Continuing with the earning season, Square Enix now took its turn and the expectation was that this quarter actually was a benchmark on how Final Fantasy XVI world began performing, being a temporary exclusive for Playstation 5.

And the news is not so totally good news…

Square Enix reported for Q1 2024 $601.2 million (SE reports in yen) or a 14.4% positive compared to last year, with a WHOOPING Operating income  at NEGATIVE 78.5%.

Square Enix attributed the excessive operating expenses on several launches and of course, Forspoken developers folded within 1st party studios made a dent in numbers.

Digital Entertainment sales up 16.4% YoY on release of Final Fantasy XVI & Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, but Operating Income down 80.6% YoY, but there was an expectations that Final Fantasy XVI could have better numbers, while BEING FAIR, this reports only includes first few week of launch so maybe with Q2 2024 next trimester could give us a better picture.

On the other hand, historical games have better launch weekends.

Square Enix maintain their forecast that by the end of Fiscal Year 2024, they will end with $2.54 billion on net sales or a positive of 4.9% in comparison of Fiscal Year 2023 and this trends to see that they are having a careful optimism that the rest of the year could see a almost steady gaming market.