DarkLordMalik
Member
Final Fantasy is dead is something that I used to hear a lot after the multipe disappointments with FFXIII and while I won't comment on FFXIV, Tabata recently held a talk about the game at GDC where he shared new info about the initial sales goal, the challenge and pressure of developing FFXV and putting the series back on map for Square Enix.
The initial sales for FFXV were under 5 million as Square Enix wasn't confident in the new direction for the series. The series would have ended if the target was not meet.
The sales are now over 6 Million so this is another update to the previous number of 6 million shipped/digital in early January.
Tabata comments on the success of FFXV
So Tabata is ineed the savior of 'offline' Final Fantasy as a brand
Source (1, 2)
Bonus: Cute story of Tabata and his little daughter. Worth a read
The initial sales for FFXV were under 5 million as Square Enix wasn't confident in the new direction for the series. The series would have ended if the target was not meet.
Tabata-san explained that Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi told him that his mission was to make Final Fantasy a challenger again, by working like this was the last chance.
Shortly after Tabata-san was named Director of the game, he talked with the head of sales at Square Enix, and learned that sales forecasts for the game were quite low, under five millions worldwide. Moving away from turn-based combat had been deemed unwise, and that the Final Fantasy brand had was considered diminished and in danger.
Thats why Tabata-san set a sales goal a million units higher than the forecast, at six millions. He thought that setting a high goal would have brought the team together, forcing them to push through whatever obstacle was placed in their way.
The sales are now over 6 Million so this is another update to the previous number of 6 million shipped/digital in early January.
Tabata comments on the success of FFXV
In the end, Final Fantasy XV was completed, and its finally in everybodys hands. Within a month of release, we sold six million copies. As I said at the beginning, if we failed this time, there wouldnt be a next time, which means that probably this isnt our final Final Fantasy. The series will probably live on.
So Tabata is ineed the savior of 'offline' Final Fantasy as a brand
Source (1, 2)
Bonus: Cute story of Tabata and his little daughter. Worth a read