Star Fox Zero, the latest game in the Star Fox series released for the Nintendo Wii U a bit more than a week ago and things aren’t looking good for the franchise. Although no one expected the game to sell GTA numbers, the initial sales reports from Japan aren’t encouraging.
For reference, below are the latest sales numbers from Japan courtesy of Famitsu:
Famitsu Sales: Week 17, 2016 (Apr 18 – Apr 24)
01./00. [PS4] One Piece: Burning Blood # (Bandai Namco Games) {2016.04.21} (¥7.600) – 31.162 / NEW <40-60%>
02./00. [PSV] One Piece: Burning Blood # <FTG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2016.04.21} (¥6.800) – 28.831 / NEW <40-60%>
03./00. [PSV] Bullet Girls 2 <ACT> (D3Publisher) {2016.04.21} (¥6.800) – 21.706 / NEW <60-80%>
04./01. [3DS] Yo-Kai Sangokushi (Level 5) {2016.04.02} (¥4.600) – 21.255 / 437.159 <80-100%> (-48%)
05./00. [WIU] Star Fox Zero + Star Fox Guard Double Pack <Star Fox Zero Star Fox Guard> <STG> (Nintendo) {2016.04.21} (¥6.500) – 17.063 / NEW <20-40%>
06./00. [PS4] Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 4: Deluxe Package <RPG> (Sega) {2016.04.20} (¥4.990) – 14.059 / NEW <60-80%>
07./02. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 (Square Enix) {2016.03.24} (¥5.250) – 13.882 / 567.272 <80-100%> (-37%)
08./00. [PSV] Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Toukidan # (Idea Factory) {2016.04.21} (¥6.300) – 9.749 / NEW <80-100%>
09./00. [PSV] Kamigami no Asobi InFinite # (Broccoli) {2016.04.21} (¥5.800) – 8.951 / NEW <60-80%>
10./00. [WIU] Star Fox Zero <STG> (Nintendo) {2016.04.21} (¥5.700) – 8.175 / NEW <20-40%>
Considering that Shigeru Miyamoto worked on the game itself and that Star Fox Zero was a long-awaited return for the franchise on consoles, these numbers are disappointing. With a score of 69 on Metacritic, the game wasn’t received well by critics either.
Nintendo from now on will certainly be hesitant is releasing future games in the series considering the poor sales and reception. Personally all things considered, Nintendo didn’t do the game any favours by releasing it on the Wii U when prepping up the NX. There was also little hype for the game after its announcement, at least for me anyway.
So what do you guys think? Could this mean the end for the Star Fox games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
