According to an estimate released by Famitsu on June 6, 2023, sales of physical units for Final Fantasy XVI in Japan decreased 90% during its second week. The game sold 336,027 units during release week in Japan, compared to 37,763 units shipped during the second one. However, digital copies are not included in this estimate. [Thanks, Bloomberg!]
According to Square Enix, Final Fantasy XVI sales passed approximately 3 million units sold worldwide during its first week in the market. Compared to its successor, Final Fantasy XV sold 5 million units on its first week. However, FFXV released on both the PS4 and Xbox One, whereas FFXVI is a PS5-exclusive title. The Famitsu report also mentioned that FFXV experienced a similar reduction in sales during its second week in Japan, reducing its numbers by 90% as well.
Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Toyo Securities, commented that the decrease in sales for Final Fantasy XVI is a really severe result and it will be impossible to increase them without a significant price drop. Yasuda added that, for the most part, this failure is a result of pre-release marketing and the game itself being so different from past Final Fantasy entries that consumers left the title behind.
Final Fantasy XVI is readily available for the PlayStation 5, and there is a demo out now too. There is a six-month exclusivity period. Patch 1.03 of the game is out now, and you can read the full patch notes here.
