Early reports showed thatFinal Fantasy 16was severely underperforming on Xbox Series X/S, reportedly selling around 22,000 units. That data turned out to be incorrect, and the title is currently, at this time of writing, the number 11 top-selling game on Xbox. While we still lack concrete sales numbers from developer Square Enix or Xbox itself, it looks likeFF16is doing quite a bit better than initially thought.FF16was a controversial title in the long-running series, with many praising its story, characters, cinematic presentation, and mature themes, but others findingit didn’t feel much like aFFgame.
WithFF’s return to Xbox here, and withFF7 Remakecoming to both Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 later this year (and the rest of theRemaketrilogy confirmed for Switch 2), the series is officially multiplatform again, afterFF16,FF7 Remake, andFF7 Rebirthwere all previously console exclusives to PlayStation, with a PC version following a year later. But even ifFF16is doing well on Xbox, the issues Square Enix faces with the series' current state aren’t going anywhere.The release could be too little, too late for a lot of fansand, potentially, theFFbrand itself.
FF Going Multiplatform Is A Step In The Right Direction
But Has Fan Interest Diminished From Such A Long Absence?
Final Fantasyhad historically appeared on Nintendo and PlayStation platforms until the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era and the release ofFinal Fantasy 13in 2009,marking the first time aFinal Fantasygame was on an Xbox console. As of 2017,FF13has sold around eight million units across all platforms.Final Fantasy 15would release in 2016 on the PS4 and Xbox One and later on PC, and the game would go on to sell over 10 million copies by May 2022, making it one of thebest-sellingFFgames of all time.
BothFF16andFF7 Rebirth, two relatively recent games and both exclusive to the PlayStation at their initial release,did not meet sales expectations, according to Square Enix. There are a lot of potential reasons for that drop, and no one element can entirely take the blame. In any scenario, both those games being exclusive to the PS5, a console that still does not have the installation base that the PS4 and Xbox One had whenFF15was released,is definitely one of the reasons.
TheFinal Fantasyseries hassold over 200 million unitsacross its 37-year history, but it has been away from a significant number of people for a long period of time: nine years, to be precise. BringingFinal Fantasyback to Xbox is definitely a step in the right direction, and by the numbers, a lot of Xbox fans are enjoyingFF16. That group will likely get even bigger whenFF7 Remakereleases this winter for Xbox, but it’s not just the games' accessibility that has slowed the momentum of the series.
Final Fantasy Has Struggled With Its Branding
A Series That Consistently Re-Defines Itself
If 10 fans were asked what makesFinal FantasyaFinal Fantasygame,there’s a good chance you would get 10 different responses.Final Fantasyisn’t a series that is known for one particular thing anymore. The entries have a lot of recurring elements, like moogles, chocobos, andthe many iterations of the Cid character, but the brand ofFinal Fantasydoesn’t have a defined identity anymore. The games used to be known for turn-based combat; that is now mostly gone. They used to be known for expansive narratives, and a lot of fans have issues with those stories, now that current game development has put a heavier focus on storytelling.
FF7is still, to this day, one of the all-time great gamesand one of the earliest examples of stellar storytelling, expansive RPG mechanics, and a cast of fun and likable characters.Many fans will recommendFF10for newcomers to the franchise, which pushed forward what turn-based games could look like and play like back in 2001. This was also the point, however, whenFinal Fantasybegan to shift.FF11was an MMO, and thenFF12ditched turn-based combat and emphasized open level design.
With all that in mind,it’s difficult to “brand” whatFinal Fantasyactually is anymore. The series has redefined itself so many times, basically in every mainline entry, to the point thatFF16took an almost complete action approach to its gameplay and featured a compelling but familiar narrative that seemed to be heavily inspired by the worldwide success ofGame of Thrones.Final Fantasyseems to be constantly chasing trends instead of focusing on what made the series special, and I’m not sure if Square Enix or fans can agree on what that even was at this point.
Fans Seem To Never Know What To Expect From FF
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Turn-Based, Action, Nothing Is Off The Table
WhenCall of Dutyfans buy thelatest game in the series, they know what to expect: a typically brief campaign, and an arcade-y shooter multiplayer experience with an addictive leveling system. When a newFFgame is announced nowadays, no one seems to know what to expect from it.FF7 RebirthandFF16have drastically different combat systems, settings, RPG mechanics, themes, settings, and more. On the surface, theymay feel like two completely different games from differing seriesto some fans.
The series has pivoted between high-fantasy and sci-fi settings several timesthroughout its existence, and rarely committed to one or the other. Some of the game’s stories are darker and more mature, likeFF16andFF10, and others are light-hearted fun, likeFF10-2. The series has used a new combat system for almost every entry sinceFF10, too, so fans of turn-based games are often not happy and neither are fans of action RPGs. In trying to find a new identity,FFhas lost the one it already had.
With several games inspiring the recent and massively successfulClair Obscur: Expedition 33, some fans might suggest that Square Enix should copy it and go back to turn-based. I don’t thinkSquare Enix should copyExpedition 33moving forward, but it should learn how to use classic elements to forge a uniquely appealing identity, and avoid its continued consistent re-branding. I’m hoping it isn’t too late, though, and luckily,Final Fantasy 16is doing better on Xbox than we originally thought. Now that the multiplatform problem has been solved, it’s time for Square Enix to turn its attention to creating a memorable and appealing brand identity.
