Square Enix Annual Report 2022 - Series sales for FY3/22 - FF: 9M units, DQ: 2M units, Tomb Raider: 6M units

[ggx2ac]

Square Enix has released their annual report for the fiscal year ending March 2022.

A reminder that, if you have a look through their Annual Reports historically, they used to give detailed sales numbers on titles. Then something happened and they decided to pull back on showing numbers.

So for the last few years all they gave was sales numbers on game series and the only ones for that were Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

Now they're seemingly adding Kingdom Hearts series sales numbers now.

Link: https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/library/pdf/ar_2022en.pdf

Edit:

Head to my webpage for data: https://r134x7.github.io/nintendo-earnings-data-and-other-video-game-companies/

Here's the numbers:

+--------------------------------+
| Square Enix  - IP Series Data  |
+--------------------------------+
| First appearance to recent FY  |
+--------------------------------+
| Rank                           |
+--------------------------------+
| Units                          |
+--------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------+
| Kingdom Hearts                           |
+------------------------------------------+
| March 2002 to March 2022     | Rank 1    |
+==========================================+
| FY3/22 Cumulative  |    36.00M |
| FY3/22 Cml. YoY%   |      New! |
| Life-To-Date       |       36M |
+--------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------+
| Final Fantasy                            |
+------------------------------------------+
| December 1987 to March 2022  | Rank 2    |
+==========================================+
| FY3/22 Cumulative  |     9.00M |
| FY3/22 Cml. YoY%   |   -10.00% |
| Life-To-Date       |      173M |
+--------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------+
| Tomb Raider                              |
+------------------------------------------+
| October 1996 to March 2022   | Rank 3    |
+==========================================+
| FY3/22 Cumulative  |     6.00M |
| FY3/22 Cml. YoY%   |   +20.00% |
| Life-To-Date       |       88M |
+--------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------+
| Dragon Quest                             |
+------------------------------------------+
| May 1986 to March 2022       | Rank 4    |
+==========================================+
| FY3/22 Cumulative  |     2.00M |
| FY3/22 Cml. YoY%   |  +100.00% |
| Life-To-Date       |       85M |
+--------------------------------+

 

[Hero]

They're still investing in blockchain, woo.

Blockchain entertainment domain
We have identified AI, the cloud, and blockchain as focus
investment areas under our Medium-Term Earnings Targets and
Business Strategy. At present, we are positioning the blockchain
domain as our most important focus and approaching our
investment and business development initiatives accordingly.
Leveraging AI and the cloud in game development primarily
involves incorporating new technological advancements into the
gaming experience. By contrast, the uniqueness of blockchain is
not purely technological. It lies more in its philosophical aspects
as represented by the concept of decentralization that underlies
the blockchain model.

 

[Megiddo]

Wow, what was released that caused such a big jump in the FF series numbers?

 

[Himura Kenshin]

Wow, what was released that caused such a big jump in the FF series numbers?

I'd like to know that too. VII Remake was released on Steam in June. Not sure of other significant happenings. My guess is catalogue sales also grew a lot stronger after that presentation in the summer where they introduced Remake 2 and 3 and Crisis Core.

EDIT:

Oh wait these numbers are for the FY ending in March. So none of what I said above would apply.

 

[Refyref]

Wow, what was released that caused such a big jump in the FF series numbers?

The Pixel Remasters might have played a part in that.

 

[fiendcode]

Wow, what was released that caused such a big jump in the FF series numbers?

Nothing yet within the FY. The only FF releases are yet to come (Crisis Core Reunion, Theathrythm FBL).

I can only guess it's catalog sales from late Steam releases (VIIR) and last year's biggies (Endwalker, Pixel Remasters, SOP/ChocoboGP/lol).

edit: I fell in the same trap as Himura, lol

 

[Astrogamer]

So the major contributors to that number would be FF7 Remake Intergrade (PS5/Epic), most of the Pixel Remasters, FFXIV: Endwalker, FF Origin: Stranger of Paradise, and maybe Chocobo GP plus some catalog sales

I think the only new release last year for Dragon Quest was the expansion to Dragon Quest X. Everything else new was mobile.

 

[Damage2]

Final Fantasy Origin maybe? ???

That was the only new FF release

 

[Himura Kenshin]

Final Fantasy Origin maybe? ???

That was the only new FF release

It would have been about two weeks of FFO because that game came out March 18. This chart looks to lineup with the PS5 release of VII Remake aka Intergrade and Yuffie DLC as well as the Epic Store release of the same thing fall within the window. Along with what is no doubt good catalogue sales, pixel remasters, etc.

 

[TheRealTalker]

In other words, the Japanese market is no longer sufficient for achieving a level of earnings that enables us to recoup our development investment and generate a profit, and we therefore need to approach our development efforts based on the assumption that we have to succeed in the global market.

Singing the same tunes as many Japanese pubs/studios recently. (Sega, Bamco, Media.Vision, etc...)

No doubt I feel FF16 will be fine globally. The interesting one will be DQ12.

 

[MegaXZero]

Singing the same tunes as many Japanese pubs/studios recently. (Sega, Bamco, Media.Vision, etc...)

No doubt I feel FF16 will be fine globally. The interesting one will be DQ12.

I think there is a Large chance they are referring a lot to mobile. Has the most revenue of the three game pillars, sometimes close to 50%, but is almost completely tied to Japan given the poor success globally.

 

[Jorge]

Surprise to see those numbers from KH. With the gazillion versions and games the franchise have had I thought it would be far higher than that.

 

[Himura Kenshin]

Surprise to see those numbers from KH. With the gazillion versions and games the franchise have had I thought it would be far higher than that.

A gazillion versions but only 3 mainline titles. Compared to Dragon Quest which has 11 mainline titles and also a gazillion versions on top of that, and the same for FF.

 

[Astrogamer]

Surprise to see those numbers from KH. With the gazillion versions and games the franchise have had I thought it would be far higher than that.

There's majority of titles were before digital and prior to digital, most RPGs struggled with legs. If we exclude most of the retreads and remakes, there's only 5 or 6 mainline titles. The remasters probably help in catalog sales but, 5 of the 6 are now bundled into a single title (not sure how they count the All-in-one collection either which bundles that last title)

 

[Damage2]

Surprise to see those numbers from KH. With the gazillion versions and games the franchise have had I thought it would be far higher than that.

Kingdom Hearts Always have been a 5-7 million seller, KH3 its the best selling one with 6.7M. There are only 3 mainline too, 4 if you consider Birth By Sleep a "KH0"

 

[fiendcode]

Kingdom Hearts Always have been a 5-7 million seller, KH3 its the best selling one with 6.7M. There are only 3 mainline too, 4 if you consider Birth By Sleep a "KH0"

I think BBS and 3D are both generally considered mainline. They were made by the mainline team and structurally just like KH1-3 too.

It's stuff like COM, 358/2d, Coded, χ, MOM , that gets more in the weeds but I've seen arguments for all those too. KH's more tightly bound narrative and continuity is a bit different from DQ/FF.

 

[Remember_spinal]

Iim expecting a full buy out soon, wouldn’t be surprised if they divest their studios to different buyers.

 

[ILikeFeet]

Iim expecting a full buy out soon, wouldn’t be surprised if they divest their studios to different buyers.

the problem with divesting in studios is that they'll have less of a workforce to make ever larger games. they did say they're looking into co-ownership of their studios to offset the financial burden though

 

[Remember_spinal]

the problem with divesting in studios is that they'll have less of a workforce to make ever larger games. they did say they're looking into co-ownership of their studios to offset the financial burden though

So does that also mean co-ownership of IP?

 

[ILikeFeet]

So does that also mean co-ownership of IP?

doubtful. that's the actual money and you don't want anyone touching that if you don't have to

 

[Pikachupwnage]

Any update on Triangle Strategy sales?

 

[Sandfox]

Singing the same tunes as many Japanese pubs/studios recently. (Sega, Bamco, Media.Vision, etc...)

No doubt I feel FF16 will be fine globally. The interesting one will be DQ12.

This reads like them prepping shareholders for poor numbers in Japan from their PS5 exclusives

 

[TheRealTalker]

This reads like them prepping shareholders for poor numbers in Japan from their PS5 exclusives

Octopath 2 and many other games release on the Switch yet are also eyeing the global market.

This isn't new news, most Japanese pubs and devs wants a slice of that global pie, to kickstart their I.Ps beyond just exclusively relying on Japan for sales.

MH World showed something that many Japanese pubs/devs want for their own big franchises. Regardless of what platform it releases on.

Hence why you see Koei for example partnering with EA or how Bamco stated they want to appeal to a global market. It isn't the PS3/360/Wii era where you have to pander to different tastes. The market is different then it was before, said games and stories that appeal to a Japanese market can now also appeal globally, be it anime, games, etc...

Many I.Ps have shown this in the last few years, regardless of medium. It would be foolish to ignore that growing market potential, especially with development costs rising.

If you want to grow as a franchise, Japan alone doesn't cut it, long term, especially when you can now market similar types of games to other markets and find reasonable success.

You can find success in Japan but there will always be that untapped potential elsewhere as well and some Japanese franchises are enjoying that. Having both.

 

[gibordep]

This reads like them prepping shareholders for poor numbers in Japan from their PS5 exclusives

Shareholders doesn't care where the games are sold. They care for how many copies the game sell.

 

[TonyBaduy]

Shareholders doesn't care where the games are sold. They care for how many copies the game sell.

That's going to be bad for Forspoken then.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

Shareholders doesn't care where the games are sold. They care for how many copies the game sell.

Japanese shareholders might care, since Square games not appealing to Japanese players has resulted in a portion of their labour shortages

 

[SinCityAssassin]

I feel Square could stand to fix that front themselves instead of using it as an excuse.

 

[Broseph]

Square Enix, along with others but especially them, have been banging on the drum about AAA games costing way too much these days. I think they will try to get other companies (Tencent, Saudi, Sony) to invest in them but I really do think at some point, they will look to sell the whole thing. Their recent statements give me that vibe unless they are able to get one of the three I mentioned or someone else to really invest and take a big part of the dev costs upfront going forward

 

[Jimmy Joe]

Square Enix, along with others but especially them, have been banging on the drum about AAA games costing way too much these days. I think they will try to get other companies (Tencent, Saudi, Sony) to invest in them but I really do think at some point, they will look to sell the whole thing. Their recent statements give me that vibe unless they are able to get one of the three I mentioned or someone else to really invest and take a big part of the dev costs upfront going forward

You think the majority shareholders of Square (and I don't know who that would be) would sooner sell the company than transition to smaller games?

 

[Kanann]

Or just ditch smaller team that don't make profit all together for new owner.

 

[fiendcode]

Octopath 2 and many other games release on the Switch yet are also eyeing the global market.

This isn't new news, most Japanese pubs and devs wants a slice of that global pie, to kickstart their I.Ps beyond just exclusively relying on Japan for sales.

MH World showed something that many Japanese pubs/devs want for their own big franchises. Regardless of what platform it releases on.

Hence why you see Koei for example partnering with EA or how Bamco stated they want to appeal to a global market. It isn't the PS3/360/Wii era where you have to pander to different tastes. The market is different then it was before, said games and stories that appeal to a Japanese market can now also appeal globally, be it anime, games, etc...

Many I.Ps have shown this in the last few years, regardless of medium. It would be foolish to ignore that growing market potential, especially with development costs rising.

If you want to grow as a franchise, Japan alone doesn't cut it, long term, especially when you can now market similar types of games to other markets and find reasonable success.

You can find success in Japan but there will always be that untapped potential elsewhere as well and some Japanese franchises are enjoying that. Having both.

The thing about MHW though is that it also sold great in Japan.

 

[Uniomni]

Square Enix, along with others but especially them, have been banging on the drum about AAA games costing way too much these days. I think they will try to get other companies (Tencent, Saudi, Sony) to invest in them but I really do think at some point, they will look to sell the whole thing. Their recent statements give me that vibe unless they are able to get one of the three I mentioned or someone else to really invest and take a big part of the dev costs upfront going forward

They don't need to sell it, they just need to mirror EA and the other major western publishers and just do day and date launches on every single major platform, rather than securing these exclusive contracts that keep their stuff limited to Sony's ecosystem.

Like, let me be honest.

SE should be the Japanese EA by now, in terms of marketshare imo.

You'd think they'd have advanced to this point by now but somehow they've simply seemed to have stagnated instead.

Talk global but still trawling the same waters is how you end up being leapfrogged by your contemporaries.

 

[TheRealTalker]

The thing about MHW though is that it also sold great in Japan.

Yes but that isn't the point here. The point is that pubs/devs no doubt want to have success in more then just one singular region moving forward and if it becomes a big thing in a specific region then it can compensate for other regions.

It all counts on the units sales at the end of the day but this time globally. At least that is what they are hoping for. More audiences, more targeted consumers, more reasons to expand your I.P beyond just Japan as tastes have changed since the PS3/360/Wii days.

There is untapped possible potential for new markets. The real winners are those that can get success in Japan and aboard since at the end of the day sales are sales regardless of the region.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

I'm hoping somebody can help me out here—I want to make a point but am forgetting the source I mean to reference

I recall a year or two ago there was an article about how Japan-based devs, especially in the AAA space, were facing a labour shortage. As more Japanese AAA games sold the bulk of their numbers outside of the country, fewer young programmers want to make those kinds of games, because they're not the sorts of games they play growing up. So over time, you end up with a lot of mobile developers and a lot of Nintendo developers, but most other major studios are staring down the barrel of not having enough people to sustain their development pipelines

Anyone happen to know what I'm talking about? More fool me for not bookmarking it...

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

I'm hoping somebody can help me out here—I want to make a point but am forgetting the source I mean to reference

I recall a year or two ago there was an article about how Japan-based devs, especially in the AAA space, were facing a labour shortage. As more Japanese AAA games sold the bulk of their numbers outside of the country, fewer young programmers want to make those kinds of games, because they're not the sorts of games they play growing up. So over time, you end up with a lot of mobile developers and a lot of Nintendo developers, but most other major studios are staring down the barrel of not having enough people to sustain their development pipelines

Anyone happen to know what I'm talking about? More fool me for not bookmarking it...

This isnt a new phenomenon, SE talked about japan not having enough HD developers for over a decade. Alot of devs didnt touch HD development until the wii u or switch. They were on Wii/Ds/PSP/Vita/3DS forever

 

[TonyBaduy]

This isnt a new phenomenon, SE talked about japan not having enough HD developers for over a decade. Alot of devs didnt touch HD development until the wii u or switch. They were on Wii/Ds/PSP/Vita/3DS forever

The Shin Megami Tensei team comes to mind, did they do anything specially for the PS3/360 or did they jump straight to the 3DS for SMTIV?

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

The Shin Megami Tensei team comes to mind, did they do anything specially for the PS3/360 or did they jump straight to the 3DS for SMTIV?

Not sure about Atlus, but the XV team went from Type-0 to FFXV, KH team went from 3DS to KH3. Skipped multiple generations of development lol.

 

[Laguna]

Yes but that isn't the point here. The point is that pubs/devs no doubt want to have success in more then just one singular region moving forward and if it becomes a big thing in a specific region then it can compensate for other regions.

It all counts on the units sales at the end of the day but this time globally. At least that is what they are hoping for. More audiences, more targeted consumers, more reasons to expand your I.P beyond just Japan as tastes have changed since the PS3/360/Wii days.

There is untapped possible potential for new markets. The real winners are those that can get success in Japan and aboard since at the end of the day sales are sales regardless of the region.

SquareEnix targeted western markets for decades by now. It's not a new direction. They bought Eidos after all. And that the worldwide market is bigger than any single market on its own is so obvious that it's a stupid thing to even point out at all it won't mask their bad decisions. The only argument is that expansion of target audience doesn't need to be to the detriment of their domestic market, if you actually have a sound strategy, case in point From Software and more significantly Nintendo. Reason for them to state the obvious is their declining relevance compared to other console publishers in Japan and that their flagship titles like mainline FF are focused on PS5, which so far is known for anemic software sales in Japan. In other words, they are severely missing recent market trends in Japan, when it comes to most of their biggest investments. Claiming to target overseas markets but missing out on big overseas audiences for PC Steam, Xbox and Switch that reaches Japan and overseas markets, shows how inconsistant their approach is.

 

[ggx2ac]

Source: https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/pdf/22q4release.pdf

Op has been updated using my code. Tomb Raider has been added considering it wasn't in the annual report.

Edit: I did check the press release the quarter after, there was no change in sales numbers.

 

[Ryuichi Naruhodo]

Source: https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/pdf/22q4release.pdf

Op has been updated using my code. Tomb Raider has been added considering it wasn't in the annual report.

6M Sales for Tomb Raider is a Big Number in a Fiscal Year with Zero new Releases or Ports and also the Trilogy being offered for free on EGS , It also increased by %20 YoY

 

[awng782]

6M Sales for Tomb Raider is a Big Number in a Fiscal Year with Zero new Releases or Ports and also the Trilogy being offered for free on EGS , It also increased by %20 YoY

Yeah those numbers really are quite impressive. Interested to see what Square Enix does next with Tombr Raider...

Oh wait...