Square Enix has announced that Bravely Default has surpassed one million sales worldwide. An interesting point is that a good 60% of those sales are outside of Japan. While Square Enix doesn’t break down just where that 60% is going, it’s still comforting for fans of the game in the West.
Although Bravely Second is already in development, this bit of information all but ensures that the West will receive its own official localization.
What will probably continue to boost some sales is the bit of news regarding Bravely Default going free-to-play on the Japanese Nintendo eShop. The first four chapters will be available for people to try, with the ability to purchase the rest of the game at 2,000 yen.
While some have pointed out that this piece of news isn’t really all that great as it is a “slow million,” we should consider just how well JRPGs are doing. Although no one here on Operation Rainfall would say that JRPGs were dead or dying, it seemed to be a mantra everywhere else. Bravely Default helped put the genre back on the map after Square Enix’s rather disappointing Final Fantasy XIII. The data also shows that Westerners still like the genre and it gives incentive for the companies to continue bringing them over.
Bravely Default is available for the Nintendo 3DS on the Nintendo eShop and in physical form. The game is currently priced at $39.99 USD.
