Square is absorbed by Enix, but S-E is 'absorbed' by M$

[Soulblazer]

Originally Posted by Snadinator

How do you figure that?

Star Ocean 3: Till the End of time was released
Japan: February 27, 2003
NA: August 31, 2004

And had a directors cut too.


Japan as of 2008 sold 533,373 copies
NA as of July 2006 sold 630,000 copies

It took quite a while for it to burst the 1 million barrier. This is on a console with a large user base too (the PS2).

At the same time PS2 had the same userbase as 360 have now in NA. That is no excuse for not selling at least 220k in 30 days like SO3 did on PS2.

And Playstation 3 didn't have 3 million userbase in Japan when WKC was released and it reached 400k in 3 months when PS3 has reached 3 million mark in Japan. SO4 would have sold better on PS3.

[Snadinator]

Originally Posted by dk3dknight

The original Star Ocean 3 was a extremely bugged game, the directors cut fixed the game but was released years later.. How many games with game wrecking bugs release over 300k copies?

Cheers.

I fail to see the relevance here. SoulBlazer said SO4 should have sold over a million copies. If it's predecessor on a platform with a larger userbase could only do it after 2-4 years, then how could it be expected in a matter of months on a current gen console?

[Snadinator]

Originally Posted by Soulblazer

At the same time PS2 had the same userbase as 360 have now in NA. That is no excuse for not selling at least 220k in 30 days like SO3 did on PS2.

And Playstation 3 didn't have 3 million userbase in Japan when WKC was released and it reached 400k in 3 months when PS3 has reached 3 million mark in Japan. SO4 would have sold better on PS3.

I'm pretty sure WKC is a better game then SO4 though. I anxiously await it. Level-8 is a great studio.

No doubt the game would have sold better on the PS3, but the difference isn't as large as you think. I think in it's first week, SO4 did comparable sales to WKC in Japan. If someone wants to dig the stats... I can't remember them.

[bandit29]

The last two great games that Square released were Xenogears and Vagrant Story...10-11 yrs ago..

[Soulblazer]

Originally Posted by Snadinator

I'm pretty sure WKC is a better game then SO4 though. I anxiously await it. Level-8 is a great studio.

No doubt the game would have sold better on the PS3, but the difference isn't as large as you think. I think in it's first week, SO4 did comparable sales to WKC in Japan. If someone wants to dig the stats... I can't remember them.

Actually SO is an established series compared to White Knight Chronicles which is a brand new IP nobody know much about.

I think Level-5 games sells better this gen than what it did on PS2 in Japan. Rogue Galaxy didn't reached 350k until after 3 months. And WKC turned out to be a disappointed game when it comes to story. But that has always been the weak factor for Level-5. They need to keep working on their story part which hasn't been groundbreaking yet.

[Velmeran]

Originally Posted by bandit29

The last two great games that Square released were Xenogears and Vagrant Story...10-11 yrs ago..

Finally, someone else who appreciated Vagrant Story! Felt like I was the only one for so long...




As for comment about SO4 not selling 220k copies on the 360 given it's userbase now, compared with userbase on the PS2 when SO3 came out.

Totally different gaming audience, why companies thought shifting RPGs over to the 360 was a good idea I'll never understand. Sure it had (and still has at the moment) the larger userbase in North America, but for the most part that userbase isn't the gamers who are going to play RPGs.

[Terjyn]

You just reiterated the point Vel, whether you intended to or not.

It might be true that JRPGs are dead, and that the PS3 would have horrible sales on them (in the US) as well. I just want SOME company, somewhere, to give it a chance. Not release no name JRPGs or release translations a year later (which regardless of game merit will kill sales).

The only one that didn't do this was Disgaea 3, and that's always been an extremely niche series anyway.

It is extremely disheartening to hear that poor sales on the 360 are killing entire games for the PS3 given no one has given the PS3 that chance.

Maybe Final Fantasy 13 will change the trend. I just kind of doubt it.

[Velmeran]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

You just reiterated the point Vel, whether you intended to or not.

It might be true that JRPGs are dead, and that the PS3 would have horrible sales on them (in the US) as well. I just want SOME company, somewhere, to give it a chance. Not release no name JRPGs or release translations a year later (which regardless of game merit will kill sales).

The only one that didn't do this was Disgaea 3, and that's always been an extremely niche series anyway.

It is extremely disheartening to hear that poor sales on the 360 are killing entire games for the PS3 given no one has given the PS3 that chance.

Maybe Final Fantasy 13 will change the trend. I just kind of doubt it.

Exactly, guess I was more agreeing with you
It baffles me, that people, companies would be willing to call a genre dead, when the only releases they've made have been geared and marketed towards an audience that has never shown any interest in them.

For your typical 360 owner a RPG (especially a JRPG) will be too slow, with not enough action, too much talking and too grand of a storyline for what they want. I know it's a small sample, but between friends and co-workers who own a 360, every single one owns it mainly to play games similar to Halo. They have no desire to play any rpg with the amount of reading that typically takes place *shrugs*

IMO, the gaming companies making RPGs on the 360, would be like McDonald's going into India to sell Hamburgers.

[Hedchekr]

I find it wierd that they would choose the 360 for for the exclusive console for so many JRPGs, considering the 360 is a bomb in Japan.

I am not saying that it they would sell great on the PS3 (as I think JRPGs are dying a breed), but companys would at least double the numbers of copies sold.