For more than a decade now, Frtom Software has come to lay the foundations for a model copied by the entire industry. Since the release of a certain Demon’s Souls, successes follow one another, to such an extent that the expectations around Elden Ring are almost beyond comprehension.
If you had any luck in the draw, you like many others were able to benefit from the beta of Elden Ring, and thus get your ass kicked again and again by the unqualified Margit … and begging for more. Like the bravest of our warriors, you are probably looking forward to Hidetaka Miyazaki’s next game. In any case, this is what Bandai Namco hopes, which hopes to take advantage of this new license still well established Souls-like to break all records.
Deaths by the millions
It’s an understatement to say that the publisher is thinking big for Elden Ring. During’a question and answer session open to shareholders, Bandai Namco’s pundits have announced Elden Ring’s (very) short-term sales objectives:
Our future major title, Elden Ring should be released in February 2022. It has already been highly regarded by the video game industry, and won numerous awards at gaming events in Europe even before its release. We expect to sell 4 million units (worldwide including Japan) in this fiscal year.
Said like that, it may not sound like much, but when we know that Elden Ring will be released (a priori) on February 25, 2022, and that the current fiscal year will end (i.e. ‘is certain) on March 31 of the same year, the calculation is quickly done: Bandai Namco hopes to sell 4 million games in just five weeks. Just that.
Comparison is not right
For comparison, it had taken a little over three months for Sekiro Shadows Die Twice to reach this score. And again: From Software’s new license hadn’t been crowned Game of the Year by the Game Awards. By mixing the requirement of a Souls-like house formula with the more mainstream style of George RR Martin, wouldn’t the guys at Bandai Namco be aiming for the Moon? The answer will fall within a few months. In the meantime, we can easily imagine the pressure weighing on Hidetaka Miyazaki and his teams …
Elden Ring will be available on February 25, 2022 on PS5, Xbox Series X | S, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
