90k for SMT4F would put it in the same ballpark as Persona 3 Fes. Considering how SMT4 sold more than Persona 3 did, and the Atlus brand is considered much stronger today, I would consider getting the same result for something that has more effort than Fes put into it and is being positioned as a bigger product, to be a disappointment.
SMT is not persona at all though. So, the comparison is a bit not right i feel here. SMT is hardcore product which targeted niche market vs Persona which is now more align with mainstream fans. And also i disagree on being on higher budget here. Other than some new art for demons, new characters, and new story, the battle and most of the world map is recycled from the first one, so doing around 120k feel that it perform quite well.
It honestly amazes me after 2 years Chain Chronicle is still able to pull such a healthy figure for Sega. I think back in March last year it brought in close to $70 million so it should be about $100 million now. That should make it one of the company's most successful titles.
I wonder why they keep their Western mobile titles separate in this list though. Sonic Runners is a failure here but Sonic Dash 2 is considered a success and I'd be interested in knowing how much it's brought in for Sega.
I don't think that's the case, they've enjoyed success last generation on consoles and both Sonic Dash and Sonic Jump have registered good numbers to show the franchise can work on mobile. Sonic Dash 2 saw 6 million downloads between Oct - Dec so I disagree this is an issue of evolution, I feel this is an issue of a shabby product in the market.
Compared to what Sonic Runners was pre-launch, it was a lot more generous with content, allowed more lives and the amount of ads one had to watch to play the game was minimum. To me it definitely has been an issue of quality that has plagued these failed mobile titles from Sega and not a case of a fatigued brand.
Of course Nintendo console and it's the demograph aligns much more with Sonic's intended audience (Children) Sonic Heroes did phenomenally on the Playstation 2 but back then Sony enjoyed a decent amount of family friendly games on their consoles too and why the series enjoys so much success on mobile. Now is that audience there on the Playstation 4, PC and Xbox One to make up declining software sales on Nintendo's console? I'm sure Sega is hoping it is because relying solely on the Nintendo console/handheld is no longer going to be a viable option for them at this rate.
Thats what happen when SEGA put their mind properly on managing one IP here. They keep engaging their fans with tons of collaboration(like recent Valkyria Chronicles) to make more player wanting to spend money for the game. SEGA also launch a huge event called "final chapter" on chain chronicle this January which will starts the final story chapter for this game which probably will continue for this whole year which makes all its players being more eager to pull for the gacha.
I am sure that we already see how PS4 and X1 being unable to attract any children demographic here tx to Nintendo and smartphone market. Hell, didn't we see this with Sonic All Star Racing and lost world? However, here i feel Sonic biggest problem is not on demographic here but more on how Sonic Team loves to keep trying new things when some of the older idea can be further improve to make them special. Lets said Sonic Lost World here. The parkour system and wall running is all great mechanic which if is further polished plus better level design, it can become a really great product. This also is seen with How Sonic Color and Sonic Generation formula is seemingly forgotten even when the fans are craving for more of those kind of Sonic games.
In the end, i hope Sega would try to manage Sonic IP better here as it had almost given so much joy for me all this years.^^^
