Can FE sell well besides the 3DS?

[Harvey]

You know......I just find it really odd that FE did huge as soon as those two games were released on the 3DS and I'm wondering that seeing as how niche TRPGs are in general and seeing as how we don't know if FE mobile will reach the same levels as the 3DS ones, I'm just wondering....can FE reach to the same sales potential similar to the 3DS line without the 3DS?

I mean let's look at few things here.

1. The GBA ones despite being accessible, we have no idea of their sales figures( for the west) and yet Awakening outsold them all single-handedly.

2. Radiant Dawn was released on a system that sold huge and yet, the game didn't do so much.

3. The same goes for Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem where both games didn't do well either despite being them on the DS which is the best selling handheld.

4. Fates which was split into two games despite them being completely different to each other is being ranted that they should be in one game when production wise its impossible to do so, ends up selling huge and outdid Awakening.

5. FE is now coming to mobile and yet, we have no idea of what its going to be or have seen any footage of it.

6. The merchandise that FE has is only exclusive to Japan. I don't mind Manga's being exclusive but those trading cards? Clearly Nintendo can appeal that market to the west if they want FE to do big.

and finally.....FE all of a sudden is now a major IP for Nintendo.

I just don't get this at all here.....I mean, how is it that the 3DS that isn't doing as well as the DS is the one that literally saved FE?

And its this fact that I'm wondering just how FE can do big outside of the 3DS......

Edited July 25, 2016 by Harvey

[Dinar87]

Two things...waifus and better advertising.

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

its pretty much just the better advertising, the series has always had waifus.

[Jedi]

Well considering the best selling FE before 13 was 3, yes it can do well outside of the 3DS (because thats without being even outside of Japan @FE3, which is kind of sad when it comes to the sales of the first few they finally localized), they just have alot more marketing and advertising power now, Smash has helped in its own small ways as well.

Tellius overall while ambitious had almost no marketing campaign, and almost no one knew it existed, and RD was hardcore in comparison to what most people bought a Wii for, which was more casual fun games, or stuff like Mario & Zelda, and the occasional weird gem like Muramasa the Demon Blade.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Jedi

[Parrhesia]

Advertising. You saw the trailer everywhere and it was a slickly-edited showcase of the game as opposed to... well...

um.

huh.

i... can't actually find the FE7 trailer on YouTube. But, I mean, the fact that it's been shunted out of relevance by like 80 FE13/14 trailers still reinforces the point lmao

[Raguna]

its pretty much just the better advertising, the series has always had waifus.

Pretty much this. You can pretty much see the difference when people look at Marth, Roy and possibly Ike most casuals will say he's from Smash brothers while if you go look at Robin, Chrom, Lucina and Kamui, there are more chances they'll tell you they're from Awakening and Fates. Also yeah, we'd had waifus since the first game and it was pretty much cemented with FE 4 where marriage became a mechanic. Starting much more dedicated shipping wars as a result.

Marketing can do wonders to make people notice.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Raguna

[twice]

I think now, it could sell well besides being on the 3DS system.

[Shin]

Considering the Wii was vastly popular and FE10 was a relative dud, I think the exposure and advertising of the game itself really matters. Awakening and Fates helped, along with Smash, put FE into the public eye. However, if the console's a dud, it's a no show. It'd probably be safer for FE to stay on the 3DS, I have doubts about how well a Wii U title would do.

[Anacybele]

Yeah, most definitely. Because I can guarantee you that if, say, PoR and RD were released now instead of when they had been, they would've sold much better. Advertising is better these days, and they probably would've had casual mode added too. These were two huge factors in the sales of Awakening and Fates.

PoR and RD didn't sell bad simply because they were on home consoles, they sold bad because of poor marketing and poor release windows. PoR was at the end of the GC's lifespan, and that console didn't sell well in the first place. RD was released near the same time as Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy and surely most people chose the latter two instead (not everyone can buy two or three games at once). And neither game had a lot of marketing. I didn't know they existed until the Brawl days due to Ike's appearance and others have told me similar.

And it isn't just PoR and RD, I believe every FE game outside of Fates and Awakening would automatically sell better right now if they got released again.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Anacybele

[General Horace]

There's absolutely no doubt that a console FE would sell far worse than a handheld, especially considering the Wii U's awful sales figures (the NX isn't likely to be much better). There's very little inscentive for Nintendo/IS to actually make a console FE game regardless, what's the point, just some prettier cutscenes/battle animations? A big draw of FE is that it's easy to pick up and play (in my opinion) and consoles just aren't very friendly in that regard. Accessability is also a huge deal, Nintendo handhelds have consistantly demolished their console sales.

FE is getting bigger, but it's not Smash bros or Zelda. It's not big enough to be a console seller for enough people to warrant the cost of a game that would just sell better on a handheld anyway. A console FE might sell better than the Tellius series now (not a huge accomplishment) but there's literally no point when they could make a similar game for cheaper that would sell wayyyy better. FE3 sold well sure, but that was an age before handhelds, the market was vastly different back then.

There's a reason why FE11 sold significantly better than FE10 despite getting poor reviews.

Edited July 25, 2016 by General Horace

[EricaofRenais]

What others have said more people have handhelds over home consoles and the advertising for the 3DS FE games was much better, big N had four pages of ads in GameInformer for both Awakening and Fates while they did not have any for the FE games prior to that. I never saw any ads for FE 9 and 10, but I did see Toys R Us ads for FE 11.

[Etria]

There's absolutely no doubt that a console FE would sell far worse than a handheld, especially considering the Wii U's awful sales figures (the NX isn't likely to be much better). There's very little inscentive for Nintendo/IS to actually make a console FE game regardless, what's the point, just some prettier cutscenes/battle animations? A big draw of FE is that it's easy to pick up and play (in my opinion) and consoles just aren't very friendly in that regard. Accessability is also a huge deal, Nintendo handhelds have consistantly demolished their console sales.

FE is getting bigger, but it's not Smash bros or Zelda. It's not big enough to be a console seller for enough people to warrant the cost of a game that would just sell better on a handheld anyway. A console FE might sell better than the Tellius series now (not a huge accomplishment) but there's literally no point when they could make a similar game for cheaper that would sell wayyyy better. FE3 sold well sure, but that was an age before handhelds, the market was vastly different back then.

There's a reason why FE11 sold significantly better than FE10 despite getting poor reviews.

This exactly. I don't want to play FE on the TV, I want to play it while riding the bus, tram or car. I want to be able to play a chapter or two while going to work. FE, imo, doesn't need the greater power of a home console. Neither does it need über-graphics. I'd rather have great gameplay and simple graphics.

[Anacybele]

There's absolutely no doubt that a console FE would sell far worse than a handheld, especially considering the Wii U's awful sales figures (the NX isn't likely to be much better).

On the Wii U at this point, yeah. The console is pretty much dead. But how do you know the NX won't be much better? Do you have access to Nintendo's secrets and plans for the console?

I'm also personally tired of having to use a little screen to play FE. I want to be able to play a new one on the big TV screen again. I generally prefer home console games anyway. They're almost always better than handheld games to me.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Anacybele

[Raguna]

On the Wii U at this point, yeah. The console is pretty much dead. But how do you know the NX won't be much better? Do you have access to Nintendo's secrets and plans for the console?

I'm also personally tired of having to use a little screen to play FE. I want to be able to play a new one on the big TV screen again. I generally prefer home console games anyway. They're almost always better than handheld games to me.

Different strokes for different folks really. Now that the fanbase has grown larger and the fact that the 3DS is the go to place for the hardcore Nintendo crowd it's pretty obvious why people would prefer the 3DS. It's portable and not everyone has the time to play at home so they do it at the bus or maybe in between work hours where their home console would be unavailable.

That said, I would like to see an FE on the NX to see what it can be capable of since I'm also rather sick of playing on a small screen. The only issue I find here is that due to being a probable home console title or close to it, they would have to bank on people buying the NX for FE 15 and other games that could support the purchase in the first place. Nintendo would have to place their expectations lower on their profits especially if most people didn't find the Wii U itself a good purchase. Even the console only up to now Smash Bro's was put on the 3DS which also sets a precedent that any probable Nintendo future titles will be co-released alongside with the 3DS hampering the NX sales slightly if the 3DS ever gains a successor itself.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Raguna

[Jave]

It needs to be noted that if the NX has a Console and Handheld version with a shared game library (which is the biggest rumor currently going), then most of this discussion is moot.

However, I do think FE feels better at handhelds these days since the style of gameplay seems better suited for those. If we get separate libraries for the next Nintendo console and handheld, then I fully expect FE to stay on handhelds.

[Anacybele]

It needs to be noted that if the NX has a Console and Handheld version with a shared game library (which is the biggest rumor currently going), then most of this discussion is moot.

I really hope this is the case, honestly. It'd make all of us happy, pretty much!

Different strokes for different folks really. Now that the fanbase has grown larger and the fact that the 3DS is the go to place for the hardcore Nintendo crowd it's pretty obvious why people would prefer the 3DS. It's portable and not everyone has the time to play at home so they do it at the bus or maybe in between work hours where their home console would be unavailable.

That said, I would like to see an FE on the NX to see what it can be capable of since I'm also rather sick of playing on a small screen. The only issue I find here is that due to being a probable home console title or close to it, they would have to bank on people buying the NX for FE 15 and other games that could support the purchase in the first place. Nintendo would have to place their expectations lower on their profits especially if most people didn't find the Wii U itself a good purchase. Even the console only up to now Smash Bro's was put on the 3DS which also sets a precedent that any probable Nintendo future titles will be co-released alongside with the 3DS hampering the NX sales slightly if the 3DS ever gains a successor itself.

Oh yeah, I understand the advantage of a handheld console being able to be taken anywhere. This is the only advantage I think they have over home consoles though. Home consoles have more power and can hold more data, as can their games, so an FE game on one these days could be big, not even counting all the possible DLC it would get. And the more content the better, right? Quality over quantity, sure, but if we can get more quality content than less, why complain?

[Jave]

Oh yeah, I understand the advantage of a handheld console being able to be taken anywhere. This is the only advantage I think they have over home consoles though. Home consoles have more power and can hold more data, as can their games, so an FE game on one these days could be big, not even counting all the possible DLC it would get. And the more content the better, right? Quality over quantity, sure, but if we can get more quality content than less, why complain?

Games are as big as the devs choose to make them. Putting Fates on the Wii U wouldn't have automatically added more chapters or more characters.

Heck, Fates, as it is, could have been bigger on the 3DS.

[Anacybele]

Games are as big as the devs choose to make them. Putting Fates on the Wii U wouldn't have automatically added more chapters or more characters.

Not exactly. Look at Xenoblade Chronicles. It's a Wii U game, but when ported to the 3DS, it could only be for the New 3DS because the regular 3DS couldn't handle the size of it.

But Fates could've potentially been much bigger than it is if it had been on the Wii U.

[Jave]

Not exactly. Look at Xenoblade Chronicles. It's a Wii U game, but when ported to the 3DS, it could only be for the New 3DS because the regular 3DS couldn't handle the size of it.

But Fates could've potentially been much bigger than it is if it had been on the Wii U.

You completely missed the point I was trying to make.

[Anacybele]

I don't see how. You were talking about size and so was I.

[Jave]

Just because we're on the same topic doesn't mean the point is the same. I was talking about choice, not possibilities.

[Excellen Browning]

To be fair to the tellius games they did have visual quality that games since have not matched. Especially in RD this came out in a lot of three dimensionality in maps. As such, a console game can definitely do something a handheld can't do. A console game would be better off getting released on a ps3 or 360 than current or next gen Nintendo hardware though.

[Raguna]

To be fair to the tellius games they did have visual quality that games since have not matched. Especially in RD this came out in a lot of three dimensionality in maps. As such, a console game can definitely do something a handheld can't do. A console game would be better off getting released on a ps3 or 360 than current or next gen Nintendo hardware though.

Yeah, I doubt we'll be reaching Tellius again with handhelds unless they try pushing something through the New 3DS again if that's even likely by this point. I guess that's what I miss from the console version of Tellius. It felt more epic in scale just through visuals alone even though that wasn't the most important aspect of it.

3DS games for me anyways have a hard time capturing grand battles because I just see sprites moving along a surface and their ingame models don't feel as powerful compared to the 3D models that look like actual representation of people. Not to say the 3DS does anything bad since I played Genealogy and that felt pretty big even with the sprites but I just think a part of me wants to return to that feeling of grandeur that Tellius gave me and it'd be sweet if I could do a map like Elincia's Gambit again with everything highly detailed.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Raguna

[Hardin]

Fire Emblem can sell well, but it needs to be something that captures the imaginations of players beyond the hardcore nerds like us. If a shooter can become one of the best selling games in Japan last year, it's not impossible for Fire Emblem to succeed on consoles.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Yes as long as the NX is also a handheld or some form of it and the marketing continues to be strong. Lets face it, FE is basically built to be a handheld series and is doing well as a result of good selling handheld and good marketing. Tbh, id be rather bummed if FE went back to consoles cuz...im pretty much done with those for the most part. Oh well.