Final Fantasy 16 is smashing PlayStation 5 sales records in Japan and the competition is not even close. Square Enix has faced controversy concerning Final Fantasy 16 since its launch, but the numbers certainly speak to the excitement and wild popularity surrounding the release of the latest entry in the JRPG franchise.
There was some curiosity about whether Final Fantasy 16 would be as successful in Japan as past titles in the series. The main reason for the speculation was the game's increased focus on the Western audience this time around. This is the first Final Fantasy game to record the English dialogue first, despite being developed by a Japanese video game studio and written by a native Japanese speaker, Kazutoyo Maehiro. Any fears about the groundbreaking JRPG franchise losing its relevance in the East Asia can be put to bed with the latest sales numbers for FF16.
The popular Japanese video game media outlet Famitsu's most recent Final Fantasy 16 retail sales numbers are astonishing, putting the game at 336 thousand sold. That easily makes it the highest retail launch for any PlayStation 5 game in the region. As Twitter user Genki points out, that nearly quadruples the Japanese retail launch sales for Elden Ring, the game currently in second place.
These sales numbers are obviously wildly impressive, but they also prove that there is still a vested interest in both Final Fantasy and the PlayStation 5 in Japan. Multiple video game industry observers have noted Sony making a notable shift towards the West in recent years, and nearly all of the PS5 exclusives, like Returnal and God of War: Ragnarok have been made by Western developers as a result. IGN also noted recently that it took a while for PS5 sales to really gain any traction in its home country, and the Nintendo Switch is still handily winning the console war in the region.
Final Fantasy 16 was subject to some review bombing from people unhappy with the current status of the franchise, but the game continues to receive rave reviews from many critics and positive word-of-mouth from a good portion of the fan base regardless. It's enjoying success all over the world, more than just in Japan, with three million copies already sold, making it one of the best-selling PS5 exclusives all around. Granted, the list of PS5 exclusives continues to shrink as games are ported to PC. Hopefully, it will continue to break records in the future as the game dominates conversations in the gaming scene.
Final Fantasy 16 is available now on PS5.
