Tekken 8 breaks 2 million sales in first 3 weeks.

Tekken 8 reaches 2 million copies sold: how it compares to its fighting game rivals and other releases of 2024

Tags:

• Bandai Namco,
• Tekken

Tekken 8 has reached an impressive milestone in less than a month after its launch. Bandai Namco’s title also joined other successful Japanese games launched since the beginning of 2024.

Bandai Namco’s financial results

On February 14, Bandai Namco released its financial report for the three quarters ended December 31, 2023. The company reached ¥772 billion ($5.14 billion) in net revenue, up 3.9% year-over-year, while its operating profit fell 26.3% year-over-year to ¥78.2 billion ($521 million).

During the nine-month period, Bandai Namco sold 29.1 million copies of video games, compared to 38.7 million in the same period last year. Overall, revenues of its Digital Business segment declined in both Network content (online games) and Home video games (multi-platform titles) categories — by 3.8% and 17.8% respectively.

As reported by Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki, Bandai Namco also recorded impairment losses of ¥21 billion attributed to an “underperforming game” — most likely Blue Protocol, a free-to-play MMO action RPG launched in Japan last June.

Tekken 8 is another Japanese top seller this year

Tekken 8, the company’s new Q4 release, seems to be performing above expectations. It has already sold 2 million copies globally since its launch on January 25. Here is how its sales compare to rival fighting titles released over the past year:

• Street Fighter 6 — 1 million copies sold in three days (2.98 million copies, as of December 31);
• Mortal Kombat — ~3 million copies sold in less than two months.

Last month, Tekken 8 debuted at #1 on the UK Boxed Charts, with its physical sales more than doubling the launch of Street Fighter 6. The game also peaked at nearly 50k concurrent players on Steam, one of the best results among new releases this year.

Tekken 8 is amazing glad it's seeing big success and reach 🙌

Well deserved, excellent game. It’s a great time to be a fan of fighting games and for others to jump into the genre.

Goes to show that Tekken 8 can already be successful without Guest Characters being in the game...looking at you Negan!

Anyhow, Tekken 7 built up those player bases, so credit to Tekken 7 as well for giving us Tekken 8 turning it into a great fighting game, and kudos to the 2 million milestone.

(Now invest in SoulCalibur 7 next Bandai Namco)

People complain about Negan but he was really successful for the game, him and the final fanasty character I think end up being the most downloaded dlc.

Even with the 32 character roster at launch we still missing staples, jinpachi, Roger, Heihachi, mokujin, I think Akuma is considered cannon now.

Imagine if Tekken 8 got Akuma before SF6.. would be bizarre lol

I'm down for some creative guest characters, I think every dlc pack should have atleast 1 out there guest character, rest can be legacy, but atleast 1 per pack.

@davillain: I'd like Victor von Gerdenheim from darkstalkers in Tekken 8.

Make it happen Bandai. Do it.

Guess these games just don't sell well. That number seems low for a game released on so many devices.

Sigh, where's Sega? They ever going to bring back Virtua Fighter? DOA was a good substitute until it decided to just be about booby physics and cosmetic MTXs.

I love guest characters especially in fighting games. Having Akuma, Geese, and Noctis in Tekken 7 was awesome. Tifa from Final Fantasy VII NEEDS to come to Tekken 8.

Love to get into this, but know eat up months of time. More important stuff to do atm.

Can't say not getting moneys worth with these games though. Get what put in.

@uninspiredcup: it's a complete package, good modes and features, customization on point. Nice roster.

It's cool seeing Tekken and SF start to eat away at the MK audiance. (MK usually leads in numbers with casuals)

Seems like Netherrealms under delivered with MkOne. And T8 and SF6 looking extra purty because of it. Both T8 and SF6 still appealing to thier og audiences and newcomers alike.

MKone is hurting right now. NRS's fault tho. Fans turning on em after playing SF6 and T8 lol..

Looks like Tekken is now the new king of fighting game sales! (Well, besides Smash Bros.)

More broadly speaking, fighting games have made quite a big comeback in recent years. They're now the most popular they've been since the '90s arcade era.

I pretty much don't play fighting games anymore. Hate that they sell you characters, clothes, stages etc these days, enjoy your Fighter pass everyone.

I’m guessing that Tekken 8 didn’t release for the switch.

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Or PS4/Xbox one

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His comment came off kinda “salty”.

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Yeah It did.. fastest selling tekken game at launch.. 2 million copies in less than a month is good for a $70 fighter. One of the most successful launches in the genre in while for a fighter not called Mortal Kombat or Super Smash bros. Don't get the Debbie downer syndrome.

Good for them, and I'm happy for fans of fighting games.

How is the gameplay and the mechanics? My roommate is into fighting games and he was sort of explaining how folks were disappointed in the latest Street Fighter. He sort of talked about how there's artificial delay/input into the game so people playing on the internet have equal footing as well and how that is sort of a hot topic.

I honestly haven't played a fighting game for what feels like decades. At least, not seriously. I might have tried the story mode of Injustice or something for an hour or two.

Game looks really fun. More so than SF6.

The best Tekken ever has been.

The gameplay is super clean. I'm having a blast with it. Online finally has rollback.

If you've ever wanted to try tekken and are new to it. I highly recommend tekken 8. The arcade quest campaign they added works as an awesome tutorial for newcomers. And it's not too long, like 4 hours, but it'll get you going with a solid foundation for the mechanics.

I have SF6 too, it's great game, mechanically solid, but didn't care for its roster or World tour mode.

I like Tekken more than SF, but both are great games. I just have my bias.

Great sales! I suck at fighting games, so...pass :P

Always had the opinion Netherrealms art direction was poor with the exception of 11, but the main thing that stood out above all with MK1 was how flat and in some cases straight up ugly everything looked.

Meme going round that Western art direction is shit, and this isn't doing much to help.

@uninspiredcup:

MK10/11 graphics>MK1?

Your roommate is capping and providing some premium scrub talk. It's far from a disappointing game, it's one of the more loved entries already in its vanilla version, for a series taht periodically gets stronger as it gets updated.

Even their description of how the input system is flawed is wrong. Has nothing to do with putting people on equal footing lol.

Well deserved! I hope they keep this one fresh and balanced with the addition of new (legacy) characters. Also no more guest characters, please - especially the 2D fighting game characters like Akuma who broke Tekken 7.

I think this is the best modern Tekken, but let's not be ridiculous here by saying it is the best ever. Tekken 5 DR will probably never be surpassed in terms of rewarding the better player for their execution, creativity, and decision making. There were no situations that rewarded one player for getting punched in the face, or any situations that granted them free mixups that the other had to respect even when they were being outplayed. It's a shame that T5DR didn't have all of the same training mode perks that 7/8 do. It would have served well to have punishment training and movement guides in the game.

Rather than the best ever, it would be more fair to call this game the best modern Tekken game, as in from the Tag 2 - Tekken 8 era. It is definitely a breath of fresh air from Tekken 7, where the game was almost 2d when you were up close due to the nerfed sidesteps. They nerfed movement overall in Tekken 8 again with the back dash being slower and covering less distance, but you can actually side step people constantly trying strings and jab checks which is nice. Super moves like Claudio b+1 still exist, but the range has been nerfed so that they have to be placed perfectly. It is a great step up I think.

With Netcode getting better and better, and online functionality improving. I see the future of fighting games being really bright. One of the most technical genres out there, makes for a good environment for longevity and online multiplayer leaderboards.

Glad Tekken and Street Fighter are eating away at Mortal Kombat.

NRS can't design a good combat system worth a damn, might as well stick to the real fighting games.

The way I see it, Mortal Kombat and Smash Bros are designed for casual audiences whereas Tekken and Street Fighter are designed for hardcore audiences. For many Gen Z who weren't around in the '90s arcade era, MK and Smash were pretty much their introduction to fighting games. But now, many of those Zoomers looking for more depth are moving on to Tekken and SF.

This really isn't the case at all, perhaps earlier SF games like Alpha and 3, but 5-6, nope.

It has hardcore competitive stuff in mind, but it is 100% taking all steps humanly possible to get newcomers into it.

Honestly surprised they kept rage arts in, as is. Arguably among the most braindead implementations of a comeback mechanic. I'm losing, so I get a one button traveling armor move that melts bar Zzzz. Game would be better if they just deleted it lol. But like damn, at least lock it behind some execution. Or disable raw use, only to be used as a combo ender. What's most annoying is the threat of having it on deck. Reduces close rounds to this timid game of baiting each other. It's the same issue as modern control supers in SF6, but in this game everybody has it. Just crazy how they'd tack something so obnoxious onto an otherwise brilliant combat system.

Yeah Heat systems a bit crazy, but at least it's something with more nuance, can be tweaked in a variety of ways. Raw activation is a bit dumb, another armored safe on block neutral skip lol. And as a Yoshi main, gotta admit my Heat Smash is all kinds of braindead. Basically can just throw it out for free. If it hits, great, I melted your bar. If you block, great, I can cancel into dragonfly and be in your face at +10. Eat this mix. Current implementation is goofy, but some simple frame adjustments could go a long way towards taming this system.

Otherwise, great game. Most annoyances are outside the combat, weird UI choices, time wasting UX choices, lacking some basic training mode options, etc. The kind of stuff they can easily address.

I still want Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6, but there are so many other games I want even more. The only two day one fighters I want are Marvel vs. Capcom 4 and Injustice 3... perhaps a new Tekken Tag.

Don't mind the heat system, actually think it's awesome. heat smashes/rage arts can still be blocked so no biggie, not surprised they kept rage arts from tekken 7, making it a combo input like SF seems redundant when theres so many other moves at you disposal. I like the raw activation, like you mentioned SF modern controls takes it away anyway. Rage Arts do add a bit of intensity knowing you can still come back if it lands if your falling behind, makes people play with caution even wihen ahead. Very satisfying when you interrupt one with a killing blow.. knowing they through it out in desperation lol. The heat smashes too don't do as much dmg when it's added mid juggle, so it's balanced imo. Sometimes I'll throw it in mid combo but if they aren't standing it's not worth wasting. I'm maining King, but I like that they buffed dragonov he was a favorite of mine tekken 7, he's a beast now.

@uninspiredcup said:

@sargentd said:

@uninspiredcup: it's a complete package, good modes and features, customization on point. Nice roster.

It's cool seeing Tekken and SF start to eat away at the MK audiance. (MK usually leads in numbers with casuals)

Seems like Netherrealms under delivered with MkOne. And T8 and SF6 looking extra purty because of it. Both T8 and SF6 still appealing to thier og audiences and newcomers alike.

MKone is hurting right now. NRS's fault tho. Fans turning on em after playing SF6 and T8 lol..

Always had the opinion Netherrealms art direction was poor with the exception of 11, but the main thing that stood out above all with MK1 was how flat and in some cases straight up ugly everything looked.

Meme going round that Western art direction is shit, and this isn't doing much to help.

Looks very uninspired

Yeah I think heat system has potential. Some aspects are already really nice, like OH activators and dashes, along with buffs to char specific attacks while active. Obviously no issues mid string either. I know a lot of the community has been kneejerk about it, but I think heat system is already doing cool things and can evolve into something great. I'm glad it's in.

The issues specifically are the frame advantage on raw Burst and Smash. All reward, no risk. They can't be checked. And sure you can block, but you're still minus. Like Mazui and I were saying, the defender still has to eat a mix just for blocking. So even if I'm being outplayed, I get to weasel my way back to advantage by... pressing a button. If you manage to block the immediate damage, you still have to guess against even bigger damage. In my case I'd actually prefer you blocked since the following mix is so juiced lol.

No biggie long term, I'm certain these will change. Make heat burst zero on block, so that both players are neutral. Making heat smash -15 launch punishable on block like rage art would be nice (not expecting it), but any amount of minus would do. In it's current state it goes completely against all of what Tekken has established, where the biggest moves leave you minus and often very punishable if the spacing is right. All fighting games have guesses, but you don't even have to create the situation here. No earning through positioning or setup, you just hit a button and force a mix lol.

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Raw rage arts, eh. Guess we just disagree on how these games should play. The idea of evening the playing field for the less skilled player to such a degree, so easily, doesn't sit right. Can be outplaying the opponent and then lose to a single button over a whiff, or because they armored through your pressure. I don't see any intensity, I see a timid standoff where the winning player now has to respect that the losing player can melt them for going in. An intense round devolves into baiting. It's not like some game ruining thing, just think a great game would be even better without it.

making it a combo input like SF seems redundant when theres so many other moves at you disposal

Not sure I catch your meaning here. They're already combo-able, that's how I'm usually using my RAs. If you're referring to execution (like 2xQCF or HCB-F), nothing about that would translate to redundancy either.

like you mentioned SF modern controls takes it away anyway.

I was referring to how cancerous modern control supers are lol. Execution layer makes a big difference on how easily you can interrupt with big damage. It's wack in SF6 too. Difference is, it's only available on a control scheme that's rarely seen outside lower ranks. And even then it's heavily scaled. So while I think it's terrible design in SF6 too, the reality is that it's tied to such a lacking scheme that I never have to see it. Whereas here it can be a factor in every round of every match.

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Damn, long post. To be clear, I love this game, there's like no shot another game topples this as my goty lol. Obviously I'm not gonna love everything about it, but it goes that way with any FG. Zero expectations on them doing anything about rage arts, but I'm looking forward to heat system refinements.

What? Thats missing the point. Of course it can be blocked, at the bare minimum it should be negative.

The issue with rage art being an instant activation armor move, is that with a life lead it forces the player who has won neutral more often to build the lead to be extra cautious with how he runs his offense, because of the concern of being robbed out right by a comeback super. It's exact problem a modern input super adds to Street Fighter, you don't have to input anything. No execution necessary, you just react, have enough health, and send it. Which is conan's point.

Heat smashes being safe on block and in a lot of case PLUS is the problem. It generally does a lot of damage, if not insane chip damage. It's value isn't even in combos, that at least requires you to launch, and even then if you activate heat in a combo, you have much better combo enders with heat. The problem is that while it isn't an obvious neutral skip, we're seeing how it does by pass neutral as well. Activate heat, use one of your farther reaching heat engager like moves which now reaches without the downside of being negative/punishable, you heat dash in, and now you mix. It's basically saved by the fact that to mix in tekken, generally, generally requires some risk, and that said decision is at least spending all your heat.

Smash was definately designed around casual play, with a hardcore scene growing out of it in spite of it.

And from what I can tell, netcode has improved dramatically from the gen 7 fighting games I played to now. With the exception being Smash, which still has awful netcode. I dont think many of the Tekken fans are coming from Smash, most of them seem to be primarily PC gamers. That said Mortal Kombat did see a dip when Tekken 8 came out.

Good point about netcode. The online improvements have allowed modern fighting games to simulate the classic arcade experience to some extent. SF6 and Tekken 8 have even added modes that try to replicate the arcade experience in a virtual environment.

Nowadays, it's pretty normal for gamers to be playing on multiple platforms. Many Switch owners also own another console or a PC on the side, so a portion of Smash players also play fighting games on other platforms.

Could not agree more with the first paragraph. Even when you are working on a perfect against someone, the fact that they can just armor-move-70% your bar is ridiculous. That WITH heat? If they have heat, it's sweat beads. Player with a full heat bar and rage is basically able to kill you for one mistake. I know they will never do this because the big cutscene moves attract casual players and spectators, but I really think they should have just implemented the heat system and gotten rid of rage altogether. I would also get rid of chip damage but I can live with it.

I also agree about heat as well. It heavily rewards well placed heat engagers, dashes and all-around creativity which makes up for it's drawbacks like the raw activation with armor often used as a panic button.

Also lol that Yoshi scenario is too common. I'm happy for Yoshi players in this game regarding heat and just the general system of this game - he's strong! Don't forget to keep them honest with rainbow drop! - but yeah the frame traps with heat are not only an issue with him too. It's goofy how Xiaoyu all of a sudden has the strongest 50/50 in hypnotist stance as well as extra plus frames on block for her already strong mids. Did you know that she doesn't need to walk for the hypnotist 3 to be a full launch in heat? It's a -12 snake edge

But yeah in general I think you're on the mark with your descriptions of this game, and I agree it's well designed. The new framebuffer system allowing you to do f, f moves a frame early is cool. It's also interesting how they made moves have different recovery frames when they whiff. Overall a fresh game.

Yes, I've considered this one so many times as well. Heat seems flashy enough and has potential to dole out so much extra damage. Rage art comes out feeling redundant, and as you said, paired with Heat? That much more egregious. I know it's here to stay, just gotta deal with it I suppose.

Side rant, but these big cutscene supers in all modern FGs are too much lol. Like the lvl 1 and lvl 2 shit in SF6 is fine. But I swear every time Jamie clips me with his CA lvl 3 I find myself reaching for the start button like I'm gonna skip a cutscene. These FG supers inching towards Final Fantasy summon territory.

Yoshi so sick. 😤

This is my first time maining him, learning all these flash traps has been a great time lol. And all these routes where you swap between 1SS and NSS, hitting the just-frame ender, never gets old landing that stuff. And yeah, been straight up abusing rainbow drop, so good.

Nah I didn't know that about Xiaoyu, though some of my friends asked if I've been to her 50/50 hell yet lol. Surprisingly haven't run into many, mostly an army of Dragunovs and Reinas.

Speaking of Xiaoyu, one of my buds posted this to the Discord the other day, thought it was funny.

Imagine coming at Knee like that. 😭

Yup yup, great stuff, especially for being vanilla. T8 and SF6 are both so foundationally strong out the gate, should be an awesome ride as these games grow.

I never really liked Tekken, but I guess that the series is still going strong. Tekken was one of the exclusives that made people buy a PS1 over a Sega Saturn. Virtua Fighter was much better, in my humble opinion.