Japan Sales Charts: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Tops, But Doesn't Even Come Close to Remake | Push Square

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We've said it once and we'll say it again: direct sequels are a harder sell than most people realise. The latest Japanese sales numbers are in, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the big talking point. Unsurprisingly, the RPG has immediately topped the charts with 263,000 copies sold — but that total, which may seem fairly impressive at first, puts the game well behind the opening figures of its predecessor, Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

When the first game launched in 2020 for PS4, it managed to move a whopping 703,000 units in Japan. Of course, there is additional context to consider here, since Remake releasing during the height of the pandemic and people were craving at-home entertainment — but there's no getting around the fact that Rebirth has fallen massively short of nearing those numbers.

Even when taking overall console sales into account, we need to remember that the PS4 wasn't what you'd call hugely popular in Sony's home nation. By the time Remake came out, the last-gen system was sitting at 9 million units or so, sold over the course of seven years. The PS5 currently tops 5 million, three years in.

Rebirth is also tracking behind Final Fantasy 16 — a fellow PS5 exclusive — which hit 336,000 sales at release just last year.

Robert (or Rob if you're lazy) has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, he's played 'em all — a little too much, some might say.

surprised its doing worse than 16

Those are poor numbers. Very poor. Obviously missing the full picture of digital as well, but pretty concerning.

Part 1 was extremely devisive this is no surprise

I understand Remake doing better with a far higher install base but being behind 16's sales is very odd?!? It is a competitive market though. Loving the game and hope it reaches more people.

Even with such a hitter like