Recent Sales and Demographic

[The DanMan]

http://www.siliconera.com/2017/02/01/fire-emblem-fans-mostly-20s-30s-sales-fire-emblem-heroes/

So, yeah. Most fans are in their 20's to 30's (always thought I was on the lower end, judging from users on here).

Just as interesting are the sales for Awakening and Fates (these include e-shop sales):

http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/20170201_022834.png

Both Awakening and Fates performed similarly in Japan, but Fates sold 300,000 units less overseas. I see this being caused by a couple reasons: (a) Awakening's word of mouth got people into it who played it, but didn't quite come out fans of the series and (b) the split versions caused cynics to write them off as half a game.
It'll be interesting to see how SoV will stack up.

[Thane]

Interesting stuff. In other words, Awakening still surpasses Fates in sales? I remember hearing Fates sold much better than Awakening at launch, at least, so I just assumed it had sold better overall.
 

1 hour ago, The DanMan said:

So, yeah. Most fans are in their 20's to 30's (always thought I was on the lower end, judging from users on here).

Not sure if you're being snarky here or just stating your thoughts, but I've always been under the impression that most people here were at least older than 20. I wonder if this will lead to further debates about Fates' localization and how they removed swimsuits from the game.

[The DanMan]

5 minutes ago, Thane said:

Interesting stuff. In other words, Awakening still surpasses Fates in sales? I remember hearing Fates sold much better than Awakening at launch, at least, so I just assumed it had sold better overall.
 

Not sure if you're being snarky here or just stating your thoughts, but I've always been under the impression that most people here were at least older than 20. I wonder if this will lead to further debates about Fates' localization and how they removed swimsuits from the game.

Yeah, I was just stating my thoughts. Some part of me still finds it kinda weird I'm talking to people a decade older than me about videogames of all things.

Awakening was unique, in that it had word of mouth going for it-- resulting in a weaker launch, but more sales growth as time went on. Fates had the much more standard, front-loaded launch.

[Thane]

Just now, The DanMan said:

Yeah, I was just stating my thoughts. Some part of me still finds it kinda weird I'm talking to people a decade older than me about videogames of all things.

To be fair, I'd have considered it stranger if you talked in-depth about Fire Emblem with kids a decade younger than you.

1 minute ago, The DanMan said:

Awakening was unique, in that it had word of mouth going for it-- resulting in a weaker launch, but more sales growth as time went on. Fates had the much more standard, front-loaded launch.

Yupp, I figured as much. I mean, word of mouth is how I got the idea of buying Awakening when I saw it in the store that fateful day. Well, that and Super Smash. Meanwhile, people complained quite a bit about Fates, myself included, though I suspect what reached most people was the often ill-founded complaints about the localization.

[bethany81707]

If it helps, I'm definitely on the younger end of the site, yet have still enjoyed Fire Emblem (to some degree) for a few years. How many? I'm not really sure...

[The DanMan]

1 minute ago, Thane said:

Yupp, I figured as much. I mean, word of mouth is how I got the idea of buying Awakening when I saw it in the store that fateful day. Well, that and Super Smash. Meanwhile, people complained quite a bit about Fates, myself included, though I suspect what reached most people was the often ill-founded complaints about the localization.

The funny thing is, many people who complained about the localization seem to have bought it or straight-up said they'd buy it anyway. I think pegging the sales difference on that alone is a bit much; they're a tiny voice within a broader demographic. I've seen people who bought Awakening and either haven't finished it or didn't come out a fan of the series, and plenty of "enlightened" gamers took one look at Fates and wrote it off the split releases as half a game with minimal differences (the comments sections on other sites, especially leading up to the NA release, were absolutely rife with this long before people began to whine about the localization).

[Thane]

Just now, The DanMan said:

I think pegging the sales difference on that alone is a bit much; 

I'm not, I said it was a contributing factor that reached many people. If there's one thing many gamers seem to hate, it's what they perceive as censorship, well-founded accusations of that or not.

2 minutes ago, The DanMan said:

I've seen people who bought Awakening and either haven't finished it or didn't come out a fan of the series, and plenty of "enlightened" gamers took one look at Fates and wrote it off the split releases as half a game with minimal differences (the comments sections on other sites, especially leading up to the NA release, were absolutely rife with this long before people began to whine about the localization).

Of course, there are all sorts of people. At the end of the day though, 300.000 is quite a difference, but Fates still sold well, and the series is still considered a major IP, which is what I'd say is important.

Let's hope Echoes does even better, though there's not much hype going on right now, but I suspect they'll start marketing it more aggressively once people have played Heroes for a while.

[The DanMan]

8 minutes ago, Thane said:

I'm not, I said it was a contributing factor that reached many people. If there's one thing many gamers seem to hate, it's what they perceive as censorship, well-founded accusations of that or not.

Of course, there are all sorts of people. At the end of the day though, 300.000 is quite a difference, but Fates still sold well, and the series is still considered a major IP, which is what I'd say is important.

Let's hope Echoes does even better, though there's not much hype going on right now, but I suspect they'll start marketing it more aggressively once people have played Heroes for a while.

Sorry for my presumptuousness.

I kinda doubt SoV will do as well as either, simply because of what it is-- a remake of Gaiden that seems to be mostly staying true to its roots. In the closest thing to marketing we've received Nintendo described it as "Classic FE gameplay with a twist". It could definitely break a million, but it's obviously just a side project (though surpassing Fates would definitely send a message I wouldn't be averse to having sent).

Edited February 1, 2017 by The DanMan

[Tamanoir]

50 minutes ago, The DanMan said:

Yeah, I was just stating my thoughts. Some part of me still finds it kinda weird I'm talking to people a decade older than me about videogames of all things.

Awakening was unique, in that it had word of mouth going for it-- resulting in a weaker launch, but more sales growth as time went on. Fates had the much more standard, front-loaded launch.

Blazing Blade is more than 12 years old. I still have a hard time understanding the ones who started with it (or Sacred Stones 10 years ago) are not the majority anymore, but it makes sense.

[Nobody]

Where do those sales reports for fates come from?

Nintendo's own reports claim Birthright + Conquest sold 1.84 million copies worldwide

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/160427_4e.pdf

 

Maybe the sales figures you posted were older?

Edited February 1, 2017 by Nobody

[The DanMan]

17 minutes ago, Nobody said:

Where do those sales reports for fates come from?

Nintendo's own reports claim Birthright + Conquest sold 1.84 million copies worldwide

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/160427_4e.pdf

 

Maybe the sales figures you posted were older?

Huh. It was from a recent (as in: today) article, which cites it as coming from Nintendo's most recent fiscal meeting. Very odd.

[Nobody]

11 minutes ago, The DanMan said:

Huh. It was from a recent (as in: today) article, which cites it as coming from Nintendo's most recent fiscal meeting. Very odd.

the article might have got their info wrong

As far as I know, that report i posted is the only place in which nintendo released Fates' sales, and it's actually from the end of the 2015/2016 fiscal year, in march of last year, which means Fates sold even more by now.

 

EDIT: A possible explanation is that nintendo's own report includes the "secondary" versions bought digitally (e.g. you bought BR on retail and CQ on the eshop, nintendo counts that as two copies, siliconera as one), or even digital as a whole, but who know? It's quite a big difference anyway, specially considering nintendo's numbers are from a year ago.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Nobody

[Water Mage]

22 hours ago, The DanMan said:

Yeah, I was just stating my thoughts. Some part of me still finds it kinda weird I'm talking to people a decade older than me about videogames of all things.

And that's why you whippersnapers should treats us who are much older that you with respect!

But seriously though, that sort of thing is inevitable when a series is more than 10 years old. It's why fandoms from games such as Pokemon and Final Fantasy have plenty of older fans. Of course it doesn't stop me from feeling old when talking to younger fans.