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Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo discussed the company’s future platform strategy in an email interview. The Trails (Kiseki) series has mostly centered on PlayStation until now, but with the Trails in the Sky remake, Falcom took the plunge into a company-led worldwide simultaneous release that included Switch and Steam (PC) — and says it got “an extremely strong response.” On 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, the comment sparked debate over the series’ history of PlayStation exclusivity, and over whether “lots of new users” means actual sales numbers or just a higher share of new users relative to existing ones.
Nihon Falcom’s representative director and president, Toshihiro Kondo, spoke about the company’s future platform plans. For the Trails in the Sky remake, the company took on a self-led worldwide release that included Switch and PC (Steam), and reportedly got “an extremely strong response.” He also indicated that going forward, some degree of multiplatform, worldwide releases will likely become the standard approach.
In an email interview with ASCII.jp, Kondo explained that while the Trails series had mainly been built around PS5 up to now, with Trails in the Sky the company challenged itself to lead a worldwide rollout that also included Switch and PC (Steam).
He noted that with brand-new entries, the scenario often isn’t finalized until right before master-up, leaving no time to also handle overseas versions. Trails in the Sky, by contrast, could draw on existing assets, which made it easier to manage — and once it actually launched, they got “an extremely strong response.”
Source: gamestalk.net / Original article here
What people said
The real traitors are the PS users lol
"We won't buy it, but somebody do something about it"? That's basically the logic, right? Nothing changes if you just sit around waiting for someone else to buy it lol
* Japan + Asia total: 750,000 – 1,100,000 units
## ■ Steam
* Greater China: 450,000 – 650,000 units
* Japan: 20,000 – 40,000 units
## ■ PlayStation
* Japan: 120,000 – 180,000 units
* Asia: 60,000 – 100,000 units
## ■ Nintendo Switch
* Japan: 70,000 – 100,000 units
* Asia: 30,000 – 50,000 units
Where do these numbers even come from?
Source?
I thought physical copies of Kyoto Xanadu actually sold better on Switch — why's the estimate so low, then?
Falcom matters here
I'm playing Kyoto Xanadu right now
Their character writing is insanely good
This scenario writer's got real talent
As opposed to looking at what, non-new users? lol
Switch didn't have one
Of course most of them count as new users lol
Apparently 100,000 new users on Switch counts as "more new users" — what a magic trick lol
the "real point" here is
just that [going PS-exclusive was nothing but a loss]. Guess that's too much for some people to admit.
The Trails series was never PlayStation-exclusive.
* Early era (2004–): Started on PC (Windows), then became a huge hit on PSP.
* Middle era (2013–): Released as timed/full exclusives on PS3, PS Vita, and PS4, cementing its image as "a PlayStation game."
* Now (2021–): Released almost simultaneously on PS5/PS4, Switch, and Steam (PC) — fully multiplatform.
Either way, the era of surviving on PS alone is over
The people buying the Switch version are probably ex-Vita users, not really "new"
What a hellscape — a guy pushing 40 himself making fun of other guys pushing 40 lol
Way too many young people on there, lmao
Unlike some washed-up franchise, it just has a wide range of age groups playing it
And they're this thrilled about it lol
The one who's thrilled is Falcom, now that its other markets have started growing
> The thinking is that to keep the series going long-term, they need to release titles on new platforms and broaden awareness
Even though Falcom's own games did get ported out through other companies
It's on you guys for not buying it
They had ported to Switch and Steam before too, but it was always a later release
Going day-and-date is what finally earned them some trust
Less than a year and a half left until physical discs are discontinued! Is PlayStation coming or not, is PlayStation coming or not. PlayStation's not coming! PlayStation's not coming! PlayStation's not coming!
Can't pull those circus-act sales tricks (gimmicky multi-edition/DLC milking) on Steam, after all
That's because the vast majority of Steam sales are from overseas
They pulled the "complete edition" trick with Ys X and got properly called out for it —
their reputation's already shot 😎
Background and points of debate
The Trails (Kiseki) series began on PC back in 2004, became a hit during the PSP era, and from 2013 onward was released as a timed or full exclusive on PS3, Vita, and PS4, which is how it earned its image as “a PlayStation game” (see the rundown at reply #24 in the thread). From 2021 the series gradually went multiplatform, and with this Trails in the Sky remake, president Kondo has now explicitly said the simultaneous release got a strong response. The thread split over whether “lots of new users” refers to actual sales figures or just a higher proportion of new users relative to existing ones, with some also questioning the unsourced sales estimates (reply #3). Views diverge between those crediting the sales rebound to dropping PS exclusivity, and those who see it as simply reflecting broader adoption on other platforms.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Good News] Falcom President Kondo: “Right now, most new users are coming from Switch and Steam”.”
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