Octopath Traveler is Selling Through the Roof in Japan
Square Enix’s latest RPG for the Nintendo Switch, Octopath Traveler, just hit stores on Friday and it’s already selling out like crazy across retail shops in Japan.
Its caused a bit of a stir for Square Enix as well who recently made an apology on Twitter (via the game’s official account) about the physical copy shortage at certain retailers. For those that don’t necessarily care about having a boxed copy, the publisher advises buying the digital download cards for sale at the Lawson convenient stores. Customers can also simply purchase the game from the Nintendo Switch eShop.
３連休で一部品切れのお店が出ているようで申し訳ございません！
DL版や、ローソンさんで販売中のダウンロードカードもご検討いただければと思います！#オクトパストラベラー— オクトパストラベラー公式 (@OCTOPATH_PR) July 14, 2018
The shortage is certainly a bummer for RPG gamers in Japan. Today marks Marine Day, a public Holiday in Japan, which means people are enjoying a three-day weekend right now. Long weekends usually lead to an increased demand for video game sales due to people not having to work. With Square Enix not able to meet that demand with Octopath Traveler, it’ll be interested to see its sales numbers when they are revealed.
Sales numbers should be made public relatively soon. The website Media Crate will release its weekly rankings on Wednesday and on Friday will show which percentage of the initial shipment actually sold. Considering the success in Japan of the Nintendo Switch hardware and that Octopath Traveler harkens back to those JRPG classics, we’re expecting the game to be a massive sales achievement in Square Enix’s home turf.
We should have our review for Octopath Traveler up shortly. In the meantime, tell us what you think about the game in the comments below.