An interesting insight has emerged from Sega’s recent financial documents. Together with Atlus, the company realized that the habit of releasing complete versions of games after their original launch can actually hurt initial sales.
According to the Q&A session from Sega Sammy Holdings’ financial results for the second fiscal quarter (thanks Automaton), the publisher noticed that players now tend to wait for more complete editions of games instead of buying them at launch.
This theory currently relates to the lower-than-expected results of Metaphor: ReFantazio, but it could very well be accurate.
A Strategy That Backfired
Atlus games, in particular, often follow a well-known pattern: about a year or more after the original release, they are reissued with a “complete” or “definitive” version, including additional content and improvements — often sold at full price.
This strategy was seen with Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, as well as Shin Megami Tensei V and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. These repeated examples have made players accustomed to waiting for upgraded editions, especially when it comes to Atlus titles.
So far, this has not happened with Metaphor: ReFantazio, and it’s unclear whether a new version is planned for the future. However, the fact that sales were below expectations made Sega reflect on whether the delayed release of complete editions could negatively impact the initial performance of new games.
Sales Impact and Future Considerations
After an extraordinarily successful launch, with one million copies sold on release day, Metaphor: ReFantazio saw its momentum slow down, reaching two million copies only after about six months.
According to Sega, this slower growth might be due to players hesitating to purchase the game, expecting a possible complete or definitive edition later on. This shows that Atlus’ long-used strategy could be turning into a boomerang for the company — ultimately hurting, rather than helping, their sales.
