Maybe a controversial take, but these aren't great numbers IMO.
People are going to say it's a new IP, but are we going to pretend it wasn't riding off the hype and recent(ish) surge in popularity for Persona 5? Did SEGA & Atlus not put multiple Persona games on Game Pass prior to Metaphor's release? Did the game not have multiple showings? I even saw some commercials for it on TV, a rarity with Xbox's involvement but it was nice to see.
Considering it hit 1 million in shipments & digital sales very shortly after launch, it'd suggest sales slowed down considerably afterwards, and I imagine a lot of what's sold since have been in big sales promos. Just frankly, SEGA & Atlus gimped this IP's chances by locking all the Western marketing to Xbox, and barely ever mentioning PlayStation or Steam. And they've since double-screwed up by still not having a Switch or Switch 2 version ready. Why was a port for Switch 2's launch not a priority? Absolutely massive oversight on their part.
Those are all the reasons why I say the 2 million figure just doesn't sound all that great, because in actuality it just isn't, when you consider the choices made in promoting & releasing the game. These aren't even sold-through numbers, and while I'm sure it's had a less budget than, say, FF XVI, it isn't by some magnitudes less. I'd also argue Expedition 33 at most has a comparable budget, though potentially less, and doesn't come from a team withy any JRPG pedigree like Atlus. Yet it still managed to do 3 million (in actual sales) in way less time, while also being on Game Pass (though I strongly doubt that did much to boost sales; in fact it might've sold a bit more if not for the Game Pass inclusion).
Yes, I know. Metaphor, FF XVI, Expedition 33...these are all different games that just happen to be JRPGs (or JRPG-like in E33's case if you don't consider it an upfront JRPG). But again, coming off the glow-up of Persona 5 over the past few years, and the hype the game was getting online, of course I thought Metaphor would've done better. I figure it'd at least be around 3 million by now.
And yeah, there's a bit of pettiness here in it for me. Not even just directed at certain commentators and the media, but publishers. Somehow a game like XVI was considered a failure for doing 3.4 million (sold-in & digital sales) in a week as an exclusive on a single platform, but Metaphor is being considered a success doing 2 million sold-in after eight months while on everything besides Switch? Rebirth is a failure doing 2 million in like a week or two on one platform, but Metaphor is considered a success for less? And again, that's directed at publishers too: Square-Enix just aren't a good publisher in general. These guys called Tomb Raider a failure at 6 million sales, and after XVI's ridiculously low debut on Xbox we've heard not a word from them on it failing to meet certain targets? Did they REALLY want to hit 25K in a debut on Xbox?
But I guess a game hitting somewhat soft numbers is perfectly fine, as long as it's "pro consumer" by being on all platforms, right? Which Metaphor doesn't even satisfy, since it's still not on Switch or Switch 2.
Anyway, rant over.
