There were a lot of hopes resting on the shoulders of Rise of the Ronin, Team Ninja’s RPG set in 19th-century Japan, but it didn’t turn out to be the authentic Japanese masterpiece that it seemed like before release. After the success that PlayStation enjoyed because of Ghost of Tsushima, it felt like all of the required foundations were laid out for Sony’s next Japanese outing.
Still, it’s not like Rise of the Ronin is a bad game since most of the reviews are generally favorable, but according to reports, the game may not have been the hit that Team Ninja’s parent company, Koei Tecmo, was looking forward to.
It Seems Like Rise of the Ronin Wasn’t a Commercial Hit
According to a report, Koei Tecmo has revised its forecast for the ongoing fiscal year, which suggests that Team Ninja’s parent company has lost faith in the commercial success of Rise of the Ronin. As the game didn’t manage to meet the financial targets that were expected from it, the company has brought its predicted sales down by 11%, along with reducing its operating income by 28%.
It’s worth noting that, although it might not be solely because of Rise of the Ronin‘s unfortunate fate, Koei Tecmo has missed its set target by $70 million.
A major reason why that’s proving to be a big blow to Koei Tecmo is because before launching Rise of the Ronin, the company listed down its “priority goals” in its management plan, out of which the third point stood out. It mentioned a “5 million package game (new IP),” which suggests that Team Ninja’s parent company was hoping for its latest game to reach the target of five million sales.
Around the time of that report, Koei Tecmo did not have any other new IPs planned for launch, so Rise of the Ronin seems like the subject.
Its Producer Wanted Rise of the Ronin to Become Mainstream
A week before the release of Rise of the Ronin, producer Yosuke Hayashi sat down for an interview and talked about the aspirations he has for Team Ninja’s latest effort.
“Ever since I joined Koei Tecmo Games as a developer, I always wanted to make a game that would conquer the mainstream,” stated Hayashi, as he put all of his faith in the Japanese action RPG.
Believing that he has finally managed to create his magnum opus in the form of Rise of the Ronin, the producer revealed that the team has “worked on this game right down to the smallest details,” but that did not stop the title from getting overshadowed by another massive launch on the same day, Capcom’s highly anticipated Dragon’s Dogma sequel.
Have you checked Team Ninja’s game out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
