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Octopath Traveler 2 isn't on more platforms due to an internal decision Square Enix made "after observing the sales of other titles"

bender

What time is it?
Stadia....RIP, gone as everybody expected

Phil Harrison and Phil Spencer right now:

giphy.gif
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
If it’s on pc, it makes no sense not to be on Xbox.
Or porting from PC to xbox require more work than you think and the poor sales don't justify the cost....And if you think it costs almost nothing then it speaks volume about how little it sold on Xbox.
 

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
Exactly. Its probably very cheap to block these games on Xbox. Not saying I know it happened because I don't know.
It's very cheap to buy exclusivity for PlayStation because they have a much higher selling set of consoles and an audience with a higher propensity to buy games, particularly of this kind. Not that they even bought exclusivity for Octopath 2.

The last time Xbox had a Square timer exclusive, it was Rise of the Tomb Raider. A decidedly western game and a sequel to a proven success. It massively underperformed on Xbox and even PC iirc. When it came to PlayStation 4 a year later, it was success enough for Square to name it on their report of their most profitable fiscal year at the time.

Maybe some day we'll get a clear answer.
The answer is about as clear as it gets. It was obvious before.
 

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
What the heck is a “non lowest casual denominator”?
Also source.
Call of Duty, Madden, FIFA, NBA 2K some Ubisoft games.

Sources, other than the quote of the thread you're posting in, are years worth of Gameindustry.biz reports, the odd NPD data point here and there and even direct financial reports from publishers like Capcom.
 
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Corndog

Banned
Call of Duty, Madden, FIFA, NBA 2K some Ubisoft games.

Sources, other than the quote of the thread you're posting in, are years worth of Gameindustry.biz reports, the odd NPD data point here and there and even direct financial reports from publishers like Capcom.
No. What’s the definition? Not supposed examples.
Pointing me to potential sources is not a source.
 

Corndog

Banned
Except that they are saying that it deson't justify the cost ad they are in pretty good position to know the sales on each platform...Maybe Ms shouldn't have moneyhatted this one...
So what are the ps5 sales numbers? Pc?
Edit: making it run on Xbox would be trivial. Even if you thought sales would be poor you would do it anyway. How else are you going to build an audience?
 
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On another gaming site I made a thread about Octopath Traveler on the Xbox board a while back, and very few knew about it or had tried it. I asked why people haven't played it, because the diamond icon is on most of the game's achievements, which means there has only been a low percentage of users who have unlocked them.

Despite the board's fondness for Game Pass titles, most weren't interested in it, and the few that were gave up on it quickly because of the "heavy grind" for leveling up.

I'm not at all surprised SE skipped out on putting OT2 on Xbox platforms as it would have been a waste of resources on their part.

I can also understand why SE didn't put the original OT on PS4/5, due to the timing of OT2. It would have likely caused confusion and split sales.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
So what are the ps5 sales numbers? Pc?
The sales of the previous opus you mean ? 0For ps5 since it didn't release there.I feel like what they are saying is pretty self explanatory Sqaure games don't sell on Xbox, at least not enough to justify a port.If you want numbers go ask square they are the one saying it is not viable.
 

Corndog

Banned
The sales of the previous opus you mean ? 0For ps5 since it didn't release there.I feel like what they are saying is pretty self explanatory Sqaure games don't sell on Xbox, at least not enough to justify a port.If you want numbers go ask square they are the one saying it is not viable.
Nope. For this game since that’s what the thread is about.
I don’t buy the sales don’t justify it. If it’s on pc, it’s almost zero work for it to be on Xbox. This is just stupidity by square.
 

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
There is no surprise biggest audience for this type of game are in Playstation and Nintendo, not on Xbox.

If you are fan of Japanese games, you buy Playstation, Nintendo and even PC over Xbox.

Agreed.

This was my educated guess way back when it was first revealed. Why not put the second game on XB unless the first flopped or something? So it was pretty clear that what every they were trying, they got their answer and moved on.

You don't have to look further than Lost Odyssey to see this truth. Microsoft gave it an honest shot. They made a truly great JRPG (they also made Blue Dragon) as an exclusive for Xbox 360, their console with their largest install base ever.

And most Xbox fans still said, "nah, we're good. Not our thing."

Agreed. Thats how I see it. I've heard all the arguing points for generations now, if only they had Final Fantasy, if ONLY they had Kingdom Hearts, if only they had Persona and on and on and on. What MS manage to do was massive with Myst Walker, they got the creator of FF to literally make 2 exclusive games, BRAND NEW IP, if that isn't enough, I don't know what to tell folks, but this idea of MORE JRPG will solve it doesn't really make much sense if that exact base isn't even buying the JRPG coming to the system right now.

Its why I say support is not some fucking default thing, its not like once it starts, we will never see any change or something. That is subject to change, that is a thing where those games must actually continue to sell for those companies to continue their support.

Thats it.

To show I'm not just saying this for MS, I'd say this for ANY FUCKING COMPANY, look at Ubisoft no longer putting M rated games on Nintendo systems? It doesn't matter that they have many IP that have moved millions on there, if a genre or type of title isn't selling, they have no ode to keep throwing money in a pit or something. So seeing Square lesson on their support isn't really shocking.

Once they ported all of those older Final Fantasy games, ported Kingdom Hearts, ported Dragon Quest...why should they keep doing this if their data is showing that install base doesn't play those games? So what ever test Square had going on, they got their answer and maybe for titles like this, PS/Nintendo combo just makes more sense.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
On another gaming site I made a thread about Octopath Traveler on the Xbox board a while back, and very few knew about it or had tried it. I asked why people haven't played it, because the diamond icon is on most of the game's achievements, which means there has only been a low percentage of users who have unlocked them.

Despite the board's fondness for Game Pass titles, most weren't interested in it, and the few that were gave up on it quickly because of the "heavy grind" for leveling up.

I'm not at all surprised SE skipped out on putting OT2 on Xbox platforms as it would have been a waste of resources on their part.

I can also understand why SE didn't put the original OT on PS4/5, due to the timing of OT2. It would have likely caused confusion and split sales.
It also doesn't help to sell a "XXXX" 2 when the first was not on said platform...It probably put some people off the game.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
Nope. For this game since that’s what the thread is about.
I don’t buy the sales don’t justify it. If it’s on pc, it’s almost zero work for it to be on Xbox. This is just stupidity by square.
How is it almost 0 work? Isn't there more licencing cost, or simply the cost of publishing a game on every platform?Not counting man/days and work divided....The thing is you seem to think that porting a pc game to xbox is like pushing a simple button, it is not, it just shows an important lack of understanding about game developing world.
 
It also doesn't help to sell a "XXXX" 2 when the first was not on said platform...It probably put some people off the game.
Makes me wonder about the sales of OT2 on PS4/5. Most of the previews/reviews I've seen on Youtube have been from the Switch version, which makes sense. I went with that version as well because of familiarity.
 

supernova8

Banned
Xbox needs to grow their japanese audience.

Most japanese people who own xbox have PS/Nintendo. They buy those games from those system, which affects the sales of Xbox copies.

Until MS fixes that issue, the sales would be bad.

As someone living in Japan, I've seen practically zero marketing effort (read: spend) for Xbox and/or Game Pass. It's just non-existent both on TV and youtube ads in my experience.

Contrast that to Apple, which seems to spend a fortune on advertising, as does Google.

Another example is the pharmaceutical giant GSK, which recently made a push into Japan's higher-end toothpaste market. Aquafresh (also owned by GSK) is successful in Japan but it typically only sells for about 150 yen per tube. Their new high-end "whitening ultra protect bla bla bla" brands カムテクト and シュミテクト go for more like 600 or 700 yen, and they have been absolutely blitz-ing TV and youtube ads. Plus, I've seen those brands get the premium shelf space at drug stores (ie eye level) so either it's selling well or GSK has offered drug stores some.... incentive... (at least more so than other companies) to have their products in the best position.

Honestly it doesn't seem that Microsoft really cares about making a splash in Japan at all. There are plenty of non-Japanese brands that do well in Japan so the argument that "Japanese people just prefer Japanese brands" doesn't really hold that much water anymore, especially among the younger generations (the demographic groups most likely to buy and play video games).

The Series S's small form factor and the accessibility of Game Pass should be pretty easy to market. They just need to lean on Japanese influencers more. All the other brands do it and Microsoft of course has plenty of cash to throw at it. Microsoft just seems to be like:

the simpsons adult GIF
 
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Corndog

Banned
How is it almost 0 work? Isn't there more licencing cost, or simply the cost of publishing a game on every platform?Not counting man/days and work divided....The thing is you seem to think that porting a pc game to xbox is like pushing a simple button, it is not, it just shows an important lack of understanding about game developing world.
It wouldn’t be much work because it already runs on pc. Why is that so hard for you to understand.
The only cost I know of would be certification.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
Makes me wonder about the sales of OT2 on PS4/5. Most of the previews/reviews I've seen on Youtube have been from the Switch version, which makes sense. I went with that version as well because of familiarity.
I would totally understand why they'd review it on the switch....If I had played the first on the switch it would be logical to review the other on the same platform...Maybe Nintendo has the marketting for this game or maybe it sold so well there that it would be a smart choice to market it with switch.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
It wouldn’t be much work because it already runs on pc. Why is that so hard for you to understand.
The only cost I know of would be certification.
Dude, porting a game between PC and Xbox is not as easy as you think, are you gonna be obtuse about it like our GOW arguments a few months ago or will you finally accept that you might be wrong ?
 
It wouldn’t be much work because it already runs on pc. Why is that so hard for you to understand.
The only cost I know of would be certification.
There is no certification for putting a game on PC, so the PC code doesn't HAVE to work properly. It is the PC player's job to fix any issues. I can always tell when someone talk about PC gaming while never having played.
 
I don't see the word "gamepass" at least in the OP
octo 2 is the sequel of octo 1.

octo 1 wasn't on Play Station but it was on xbox/Game Pass.

People often argue that Game Pass is a vehicle for exposure:

a game comes out, people try it; then the sequel is released = more sales.

clearly, Oct's 1 engagement on Game Pass was very poor.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
There is no certification for putting a game on PC, so the PC code doesn't HAVE to work properly. It is the PC player's job to fix any issues. I can always tell when someone talk about PC gaming while never having played.
Don't you know that any game on pc can be ported by just renaming the .exe to .xdk?It doesn't require anything else and costs nothing....With that logic every PC game should be on Xbox, it's free money.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
There is no certification for putting a game on PC, so the PC code doesn't HAVE to work properly. It is the PC player's job to fix any issues. I can always tell when someone talk about PC gaming while never having played.

thinking like this is what allows companies to keep putting out shit ports like we've seen recently :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 

GHG

Gold Member
Man Lost Odyssey being locked into Xbox makes me sad. That game needs at least a PC port, there's some flat out AMAZING songs on the soundtrack. Some of Uetmatsus best work is there, unheard!

Also just to add, Mistwalker was started with Microsoft money which makes the situation when worse to capture the Japanese audience and they just don't want it.


Edit: listening to this song again I'm and how well the lyrics fit the story.



FYI it works 100% on Xenia Canary on both PC and Steam Deck.

I'm playing through it again at the moment on the deck and it's fantastic.
 
Not sure how anyone can really argue there's zero interest in FF Pixel Remasters on Xbox. Its literally the biggest SQEX series.
Remasters of NES and SNES games are not on the level of being SE's biggest games just because they are Final Fantasy. FFXIV, FFXVI and FFVII Rebirth are the big games - not Pixel Remaster. Xbox fans would not be going out in big numbers to buy those ports.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
FYI it works 100% on Xenia Canary on both PC and Steam Deck.

I'm playing through it again at the moment on the deck and it's fantastic.
You don't know what you did ....I have been eyeing the Steam Deck for a few days now, don't tempt me, not with those eyes:messenger_winking:
 

blacktout

Member
He wasn't even asked that. He was asked what made them release 2 on Playstation and he said fans asking for it and internal data from other game sales. I do think they skipped xbox due to low sales anyway but he didn't even mention that platform or the reason.

Yeah, the quote isn't about why OT2 isn't on more platforms. It's about why it's on PlayStation when the original wasn't released on the platform. The tweet and thread title are both complete misreadings of the interview, either out of borderline illiteracy or a desire to create drama out what's actually a really mundane and boring statement. Honestly, this thread should be closed.
 
It seems like so many Japanese games are just skipping xbox altogether now. Also to people saying its a misunderstanding? Tell me, why are they skipping xbox? Just for fun?
 
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Yeah, the quote isn't about why OT2 isn't on more platforms. It's about why it's on PlayStation when the original wasn't released on the platform. The tweet and thread title are both complete misreadings of the interview, either out of borderline illiteracy or a desire to create drama out what's actually a really mundane and boring statement. Honestly, this thread should be closed.
but it was on Xbox.
 

GHound

Member
With Sony having such a big, immutable monopoly and influence in Japan it must have cost a fortune for Microsoft to block the first game's from releasing on PS4.
/s. Is it bad that I find the "moneybags from my ass" discourse entertaining?
 

Handel

Member
The quotes in the actual interview, not the tweeters interpretation, there's nothing about low sales anywhere.

Fs8TzafakAEeP3G
Yeah this entire threads premise is based on bad reading comprehension. They made the decision to have OT2 be a multi-platform release due to good sales of other presumably multi-platform titles, whilst OctoPath Traveler 1 was only a single platform game at launch.

It's like the OP and multiple posters in the thread took the answer to the first question, and then in their minds changed the original question to be, "Why is OT2 on PlayStation now and not releasing on Xbox?".
 
D

Deleted member 471617

Unconfirmed Member
The quotes in the actual interview, not the tweeters interpretation, there's nothing about low sales anywhere.

That's probably because the sequel is selling less than the original despite being on four platforms (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch) with larger user install bases than the original game which launch on only Switch back in 2018.

So many people believe that Square Enix doesn't port games to Xbox because no one buys them when the reality is that Square Enix just fucking sucks and doesn't know what they're doing. Of course, they're probably just waiting for a Game Pass payday then the port will come real quick. lol

Square Enix only seems to care about is Final Fantasy.
 
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Metnut

Member
Actions have consequences. Condition an entire platform of users to think a monthly fee is all inclusive and don’t be surprised when people who want to sell games the traditional way skip your platform. It just isn’t worth the effort to sell to cheap gamers.
 

Dynasty8

Member
Was interested in buying this game until I heard how incredibly easy it is compared to the first game. I hate when devs do this... Many JRPGs recently have had their difficulty significantly lowered where it no longer appeals to me.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
That's probably because the sequel is selling less than the original despite being on four platforms (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch) with larger user install bases than the original game which launch on only Switch back in 2018.

So many people believe that Square Enix doesn't port games to Xbox because no one buys them when the reality is that Square Enix just fucking sucks and doesn't know what they're doing. Of course, they're probably just waiting for a Game Pass payday then the port will come real quick. lol

Square Enix only seems to care about is Final Fantasy.


Well, at least this thread/game is an example of just because you put something out on a platform with more units sold, doesn't mean it's gonna sell.

Octo 2 has been pretty lackluster in sales till now.

but it was on Xbox.


Read the interview quote, not the tweet.
 
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blacktout

Member
but it was on Xbox.

Sure, but he wasn't asked why Octopath Traveller 2 wasn't on Xbox. He was asked why it was on Playstation. Both the tweet and the title are framed as if he was answering the former question instead of the latter.

You can certainly speculate that his answer is also the reason why the game wasn't released on Xbox, but presenting his quote as if he said as much himself is either dumb or deceptive.
 
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