"President, the sales for the first day have been tallied. Just as you predicted, the physical sales this time are lower than the digital edition sales."
In Takayuki's office, his assistant had already compiled the global game sales data from the previous day and submitted it for Takayuki to review.
"This is expected," Takayuki said, taking the data report. "Digital games have many conveniences that physical copies don't offer. But physical copies also have their own advantages. However, compared to the advantages of physical copies, digital versions have become increasingly popular. This has been reflected in previous game sales statistics."
Takayuki picked up the data sheet. The digital edition of Ghost of Tsushima had sold 2.1 million copies on its first day, while the physical edition barely broke 1 million.
As for Sekiro, the physical edition had slightly higher sales, 1.1 million, while the digital edition sold 2.3 million.
This time, digital editions completely overshadowed physical copies in sales, marking the first time digital versions gained such an advantage.
However, Takayuki had anticipated this outcome long ago.
Around last year, various game sales data had clearly shown a gradual decline in the sales of physical editions.
...
The once bustling physical game stores now stood empty.
This wasn't because video games were losing popularity; it was because physical stores were gradually falling out of favor.
Even if someone wanted to buy a physical game, they would often consider purchasing it from an online shopping platform instead of waiting in line at the store.
Unless they were die-hard fans of the game or hoped to get exclusive in-store gifts, very few people wanted to go out and buy physical games anymore.
In larger physical stores, only about a thousand or two would go to buy the games.
However, including deliveries to surrounding areas, a large store would average about 10,000 copies sold.
Such large-scale game stores were typically only found in big cities like Tokyo or New York, with just two or three stores in each city.
With that in mind, the conclusion was clear.
"Digital games will become more and more popular in the future, so we need to continue improving our online services."
The assistant nodded. "Got it."
Now, looking at the sales data for Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro, it seemed like the sales were fairly even.
Was the audience split evenly between the two games?
Or perhaps...
Takayuki looked up and said to his assistant, "Please check how many registered users own both Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro. I want to see that data."
"Okay, I'll get on it right away."
The assistant left immediately, while Takayuki opened his computer to browse the official forum.
At this moment, the discussion around Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima was at its peak.
Sekiro Discussion:
"Help, how do I defeat the first boss? No matter what I do, I can't kill that fully-armored samurai!"
"Fully-armored samurai? The first boss? Dude, you probably haven't even encountered the first real boss yet. The first boss is a guy called Red Demon, and that guy is insane. I've died to him so many times! Why is this game so hard?!"
"Red Demon? What kind of boss is that? Aren't our boss paths different? The boss I'm facing is a fully-armored samurai with a long sword."
"Heh, that's just a mini-boss."
"Huh?"
"Guys, what are you talking about? Shouldn't the first boss be a guy named Ishin Ashina?"
"That's a scripted death boss. Doesn't count as a real boss."
"Ah?! That was just a scripted death boss?!"
Takayuki smiled after reading these posts.
The familiar feeling was back.
It reminded him of when he first played Sekiro.
Back then, he was also beaten mercilessly by the Red Demon, Lady Butterfly, Genichiro Ashina, and Father.
These players were just at the beginning. This was just the start — they'd have much more to suffer through.
The Sekiro discussion was filled with complaints about the game's difficulty, while some experienced players shared strategies for defeating bosses, teaching others how to overcome various challenges.
Some players even discussed using unconventional methods to speedrun through the game.
However, Gamestar Electronics Entertainment had always controlled game exploits well, so it would be difficult for players to find a quick way to finish the game through bugs.
They all had to accept the reality of being repeatedly battered by Sekiro's monsters.
Takayuki couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction as he read these posts of frustration.
He then came back to his senses.
Wasn't this part of the fun of Souls-like games, created by Miyazaki? Watching players struggle? Maybe it wasn't that shallow, but he could certainly understand the satisfaction of seeing players experience the challenge.
Takayuki then looked at the Ghost of Tsushima discussion.
Compared to Sekiro, where 80% of posts were complaints, the Ghost of Tsushima forum was much more harmonious.
The posts there varied greatly.
Some players were discussing the history of Tsushima, while others were educating fellow players about the story.
Some players were delving into the game's details and design.
The game's graphics were quite impressive, and with the unique black-and-white filter (inspired by Akira Kurosawa's films), the game had the feel of a classic Japanese samurai movie.
This made the players even happier, as playing the game felt like watching a traditional movie.
The discussions here were genuinely friendly, with some players starting to share strategies.
When comparing the forums for Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima, both games had their unique aspects. For now, it seemed like the two were evenly matched.
Not long after, the assistant returned with the data Takayuki had requested.
The data showed how many players owned both Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro.
Over 1.6 million.
That meant that out of the 3 million sales on the first day for both games, half of the players owned both.
It seemed that players trusted Gamestar Electronics Entertainment so much that whenever they released a first-party game, they would purchase it without hesitation.
This made it even harder to predict which game would come out on top in terms of sales.