Are the character designs going to affect the sales of Final Fantasy XV

[APZonerunner]

By standard how much do you mean? Its Square 4th best saled game
http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Best_selling_Square-Enix_games

Standard being: Square's expectations, which according to their financial reports at the time was an aim of between 8 and 9 million copies sold. (Look up financial results from Q3 2009, you'll find the quotes from Wada, and then if you look at the results from Q4 you'll see the share price tank as it becomes plain FF13 isn't doing as well as hoped.) It was the first multi-platform FF and so had a huge install base to work with, and it was also the first title of the generation - the one which, as your link shows, historically sells the best. As such, it was expected to be inline with FF7 (10m) and FF10 (8m+), not FF12 or FF9 (5-6m ish). To fall 2 million+ short of the expectation is pretty big, isn't it?

That's the thing about FF13; by any other game's standard it did very well, but by the standards of the FF series and the game's lengthy development and huge budget it didn't. That's been a problem with FF in general; if Mass Effect, a huge game, had sold 6 million, Bioware would've been ecstatic. FF13's expense and scope in development was such that 6m was a disappointment. See also: the Tomb Raider reboot, which shifted more than almost every other major release that year but was still marked a disappointment. It's something Square tends to do a lot, and I expect them to do the same with FF15, sadly - unless they've written off all the pre-2012 cost already.

Also: my response there was saying FF13 didn't do poorly to Leon saying it "didn't do so well", so, y'know, I'm fully aware of how well it did.

Also, that data is fairly incorrect as KH1 outstrips every FF except FF7 (and maybe even that!)

 

[Lulcielid]

This data here doesn't think so, FFVII-VIII-X still sold more than KHI
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/1129/kingdom-hearts/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/756/final-fantasy-vii/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/758/final-fantasy-viii/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/759/final-fantasy-x/

 

[Lulcielid]

Aren't the statistics from VGChartz most of the time inaccurate?

Then which sites are accuarate ? How accuarate can you be when counting Millons of units ?

 

[Lucina]

Then which sites are accuarate ? How accuarate can you be when counting Millons of units ?

Elsa will accurately define the "millions" in KH3's sales

 

[Squirrel Emperor]

I agree, but disagree. If the team making FFXV can show the populace a new way to look at "anime type characters" with more character growth and deeper themes than perhaps they can rejuvenate or gain more fans.

Also there is a major fanbase concerning anime JRPGs already, I get that each to his or her own tastes, but if the FFXV team does it right it will please the anime fans while drawing in new JRPG fans.

I really think and hope that's the case.

Though I get your point. =p

I think what they're doing is taking a few cues from WRPGs. Final Fantasy XV, Xenoblade X and The Legend of Zelda for Wii U are all open world games for a reason. That’s where all the money is as it’s a genre on the rise and shows growth and progression (unlike JRPG’s, which is a niche market that has been stagnant and regressed since it reached its peak during the PS2 era).

All three games are emphasizing the open world element as a selling point too because when it comes to AAA games, that’s what the target demographic wants, big beautiful worlds.

They’re doing this but still keeping some of that Japanese flavor to them as well.

This stuff does have something of an effect, and I actually think Lightning being on the box of FF13 - a girl, anime, pinkish hair - actually hugely harmed that game's potential. I don't think it'll have a huge effect, but if I was them I wouldn't put Noctis and his crew on the box.

If they want to maximize sales, I wouldn’t either. It may sound silly and sad but consumer behavior is a real thing and can influence a purchase. From product design to external factors like anime. Stuff like this could be a deciding factor on if FFXV puts up FFVII or FFXIII numbers.

 

[APZonerunner]

This data here doesn't think so, FFVII-VIII-X still sold more than KHI
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/1129/kingdom-hearts/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/756/final-fantasy-vii/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/758/final-fantasy-viii/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/759/final-fantasy-x/

VGChartz isn't very accurate generally, but I'm a bit wrong about KH1 all the same. OG KH1 did break 6m by the end of its life, however, and we know the HD remaster sold over half a mil more, so it's up there with the FFs and way higher than that chart depicts.

 

[Death Penalty]

Oh yeah, I can definitely see the designs keeping people who might have otherwise purchased the game away from it. Perhaps not people who are longtime fans of the game, but certainly casually interested parties unaccustomed to that sort of visual direction. I agree with APZoneRunner, if I were SE I would keep Noctis and crew off the box.

Also, as a longterm fan of Final Fantasy, I still think those Roen clothing designs are just awful.

 

[Crystal Power]

I don't think they are going to take Noctis or perhaps the main cast off the cover box, when was the last time SE did that for FF (Not including MMO's)?

They have had at least the main protagonist on the cover for FF games on the western box arts for quite awhile now and the games sold great each time.

 

[APZonerunner]

I don't think they are going to take Noctis or perhaps the main cast off the cover box, when was the last time SE did that for FF (Not including MMO's)?

They have had at least the main protagonist on the cover for FF games on the western box arts for quite awhile now and the games sold great each time.

In Europe the no-character boxes are the norm. FF13-2 had a character free cover and FF13 was the first cover to actually have a character on it ever. NA is a different thing obviously, but we've traditionally just got the "logo only" boxes here. That's the rule, not the exception! I know America has always had character-filled covers.

Spoiler

 

[Death Penalty]

In Europe the no-character boxes are the norm. FF13-2 had a character free cover and FF13 was the first cover to actually have a character on it ever. NA is a different thing obviously, but we've traditionally just got the "logo only" boxes here. That's the rule, not the exception! I know America has always had character-filled covers.

Spoiler

Just personally, I think these are much more fetching than the American covers I have to live with.

 

[Crystal Power]

Actually here's another more recent article from December 2014 with an interview of Bandai Namco saying how the Tales series has increased in sales. If I may add they have been keeping the original Japanese openings lately and also the original cases that feature the games characters and it seems the sales have increased. Here: http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/11/bandai-namco-say-theyre-paying-attention-fans/

I'm sure the cover can add potential sales, but I don't think it will add groundbreaking sales just from what's on the cover. Not to mention it might be best to promote your game for what it is and not for what it isn't.


@APZonerunner: Ah yes, it slipped my mind europe cases are just the logo's..

 

[Infest]

There's no way that Noctis won't be on the cover imo.

 

[Lucina]

There's no way that Noctis won't be on the cover imo.

Speaking of the cover, I'm curious as to what sort of box art everyone would like to see for FFXV.

I'd like the cover art to be of him surrounded by his Phantom swords in Lucis, just like in the old Versus XIII CG trailer. It'll be a nice throwback for the fans who have been waiting for the game since it was shown. The cover can then have a full moon cast down on him, with important characters represented as phantoms within the bordering clouds. The FFXV logo would of course be somewhere in the middle, but in an area that doesn't compromise these other features.

 

[APZonerunner]

Actually here's another more recent article from December 2014 with an interview of Bandai Namco saying how the Tales series has increased in sales. If I may add they have been keeping the original Japanese openings lately and also the original cases that feature the games characters and it seems the sales have increased. Here: http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/11/bandai-namco-say-theyre-paying-attention-fans/

I'm sure the cover can add potential sales, but I don't think it will add groundbreaking sales just from what's on the cover. Not to mention it might be best to promote your game for what it is and not for what it isn't.

@APZonerunner: Ah yes, it slipped my mind europe cases are just the logo's..

The key difference with Tales is that success for them is a lot less than for FF. If they manage to shift a million of a Tales game (as Xillia did, barely) they'll be ecstatic; Square would like FF15 to ship eight times that; Battlefield numbers. To put it into perspective: FF13 (considered successful but not as successful as they'd have liked) shipped more in the United Kingdom alone than Tales of Xillia, the great success noted in that article, shipped in all of North America and Europe combined. Lightning Returns, which was pretty much considered a bomb and had the lowest opening sales of any Final Fantasy since the SNES, shipped a good quarter of a million more than the considered-successful Xillia managed. So, y'know, success is relative in this regard.

It has to be as wide appeal as possible. The comparison is what is ostensibly a niche to what is mainstream; the thing that sets FF apart is a few entries (7, 8, 10) have achieved big numbers - Bioshock, Battlefield, Call of Duty numbers - that's unheard of for JRPGs and indeed for most Japanese games in general especially in the current climate with Japanese games shifting away from consoles. That's why I think in some regions, at least, they'd be wise to de-emphasize the anime in the box & marketing and so on.

 

[Sora96]

The key difference with Tales is that success for them is a lot less than for FF. If they manage to shift a million of a Tales game (as Xillia did, barely) they'll be ecstatic; Square would like FF15 to ship eight times that; Battlefield numbers. To put it into perspective: FF13 (considered successful but not as successful as they'd have liked) shipped more in the United Kingdom alone than Tales of Xillia, the great success noted in that article, shipped in all of North America and Europe combined. Lightning Returns, which was pretty much considered a bomb and had the lowest opening sales of any Final Fantasy since the SNES, shipped a good quarter of a million more than the considered-successful Xillia managed. So, y'know, success is relative in this regard.

It has to be as wide appeal as possible. The comparison is what is ostensibly a niche to what is mainstream; the thing that sets FF apart is a few entries (7, 8, 10) have achieved big numbers - Bioshock, Battlefield, Call of Duty numbers - that's unheard of for JRPGs and indeed for most Japanese games in general especially in the current climate with Japanese games shifting away from consoles. That's why I think in some regions, at least, they'd be wise to de-emphasize the anime in the box & marketing and so on.

I think that depends on what you mean by an FF game. If you're just talking on home consoles, I think DoC put up similar numbers and that's with the FFVII name and on the highest selling system ever.

 

[APZonerunner]

I think that depends on what you mean by an FF game. If you're just talking on home consoles, I think DoC put up similar numbers and that's with the FFVII name and on the highest selling system ever.

If we're talking week one sales, Dirge sold over 100,000 copies more than LR in its first week in Japan (400k vs 280k, rounded up), and in their first year there's about a 100,000 lead for Dirge in Japan also. Dirge did much worse in the West though, and they're about equal (probably about 100k in it) worldwide as a result.

LR did have the lowest sales of any console FF connected to a main-line game though, even if you include Dirge. You can start to include handheld stuff I guess, but that's just getting granular then. When I say main-line series I really mean the main games and their direct sequels. My point isn't that LR is terrible (I think it's a very interesting game, as detailed in my review), it's just about the sales, how that stacks up vs something more Niche like Tales, and how that attests to the size/scale of FF. All I'm saying is in sales, and therefore in target audience, and thus in marketing and promotion, FF isn't comparable Tales of at all.

 

[Fin]

Speaking of the cover, I'm curious as to what sort of box art everyone would like to see for FFXV.

I want one that looks like this!!

Unfortunately most gamers don't have the sense of humor to appreciate that.

I personally like the simple/minimalist covers Japan and EU gets...