start in the UK at 110,000 or so copies sold in the UK, I think that bogus claim was refering to the Xbone version sales of 21%, and according to this: http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2016/12/05/uk-sales-chart-final-fantasy-xv-opens-2nd-sells-79-copies-ps4/it is placed 2nd on the UK charts. So yeah, u do have a point there about the game selling well. But like others say, we need to wait and see, but so far, it's doing well in the UK.

[DaivRules]

Except it's not. Read that quote again. SquareEnix says they shipped 5 million, and proclaimed it the "fastest selling FF ever", then at the end, it says there's no actual sales numbers and the entire thing is based on how many games they shipped. SquareEnix is literally claiming because they shipped so many copies of the game, that it somehow sold way more than any other FF in history.

 

Now I'm not saying it's a failure, in no ways do I think it will fail. It's easy to see that in the past, they could have shipped just 100 000 to stores on release day, meaning they know by shipping 5 million, they obviously will beat their previous record of just 100k. But there's the off-chance that it won't. I don't know how many copies of FF13 they shipped. Or 12. But this is all moot without actual sales records.

 

The whole point is marketing teams use deceit to trick their investors. By publishing that statement, they've fooled a whole lot of people into thinking they've sold 5 million copies in the span of a week. A lot of people here are missing the "They haven't actually sold 5 million", which further proves the point. This is the company that also refuses to say how many active players are paying monthly fees for FF14, which is another trick to keep investors happy. But that doesn't matter with FF15, all that matters is the initial purchase of the game.

 

So just because you don't have the specific number they're claiming it sold more than, you're automatically claiming it's 100% not true? 

 

 

Then there's Final Fantasy VII, which they've sold 10-15 million copies of. Will they outsell it?

 

Will it even outsell Final Fantasy X, which is above 10 million at this point?

 

What about Final Fantasy VIII that's at around 9 million?

 

I could go on, but suffice to say, it's not looking that good.

 

And as for those who wonder about Final Fantasy XIII, that game sold pretty well at around 7.5 million... but as expected after people played FF13, the sequels didn't sell all that well.

 

How many did each of those sell in their first week? How big was the potential user base at the time they were released? Were they sold digitally as well as physically? Was price at the time they were released a big impact on how many they sold? What kind of reviews and marketing did each of those get before and at release? And how many years does this title have to catch up?

 

Also, are you saying that FF XV isn't SE's fastest selling or that it's failure? Your point isn't very clear.

[RedPage17]

So just because you don't have the specific number they're claiming it sold more than, you're automatically claiming it's 100% not true? 

 

 

 

How many did each of those sell in their first week? How big was the potential user base at the time they were released? Were they sold digitally as well as physically? Was price at the time they were released a big impact on how many they sold? What kind of reviews and marketing did each of those get before and at release? And how many years does this title have to catch up?

 

Also, are you saying that FF XV isn't SE's fastest selling or that it's failure? Your point isn't very clear.

 

Not the original poster, but I believe the sales listed for FFVII includes psx physical release, PC release, plus later psn, steam, and ios sales. So, in my mind FFXV is probably on its way to be pretty successful. 

[starcrunch061]

Well, there's this site called Gamefaqs (Really hate that site btw) 

 

Say no more.

 

It's a shame that gamefaqs has become such a cesspool. I loved that site back in the day. But you're right - that FFXV forum is just toxic.

[Masamune]

FF 7 through 10 was the golden era of Final Fantasy

But that is true. Things started going downhill after X, & while XV isn't a bad game (I wouldn't still be playing it if it was), it is probably my least favorite FF game. The battle, magic, & summon system doesn't feel like FF within a mile (closer to Kingdom Hearts).

 

The thing that made me denounce it as a FF game though was (chapter 13 spoilers):

What they did to Bahamut, that is the worst design I've even seen. >_< Bahamut is a DRAGON, not some giant in dragon armor, he didn't even use Mega Flare, it's blasphemy!  For God's sake, it looks like a damn Power Ranger Zord...

[Guest]

Great sales but i dont think they are even close to the amount of money spent on the game.

And once people actually do a "full" review with the later half of the game everyone will notice how rushed and bad the game really is. And then sales might even drop.

[Gommes_]

 Nomura being a terrible director and saying stupid crap like FF 7 through 10 was the golden era of Final Fantasy which is utter bullcrap.

 

How so? According to its fanbase, this is actually not wrong. 

[SnowxSakura]

I would avoid gamefaqs threads in general, it's filled with all of the bitter jaded people that enjoy trolling.

[Alantor32]

Say no more.

 

It's a shame that gamefaqs has become such a cesspool. I loved that site back in the day. But you're right - that FFXV forum is just toxic.

Glad you agree. I was treated horribly on Gamefaqs and Gamefaqs' worthless moderators took the trolls' side.

[Alantor32]

I would avoid gamefaqs threads in general, it's filled with all of the bitter jaded people that enjoy trolling.

I stopped going to Gamefaqs a long time ago after the way I was treated there. It wasn't easy, but I stopped going there, but the pain of being mistreated there still resides within me.