UNLeashed

Final Fantasy Resonance has sold through 400K copies (so no unsold retail copies!) across PS5 (48.8%), Steam (48.6%), and Xbox (2.6%) - @alineaanalytics estimates. Resonance has generated $20M in revenue, with 55.3% of that via PlayStation, 41.6% on Steam, and 3.1% on Xbox. Players love this one almost unanimously (you could say it’s really ... resonating with them), which is sadly becoming rare in today’s fandom. Resonance’s user reviews are sitting at 4.8/5 on PlayStation and Xbox, and the positive Steam user score is a whopping 97%, with even Chinese-language reviews hitting 95% (!!!). After having spent about 10 hours with Resonance last weekend, I very much agree, and it’s making me very excited about the inevitable 2D-HD remake of my favourite game of all time, Chrono Trigger. I digress. Given the strong positive reaction to – and early sales of – Resonance and last year’s Expedition 33 (which is tracking way better than recent Final Fantasy games), it's clear that Square Enix has left a significant chunk of JRPG players behind during their move towards more action-oriented Final Fantasy titles. While Square chased more Western trends, a Western company swept in and released Expedition 33, a game JRPG fans wanted for decades and even won game of the year at The Game Awards. Square knows this, knows what it’s missed out on, and it’s seen Capcom succeed on Steam with its legacy franchises where Square Enix has arguably floundered. So I can see Square Enix going down a new route, with many diverging paths, for Final Fantasy. They’ve already outlined their plans to go fully multiplatform, smartly moving away from timed PlayStation exclusivity. I can also see the company balancing its MMO, high-fidelity remakes, and big-budget mainline Final Fantasy titles with more of these smaller 2D-HD original pixel games alongside the 2D-HD remakes. There’s still a gap for a turn-based JRPG big-budget Final Fantasy, though, and all the signals are pointing Square Enix in that direction. Just a matter of time, I reckon. And I’d take even more cues from Capcom, if I were them.