You may remember that, just last week, Octopath Traveler developer Square Enix issued an apology after underestimating the game's popularity in Japan (a region in which the company is also acting as publisher). Many Japanese fans were unable to secure a physical copy of the game thanks to stock shortages, with Square Enix having little choice but to mention the possibility of downloading the game from the eShop instead.
Over the weekend, Yodobashi Camera, which is one of the largest video game and electronics retailers in Japan, saw a small restock of the game. Unfortunately for Square Enix, or fortunately - depending on which way you look at it - the game sold out again in just three hours, causing the studio to send out this tweet. Essentially, the message here states that more games will be shipped when possible and politely reminds fans once again that they can download the game instead if they are happy to do so.
It's certainly an impressive launch - the game actually ended up shifting 90% of its initial shipment in Japan - and we're hopeful that players will be able to get their hands on a copy soon if they haven't already.
Have you been enjoying the game so far? Have you had any struggles in locating a copy in your region? Let us know with a comment below.
[source nintendosoup.com]
Comments 69
"Sorry you can't give us your money quick enough, we're working on that."
Evidently, the Japanese prefer physical copies. It'll be interesting to see last week's sales for Switch in Japan.
@JHDK more like "sorry you idiots prefer physical copies, we will try to make more for you at some point, but we make more profit on an eShop download than a physical copy, so we don't really give a monkeys"
@Tsurii Think it's a bit of both unfortunately. Hopefully this makes them take Switch a bit more seriously
@PorllM Ha! Sounds about right.
Square Enix is understocking on purpose to create hype!! Just like Nintendo did with the Switch! /s
This is great news, seeing another third party exclusive selling great on Switch.
I'm enjoying the game quite a bit, but taking it at a slow pace. Like Zelda BotW, I'm avoiding spoilers and playing it as I would have in the early 90s with no internet guides.
I made the mistake of downloading FE Awakening at launch. Great game, but once I beat RPGs, I don't replay them, and haven't touched it since. I won't make that mistake again. Octopath is awesome though and hopefully its success convinces Squeenix to give the Switch more attention.
The game is not really that good. It's an OK game with dull voice acting. Maybe in Japanese it sounds ok, but in English they are pretty cheesy. Reviewers are hyping this game like it's the best JRPG... it's the nostalgia talking, their 11 years old self were reviewing the game.
You basically just find the weak point of every monsters/bosses you met and spammed the attack. Once you know their weak points you repeat the same fight over and over, happily grinding the game into powder.
Of course this could be hype to increase sales. When you are told you can't have a copy there is not enough, you suddenly want one.
And for those who feel safer with a physical copy but can't wait, a reduction in the downprice until the shelves are stocked again, would be a nice gesture.
They’ve spent the whole budget on promo, they’ve got no money left for restocks.
Hopefully this means more support for Switch!
@PorllM
I don’t see how people are idiots for preferring an actual collection rather than icons on a screen
Had mine since launch but yet to play it. Not had the time. Tonight though I start!
@Tsurii Square Enix knew this game wasn't very good and they must be scratching their heads wondering why people like it so much?
Game certainly seems overhyped. Stopped a while back as it just got so monotonous and the constant restrictive nature and segregation of storys killed motivation.
Went back to Shining Resonence and having a hell of a good time.
@Tsurii I mean... Far too much money has been put into pushing this game for them to say “We were not expecting it to succeed lolz”. The only Switch game this year to have received a bigger push (that is already out) is Mario Tennis Aces, off the top of my head.
It's a little baffling that they would send so few copies to stores. They either didn't think it would perform well, or they thought there would be more downloads instead.
Seems like created scarcity to me to push the game, but that's ok I am having a blast playing this.
It makes no secret on where its inspiration lies, they set out on making a game they wanted and it payed off lets hope we can get another golden age of RPG's.
Bandicootmania has never been stronger. Now bring us that Spyro Trilogy so I can’t sleep at peace.
Seems like SE has underestimated the physical potential of Octopath!
...Or have they? Dun Dun DUUUUUUN!
@Katelyn1223 How on earth have you read my comment and taken that from it? Read what I said again and who I was responding to. It was extremely obvious that the part in the quote marks was my impression of Square Enix and not my opinion, as we were both making fun of them. I prefer physical copies myself, which was kinda also obvious. Sorry to be snarky but, annoys me when people come at me for a comment they clearly haven't read or thought about for more than half a second.
I wonder how much faster reprinting is nowadays compared to last time a Nintendo home console operated on cartridges.
Back then, shooting too low could really have you miss out on some big bucks, while shooting too high could outright bankrupt you.
Though I do think sales overall will be good for the game, I think it's just more of the ongoing issue of physical media not being most companies' main focus these days.
But but no one buys games for the switch xD
Square Enix publicly hangs its head in shame and says, "We're sorry that our game is so popular that people are having trouble buying it."
Meanwhile, they're privately popping champagne corks and giving each other high-fives.
Can't they just download it on the e-shop? It can't be that large of a file....
Good job Square Enix now keep your promise and don't shove DLCs down our throats. The game is epic.
@Dayton311 There's a significant segment of the market that prefers physical releases. Otherwise, every game would be digital only these days.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter if some people say that Octopath is "not that good," or "repetitive," or "the stories don't connect together well." Octopath has jump-started renewed interest in the golden age of RPG 2D sprites-on-3D background style gaming. And that bodes very well for the future. I hope this trend continues surging, and Nintendo facilitates it.
Besides, what game doesn't get repetitive eventually? Even the much-lauded BotW gets repetitive. I thought BotW was overrated, but that doesn't detract from it's impact... And it's story was almost nonexistent, patched together after typically very long intervals!
Every major Zelda title since Link to the Past and Link's Awakening has had a sweeping storyline which compelled players to care about the fate of their respective worlds. By contrast, BotW's storyline wasn't conveyed much more effectively than the NES Zelda titles were, and didn't give much in the way of compelling reasons for being in it's world, yet most people completely forgave BotW in spite of this major flaw. This was due to the strength of BotW's other elements. Why not forgive Octopath for having a SaGa series style of storytelling?
Edit: Octopath Traveler currently has nearly as many simultaneous viewers (around 1,400) at off-peak hours as Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon on Twitch streaming. During peak time, Octopath goes up closer to 2,000 viewers, with Pokemon US/M going up to nearly 2,900 viewers. That's impressive, granted the context that 1st party Nintendo properties are not terribly popular on Twitch compared to several others. At peak time, the top 3 viewed Nintendo games are Breath of the Wild at nearly 12,000 viewers, followed by Ocarina of Time at nearly 4,300 viewers, then Pokemon US/M. Also during peak time, for further comparison, Super Mario Maker gets up to around 2,800 viewers, Super Mario Odyssey gets up to around 1,600 viewers, and Smash 4 Wii U only gets up to 1,000 viewers... Melee also gets up to 1,500 viewers, which surges during tournaments. Splatoon 2 gets around 500 viewers, except during the occasional tournament, and ARMS is... almost nonexistent, 40 viewers. So much for ARMS being a contender for e-sports.
Obviously a lot of people want a physical copy of this game not digital, and I don't blame them. Sucks for the people who really want the game and can't find it. All the Best buy stores in my area still have stock. I'm currently 87 hours in and sadly it's coming to an end, so far my game of the year for Switch.
@ShadowWarrior Wait the Switch has games to buy??!?!?11
@Yorumi
My wife has been playing through it at the moment but I've looked over at her switch from time to time, and if anything it is gorgeous looking. Even if the stories don't connect all that well, I'm just excited to enjoy the visuals. I hope they re-utilize this style in the future.
They need to stop apologizing and get their act together already. They have hampered the sales of this game so damn much.
@Savino I know right...hahahaha.
Big chance this will be GOTY for me. There where more than enough copys in my region (Europe). I have to mention that i bought it day 1 early in the morning tough
@Dayton311 There are benefits to physical over a download. Besides physical legal ownership of a copy, it can be sold later on to partially recoup the cost of purchase. Given the value of this title, it will probably remain significant for years to come. Also:
https://nintendoeverything.com/octopath-traveler-pre-load-live-file-size/
The game takes up 2.9 GB of storage. Not a huge amount, but why take up space on the microSD card if you don't have to, and can buy a physical copy for pretty much the same price as digital?
@XenoShaun
You miss spelled Xbox 1. XD
It will be funny when they print a ton of copies but nobody wants them anymore because the Squaresoft/JRPG fans have already had their fill.
Man, I hope SE support goes from strength to strength. RELEASE THE BACK CATALOGUE!!!
With 86 hours of playtime, I had reached the "first" 8 endings. Right now, I surpassed the 100 hours.
@MoonKnight7
Who said the stories don't connect is a big idiot wich not played the game.
@Dayton311 Not everyone wants to temporarily license their games at the whim of the people running the servers. Physical ownership has tons of perks, including longevity, preserving precious space on internal storage, ability to re-sell, and ability to loan to other people to play.
@NewAdvent Obviously the game selling out twice was important enough for SE to issue an apology twice. It sure says something about the importance of physical over there...
please understand
Ooo, if that lead to retailers unable to honor preorders... (does Japan even have preorders?)
@FlashBoomerang
Just what I've heard, I haven't played it yet myself.
@Yorumi
Good to know, thanks! I keep asking when she'll be done, haha.
Errr... but this is just trickle supply. Unless they actually supply the market there is no way to know what the demand is.
That the first shipment sold out is irrelevant - we now know it was only 110K.
@Nincompoop
"Square Enix knew this game wasn't very good and they must be scratching their heads wondering why people like it so much?"
I kind of doubt they'd be surprised or puzzled to learn that not all gamers have the same opinion. Many, many far less interesting and far more monotonous games than this have sold millions of copies.
I also doubt that everyone at Squeenix shares your opinion that the game "isn't very good."
@JJ286 They haven't been able to figure out how to release FFVII-R and KH3 for 4 years, and it took nearly a decade for FFXIII-Vers.....err...FFXIV.....errr....FFXV to come out, and they can't sort out how the very first game announced for NX is still not close to ready a year and a half later as it launches elsewhere.
I'd say their Octopath release is the smoothest, most organized launch they've had all generation!
@Nincompoop So....like SMT, then? You make it sound like it's Destiny 2 or something
@Nincompoop Totally agree. Put in 25 hours and the battle system got pretty stale. Not to mention, the storylines are a right snooze-fest. IMO, the Bravely games stand a head above Octopath.
Well it’s a good problem to have. I’ve been having a blast and I’m only one story in.
Unbelievable. 2018, we've had a year to see now that if a company, particularly a Japanese company, releases a good game on Switch, and if the game lends itself very well to portable play (this one does) that it will sell. And SquareEnix still isn't prepared. Third parties need to start getting their heads out of their asses. Support the system and actually put copies of the game on shelves for people to buy. This shouldn't be a hard concept.
Sony paid Square-Enix to keep the game off the Switch!
Wait, wrong conspiracy...
@IronMan30 Octopath took, understandbly, 1st place last week :
https://gematsu.com/2018/07/media-create-sales-7-9-18-7-15-18
EDIT: The game came out on the 13th so that only amounts to three days on sale.
@NEStalgia yeah is really pathetic when you think this is coming from the once master JRPG company.
@Nincompoop you're obviously playing a different game.
@ShadowWarrior LOVE your profile pic
@RudyC3 Yeah, but the follow up week will also be interesting, just to see the pure numbers. That's partly what I was getting at.
I am sure the first restock was planned already before they knew about the greater than expected demand.
@IronMan30 Ah because the grand total shall reveal what the initial print run amounted to I imagine?
@Aaron09 Thanks
Square Enix is so out of touch with fans, even when they get it right, they get it wrong. We've been screaming for years, "give us classic turn based combat, make games like you used to, stop putting Lightning in games." Finally they listen and then assume we won't buy it?
@NewAdvent I actually prefer digital, but iirc I've heard the Japanese prefer physical to digital. But it speaks to phyical's relevance, regardless.
Its Bravely Default all over again, in a good way. Game exceeds expections, and it already had really great sales. It outsold Bravely Default on release. I'm happy for the team behind the game. Generally I think Square needs to have their arms twisted to give us what we want. However I think this case is genuinely just a case of not being able to properly gauge the demand for a game. Its always a difficulty for games publishers. So I'm glad Japan is proving that physical is still popular, its cultural. In the West we seem to care more about instant gratification, and not going to a store, or bothering to swap a game card. Japan loves their physical music media still too while we are all but entirely beyond it.
At the end of the day
Please Understand
@Nincompoop Except the game IS actually that good. You're really coming off as someone who hasn't played it further than the demo.
Also, I'm not sure if we've been listening to the same voice acting, but there's very little cheesyness going on. Most of the English Voice actors are excellent, and most of the Japanese ones too. Personally I played it through with Primrose/Olberic/Cyrus/Therion/Alfyn using the English dub, and Ophilia/Tressa/H'aanit using the Japanese dub.
Those are the combinations that seem to sound best to me.
The gameplay goes deeper than just breaking enemies, but you can play it if you want to experience the depth for yourself.
I didn't buy it immediately, because of the hot weather and the other games that came out . Like crash and sonic. But plan to get it.
A quick check shows that it is not so easy to get online in Germany.
One online store gives 20th of august as restock date. So seems that the physical version sold pretty well here.
@IronMan30 Well here we are : https://gematsu.com/2018/07/media-create-sales-7-16-18-7-22-18
Damn game wouldn't load my autosave from the demo. No idea why. The save file is still on my system, but the full version of the game isn't detecting the save. Pissing me off...
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