FFXIV: Underwhelming PS4 Retail SalesFollow

Squares attempt to reach new markets seems to not be going so well, the PS4 version of FFXIV seems to be selling poorly worldwide, yes even in Japan. Reaching out to new players seems to be a hard task.

Square manufactured large numbers of stocks due to overwhelming demand for the beta, only to find out that most of the beta players didn't actually want to purchase the game. They sold around 50% of their launch stock, which ofc is vastly under expected sales figures. Many will of taken advantage of the free upgrade but this is a total loss for SE since these players would of probably kept playing anyway, the fact they couldn't sell more than half of their initial stock run does not bode well and large price cuts will probably soon be applied to try and sell off the vast excess of expensive stock they are now stuck with.

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/04/28/ffxiv-a-realm-reborn-posts-underwhelming-ps4-retail-sales-in-japan/



FFXIV on PS4 is vastly under-performing to expectations that Square had, and for Square this is something that bothers them greatly. As was shown by Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, and Hitman: Absolution all being labeled as 'financially unsatisfactory', which for Tomb raider was selling 3.4 million when it was expected to sell 6m.

I wonder how they will manage to put a positive spin on their much touted title vastly under-performing their already meager launch sales expectations.

Hahahaha, burn. Nice try though preludes.

Let's also not forget that the ps3 version launched when the game launched, and a game's initial launch is ALWAYS going to sell significantly better than just releasing on a new console, for the sheer fact that the advertising and marketing push, along with the media attention it garners, will reach a far wider audience. It's pretty common-sense if you think about it.

Edited, May 4th 2014 10:27am by BartelX

Ooooooor they now have a stock and they sell them out over the course of the next few months while they prepare the next shipment and adjust the size.

It's not like a console where they felt the need to artificially restrict supply to drive up hype. For one thing, since the game is easily available on two other platforms, there's no reason to try to force scarcity on it for marketing purposes.

This also isn't the "ET cartridges getting dumped into a landfill" situation Atari faced.

Did they not sell as many as they had hoped? Yes. Blame the artificial scarcity of the PS4 from Sony for that. A lot of people couldn't even find PS4s during March and April.

Preludes,

The first step to trying to create a coherent and cohesive argument is fact checking. Fact checking can include third party information, so long as that third party information is consistent across other third party sources. In the case of Siliconera, it isn't. Checking third party content that is directly derived from Siliconera or is the source Siliconera used to arrive at those numbers doesn't count, either. You need to verify it with other original third party figures.

The second step to creating a coherent and cohesive argument is, again, fact checking. Run the numbers yourself, like Hyanman. His figures check out (I double checked them and he's spot on, and his logic is sound).

You're still trying to bring doubt to a community that is based on and exists for the enjoyment of the game you're trying to thrash. Go to a VFW and talk down about troops. That's basically what you're doing here and have been for some time. Internet anonymity is a wonderful thing, because what would happen to you in person at that VFW wouldn't be nearly as comfy as you sitting in a chair giggling like a girl.

It's plainly obvious that you're trying to combat Thayos' other thread in which, if memory serves, you were obliteratingly shut down in your argument.

Unfortunately, and this will end up in the feedback forum as well, ZAM's custom forum script doesn't provide the ability to truly block you and others like you. No matter what, I'll always see threads you make, I'll always see posts you make, because the script and, thus, ZAM, want me to give you a chance by at least showing me that you're posting something. Otherwise it's my perception that the amount of attention you actually get here would drop to zero. You don't bring anything but half-assed attempts to convince a community that something is bad to the table, and you fail at it every single time.

Edited, May 4th 2014 11:41am by darexius2010

darexius, I'd suggest to you to save your breath, as you won't get a straight answer.

The only two solutions that are even capable at this point is either employment by the competition, or mental illness. Neither prospects will be resolved with conversation and confrontation. The individual is simply obsessed with the downfall of FFXIV one way or another and no amount of sane rationalization will provide argumentative points.

And the essential problem is conversations are no longer about speculation and discussing matters in academia anymore. It's about drawing one's on conclusion and defending it ad-infinitude.

What are the factors that cause poor retail sales? Well, the fact that most current-gen consoles are doing horribly compared to their previous iterations in spite of high advertisements. Sony's been doing so poorly that it's fired workers and sold stock, where Microsoft's Xbox Department are playing round-robin with their administration, which seems to continually resign on them.

But none of these matters are being discussed, because one game's measure of success must be seen in a vacuum and every ounce of sales or lack thereof has to be their whole responsibility.

One thing I will attribute to their responsibility, however, is the fact that box sales of FFXIV's PS4 version is hampered directly by their PS3 version, as those who purchased the former version can upgrade for free. So the 9,96m PS3 versions sold are taken directly out of PS4's potential box sales.

Which means the .54m PS4 Sales are one of two categories.
1. PC Players getting a PS4 Copy.
2. New Customers.

It's pure speculation of which percentage is which, but having nearly half a million new box sales that you are sure aren't coming from your PS3 install base is a fairly nice number in such a short time. More importantly, however, is that SE has secured their game into the current generation Console and therefore alleviated a potential bleed on subscribers as PS3 becomes less relevant.

A minor, but welcome future-proofing.

Are you on some kind of drug or something? It's the only conclusion I can come to that explains some of your rambling, incoherent, self-aggrandizing posts.



You must have a lot of fingers! Or just really confused. Maybe it's mental illness?

Edited, May 4th 2014 2:48pm by BartelX

Quick, say you're female, claim freedom of speech and for everyone to check their privileges.

No, it shows a level of exhaustion and exasperation when it comes to a consistency of conduct that is wholly unexplainable by most other solutions. There have been more than a sufficient enough arguments and evidence provided in the topic of argument, and the argument has been visited upon enough times that the motive behind said argument is far more than justified to be put into question, up to, and including the possibility of mental illness.

This entire ordeal strikes familiar cords of obsessive compulsion, which I too suffer from, thank you very much. But to fixate one's presence wholly on the antagonistic position of a game while within one of it's fan communities is a wholly unhealthy manner of conduct for a multitude of reasons.

It is my personal opinion that preludes needs to move on. From the topic if not from the community. The unidimentional and hyper-focused mentality when it comes to the topic of FFXIV simply isn't doing anyone any good, least of all himself.

Edited, May 4th 2014 2:48pm by Hyrist

So do I. I have Asperger's Syndrome. Do you have a point or are you just slamming your head against the keyboard and pressing Post?

I second the sock check. I find it hard to believe that an individual would register to ZAM for the express and implicit purpose of defending a known troller in a thread where said troller is being put back in his place. Again.

Let me deconstruct your prior post.



Well, there's you right this moment, so that's one. Me, that's two. Preludes, much as I hate to admit it, makes three. Hyanmen with his 3,1,40+ posts makes 4. Bartel and his nearly 7,000 posts makes 5. We're up to one hand! Catwho has been here forever, so that makes six. Altair, seven. Hyrist makes eight. lolgaxe makes nine. And I'm sure Filth has at least read this, so that's ten. One more.... hmm... Valkayree, that makes eleven. More fingers than you have.



Atma Farming
Patch 2.3
Some discussion about PLD spell buffs I haven't read yet...
So on and so forth...



Check this out. Then check this out.



I agree with him because his post is well thought out and articulated in a manner worthy of reading. I agree with him because the content of his posts historically falls within a wide margin (wide margin) of accuracy. I agree with him because, yet again, he has stated a logical and factual hypothesis and backed it up with sources that are verifiable against other sources.

I have never and would never claim that FFXIV is the absolute best game out there -- It simply isn't. It also isn't the only game I play. It, however, isn't doing so poorly as you/Preludes claims it is, of which you have absolutely no verifiable sources to articulate an argument against.



Please see above where I linked two resources for you to use, and reread his post.