There is a new rumor going around that might surprise you, about a simple game called Final Fantasy 16.
As reported by Push Square, Imran Khan has shared some insider knowledge on the game via his Patreon.
According to Imran, “I had heard recently that Square Enix is panicking slightly over Final Fantasy 16 pre-order numbers, which are tracking behind Final Fantasy 15 even accounting for the lesser number of launching platforms.”
Imran was also quick to emphasize that these pre-order numbers mainly tracked the volume of confirmed day one sales, and the actual amount of total sales, much less the sales amount for the first week, may be completely different.
Still, it’s quite interesting news. Of course, Square Enix would have been anticipating eating quite a loss in sales as Final Fantasy 15 saw a very wide release, and a subsequent high profile marketing campaign. The drop from four platforms (six if you count in backwards compatibility) down to one is a serious choice to make.
Presumably, Square Enix found that justification for making this choice, in all the finer details. They would get the funding from Sony, and some special deal on the split for each unit sold.
Square Enix also gets direct support for PlayStation 5 development, making it easier to get through the basics of the game. As Naoki Yoshida and others have also hyped up the unique abilities of the PlayStation 5, we also have our expectations raised that they really leveraged those abilities.
But it seems all of this did not actually impress loyal Sony and Square Enix fans to pre-order this game. And we reported on the plum items Square Enix used to entice fans to pre-order.
Imran opted not to speculate on particularly why pre-orders aren’t up to expectations, but let us point something out from September of last year.
Naoki got uncharacteristically honest when he shared his sentiment that the Final Fantasy franchise is struggling, defying the defenses of loyal fans.
He explained that Square Enix can’t meet all fan expectations because they ask for too many things all at once, and all they can do is make many different kinds of Final Fantasy games.
But this has also been clearly informed in Naoki’s own experience rehabilitating Final Fantasy XIV, as well as the trouble he observed in his company in the development of the apparently more successful Final Fantasy 15.
One may have decided that that was just Naoki’s opinion, but perhaps this is an indication there’s something more to it. It could be that Final Fantasy 16, like the games before it, turn out to be highly profitable and critically acclaimed, and yet once again facing so many struggles that Square Enix still sees it as continuing signs of their struggle.
None of that won’t be decided until months or even years after the fact, so for now, all the loyal fans can do is look forward to the release.
Final Fantasy 16 is releasing exclusively on the PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023.
