June 28th, 2023, Rishad Dsouza
Final Fantasy XVI has generally drawn positive reviews from critics and gaming websites, but how have the fans reacted to the franchise after launch? We look into the consumer reaction using YouGov BrandIndex data, focussing on owners of PlayStations since the Square Enix RPG is a PS exclusive at the moment.
Buzz for the franchise has grown from 8.3 on the eve of the game’s release to 14.9 as of June 26 among PlayStation owners in the US. Buzz score is the difference between the percentage of respondents hearing positive things and the percentage hearing negative things about a franchise in the previous two weeks. This means the share of consumers hearing positive things about the franchise relative to those hearing negative things has grown appreciably.
It is worth noting that Buzz for the game has also risen among American Xbox owners from 9.5 to 15.3, showing that positive chatter about the game hasn’t escaped members of other members of the gaming community.
PlayStation owners are not only hearing positive things about the franchise but are contributing to the conversations. WOM Exposure – which reflects the percentage of people talking about a franchise with friends and family – has risen from 4.7 on June 21 to 11.1 on June 26.
But has all the chatter resulted in an increased appetite for the game among PS owners? The answer is a resounding yes according to Consideration data, which has soared from 10.0 on the eve of the game’s release to 22.6 four days after its launch.
All in all, it is safe to say that the latest release of Final Fantasy has made all the right moves among its target audience in the US.
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