The recent launch of Final Fantasy Explorers brought respectable early sales in the UK, in which its debut secured 11th place in the all-format charts and number one in the 3DS-only equivalents.
Its second week hasn't been quite so successful, however, showing that the UK audience for the title has been keen but is, ultimately, small. Explorers dropped out of the all-format top 40 in its second week and a look at the 3DS chart shows why; it's tumbled down to 12th place in the 3DS chart, a hefty drop after being number one just a week previous.
There's a clear leader on both Wii U and 3DS in the UK, however, with LEGO Marvel's Avengers top of both system's individual charts. Rival home console versions are still selling better than the Wii U version, though the Nintendo system's entry has nabbed 40th in the single-format charts, making it the only game on a big N system to make it in that top 40.
One final notable point relates to The Legend of Legacy - in its debut week it secured 7th place in the 3DS single-format chart.
Not a pleasing set of results for Square Enix in the UK, and next week we'll see how Project X Zone 2, in particular, performs for Bandai Namco.
[source chart-track.co.uk]
Comments 18
I don't like Final Fantasy very much but I'd like to try this one. If it ever goes on sale on the eShop, I'll pick it up for sure... hopefully the online isn't dead by then. Do Square ever do sales?
I think the reason FF:Explorers isn't selling well because it's almost impossible to find. I've been looking for it everywhere, but it's sold out in every shop and online. Only place I can find it is digital.
@Spike6958
Very true, preordered my own copy but was looking for it the other day and almost every website was sold out on it, with amazon not getting it in or however many weeks
Have you played FF: Explorers?
That game is absolutelly horrible copy of Monster Hunter. Copy without 3D, bad system and has nothing with Final Fantasy franchise.
Pooooooooooor !!!
@Moon The online is thriving from what I've seen. Over here in Europe, anyway. I played a bunch of missions with various people and was able to friend about two of them for next time.
@Koapa Seriously? It's FF all the way down to the clothes you can wear.
Is it me or are 3DS games selling poorly lately?
FF explorers did not get the best review, so I guess gamers took note.
Or
Maybe these games are not as popular, or the FF gamers have deserted Nintendo.
Or
No 3d. That's why I did not consider it.
Guess its up to the onslaught of Pokemon and Zelda games coming between now and next month then....
From all accounts, FFE was reviewed as a Monster Hunter rip-off, but much more casual and less satisfying.
I had considered buying it, but then every reviewer said there was little to no challenge for the vast majority of the game.
With the deluge of rpgs at present and with a just better than average review score, not surprised. Have played 35 hours and there are a couple of niggles
odd difficulty settings with some later quests way easier than some earlier ones
single player with the monsters is irritating for the encase quests. The foe needs to be on its last legs, but by the time I've managed to bring up the command, the ally monsters have already finished off the prey as I don't have the ability to call them off.
I have no experience of FF games so there's no nostalgia for me and I still don't feel any the wiser. I've only played a couple of other rpgs - Fantasy Life and Awakening. Explorers is okay and probably a good training game, but not as good as it might have been. Fantasy Life has been my favourite so far, but looking forward to Fates. Not surprising that hasn't got a date - maybe they are waiting for a window when it will stand out more instead of being a choice between that and Bravely Second, Legend of Legacy, Etrian Mystery Untold 2, Stella Glow, Project X Zone 2 and Xenoblade on the Wii U. It's great to have so many, but they are being released pretty close together.
@Spike6958
Try videogamebox, they currenty have it in stock for £24.70, but if you enter the voucher code POSTABARGAIN you can get it for £23.46.
Some of my friends are really enjoying FFEx it right now. And as someone who's tried to get into Monster Hunter multiple times (and failed) this could, ironically, be my best way in. I might pick it up on my next paycheck.
a game on a nintendo system in the UK isn't SELLING!?! That is a shocker there.
@wazlon
Actually 3DS games have for the most part sold poorly in the UK.
Final Fantasy Explorers is getting a bad rap mainly by people who brush it off as either a bad Monster Hunter clone, or as a poor Final Fantasy title, but I think they're missing the point. FFE is more like a small co-op mmo-lite. You have your chosen roles and take down bosses with various mechanics and gimicks. it's fun to see how your classes interact with those of your friends and how you can co-operate best. To compare this to a standard RPG is misleading as it is heavily influenced by the mission based boss battles of MH while maintaining a more casual, stat based, customizable style of gameplay. It's a small-scale game (reflected in the price) but can offer up to a hundred or more hours of gameplay for a group of friends. Solo is not advisable as the substance and story line are not enough to carry the experience and random online lobbies are...tricky. Definitely worth a punt for people after a good multiplayer grindfest on the 3ds.
I'm enjoying it so far myself.
@Spike6958 my pre-order almost got cancelled and the day after release you could only buy resale copies for 20 euros extra.
As usual they've made 5 retail copies of a Square-Enix handheld game.
@Kingrat That and the fact that some of us want a slightly easier and different Monster Hunter. I've bought 3 and 4 and I still can't get into it cause its just too much to remember, too much text and way too hardcore to play on a tiny screen.
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