Now while the price hikes of Game Pass have caused a great deal of debate and negativity, let's factor in here that if it wasn't for Game Pass and Phil Spencer; NINJA Gaiden 4 probably would not exist. There have of course been discussions for YEARS between Team NINJA and master collaborator Platinum Games over the title, but it did not come into fruition until Phil Spencer got involved and said we can take care of the marketing and the advertising.
Microsoft has lined Koei Tecmo's pockets with a lot of money over the past few years and if you scroll below (reading the original article) you will find that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was the success it was not just because it was a great game, but because Microsoft gave them a Game Pass deal. Microsoft's Game Pass pays publishers and developers (typically around a full fiscal year) and since NINJA Gaiden 4 is an official Microsoft partnered game, it will remain on Game Pass for as long as Game Pass is available to you as a customer.
Not only do DAY 1 Game Pass games grant publishers access to millions of dollars; they also provide the publishers and developers alike flexibility unlike any other game company on God's green earth. They can be paid monthly, initial payments upfront, usage-based payments and even exclusive individual revenue models. While this may not matter as much to a company like Square Enix, it is life changing money for a company such as Koei Tecmo that has its cult following but isn't guaranteed the kind of sales as a mainstay Final Fantasy game would Square Enix.
Not to mention, NINJA Gaiden 4 is a cutting-edge title. Nobody from the press has come out and said anything negative about the game prior to the release. It has been received as the next big action game that deserves a mega comeback that only Microsoft could help provide. Microsoft has also given special treatment to Koei Tecmo, and you can see that in the design of the new female character everyone in the NG community is talking about if you know what I mean.
Yes, Game Pass is 30 USD a month, but you don't have to pay for it completely out of pocket, and you can cancel whenever you feel like it so that it's tailor-made to fit your taste when a release comes out you want to play. You are still going to save a ton of money considering that the price of games is going up and you can use rewards points to cut your overall costs to your desired subscription dates. Also, be sure to check your XBOX notifications because 1 USD Ultimate Game Pass deal promos are being delivered to Gamer Tags.
So, there you have it... you can buy the game outright on: PlayStation 5, Steam or XBOX. Check your notifications to see you if have yet to get your 1 USD Ultimate Game Pass Deal and you could be playing the best-looking game of 2025 for a buck and spend some real quality time with it. Stay tuned here at FSD for tons of upcoming NINJA Gaiden 4 content and our official review! This update includes proof of Game Pass's success and will continue to be updated if it spurs debate.
Microsoft's OG love for Team NINJA and Koei Tecmo is a chance at Dead or Alive's survival so I would try to keep things civil with the company myself.
Following up with our previous Koei Tecmo business write-up allows us to look beyond opening Japan physical sales and Steam performance from the official database now that we have some current figures from KT themselves. Things are looking up for the company in many ways, but there have been some financial upsets to go along with their latest business report. This write-up also touches base with the latest game release dates for upcoming titles as well as updates to their current games for the 2023 year.
Team NINJA announced that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has shipped more than 1,000,000 copies across all platforms with 3,800,000 players in total for Wo Long. That ratio should give you a solid idea of how important of a role Game Pass for Windows & XBOX played with the success of the new game.
Comparing it to another big recent title within the company Nioh 2 was able to exceed over 2,000,000 units overtime dealing with Sony's timed-exclusive commitment check. With Wo Long, it's clear that Game Pass added an insane amount of interest that eclipsed Nioh 2, Microsoft's attractive flexibility paycheck included while not hampering overall sales due to the title's short existence in the market and digital storefront.
This business strategy applied to Wo Long has been Koei Tecmo's best in a long time, if not ever in their history as a publisher. There is no doubt that Koei Tecmo will look into more XBOX & Game Pass deals in the future to not only bolster their appearance in the gaming market, but to expand in profitability as a third-party publisher. Dead or Alive 5 & Dead or Alive 6 are Free-to-Play games and have been successful following this plan, but adding the (unannounced) full Dead or Alive 7 game to game pass while also leaving open a FTP model could bring a new level of business and eyes to DOA that the series has never seen before in its 25 years of existence.
While Wo Long has hit about 30 million in revenue, Koei Tecmo also aimed high for Atelier Ryza 3 which is expected to make around 15 million in revenue. Just recently KT reported that the game has shipped 300,000 units across PlayStation, Steam & Nintendo Switch. This is the highest rated and bestselling title in the franchise over 20 years later.
Koei Tecmo's Fatal Frame remaster sold roughly 120,000 copies worldwide which isn't really a number to brag about, but it's not damaging to the series either as it was a remaster with reused assets and little marketing applied. Koei Tecmo's horse racing title Winning Post 10 wasn't far off from that number selling 70,000 units worldwide.
Wild Hearts is the last remaining mystery for quartley sales since KT has yet to reveal the numbers for the game which could be due to a big trial they launched, and a one-hour Game Pass trial that could have manipulated the actual player number. KT claims that they are pleased with the result of Wild Hearts despite side-stepping the sales number for now.
Moving forward Koei Tecmo will no doubt be looking to Game Pass in the future for extended revenue and interest from gamers all over the world. Though most of Koei Tecmo's announced titles for the rest of the year are skipping XBOX, for reasons they will likely regret with their newfound success in Game Pass through Wo Long, and probably a quarterly mistake KT will not make again.
Not everything is sunshine and daises as Koei Tecmo Holdings CO. was forced to write-off 30 million dollars of Credit Suisse Group AG's most dangerous bonds after they became completely worthless in value following the bank's near-death downfall. Koei Tecmo was unable to sell the bonds before the collapse, so the value became a complete write-off and loss to the company.
Team NINJA has still not announced any new titles, but if you follow the financial report KT states that Rise of the Ronin is still scheduled for its 2024 release. Team NINJA has also not released information for the first of three DLCs for Wo Long but is expected to soon. Team NINJA has steadily improved Wo Long overall with three huge updates to the game (now at Version 1.07).
While some may be getting tired of updates for Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation (Amy is now on the Island Steam players) & Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty; you would have to imagine that Team NINJA is ready to tackle business ventures from a new perspective following their recent success with Game Pass that involve the DOA 3D-fighting game and NINJA Gaiden.
Microsoft has lined Koei Tecmo's pockets with a lot of money over the past few years and if you scroll below (reading the original article) you will find that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was the success it was not just because it was a great game, but because Microsoft gave them a Game Pass deal. Microsoft's Game Pass pays publishers and developers (typically around a full fiscal year) and since NINJA Gaiden 4 is an official Microsoft partnered game, it will remain on Game Pass for as long as Game Pass is available to you as a customer.
Not only do DAY 1 Game Pass games grant publishers access to millions of dollars; they also provide the publishers and developers alike flexibility unlike any other game company on God's green earth. They can be paid monthly, initial payments upfront, usage-based payments and even exclusive individual revenue models. While this may not matter as much to a company like Square Enix, it is life changing money for a company such as Koei Tecmo that has its cult following but isn't guaranteed the kind of sales as a mainstay Final Fantasy game would Square Enix.
Not to mention, NINJA Gaiden 4 is a cutting-edge title. Nobody from the press has come out and said anything negative about the game prior to the release. It has been received as the next big action game that deserves a mega comeback that only Microsoft could help provide. Microsoft has also given special treatment to Koei Tecmo, and you can see that in the design of the new female character everyone in the NG community is talking about if you know what I mean.
Yes, Game Pass is 30 USD a month, but you don't have to pay for it completely out of pocket, and you can cancel whenever you feel like it so that it's tailor-made to fit your taste when a release comes out you want to play. You are still going to save a ton of money considering that the price of games is going up and you can use rewards points to cut your overall costs to your desired subscription dates. Also, be sure to check your XBOX notifications because 1 USD Ultimate Game Pass deal promos are being delivered to Gamer Tags.
So, there you have it... you can buy the game outright on: PlayStation 5, Steam or XBOX. Check your notifications to see you if have yet to get your 1 USD Ultimate Game Pass Deal and you could be playing the best-looking game of 2025 for a buck and spend some real quality time with it. Stay tuned here at FSD for tons of upcoming NINJA Gaiden 4 content and our official review! This update includes proof of Game Pass's success and will continue to be updated if it spurs debate.
Microsoft's OG love for Team NINJA and Koei Tecmo is a chance at Dead or Alive's survival so I would try to keep things civil with the company myself.
Proof of Microsoft Game Pass Success for Koei Tecmo (Past Article)
Following up with our previous Koei Tecmo business write-up allows us to look beyond opening Japan physical sales and Steam performance from the official database now that we have some current figures from KT themselves. Things are looking up for the company in many ways, but there have been some financial upsets to go along with their latest business report. This write-up also touches base with the latest game release dates for upcoming titles as well as updates to their current games for the 2023 year.
Team NINJA announced that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has shipped more than 1,000,000 copies across all platforms with 3,800,000 players in total for Wo Long. That ratio should give you a solid idea of how important of a role Game Pass for Windows & XBOX played with the success of the new game.
Comparing it to another big recent title within the company Nioh 2 was able to exceed over 2,000,000 units overtime dealing with Sony's timed-exclusive commitment check. With Wo Long, it's clear that Game Pass added an insane amount of interest that eclipsed Nioh 2, Microsoft's attractive flexibility paycheck included while not hampering overall sales due to the title's short existence in the market and digital storefront.
This business strategy applied to Wo Long has been Koei Tecmo's best in a long time, if not ever in their history as a publisher. There is no doubt that Koei Tecmo will look into more XBOX & Game Pass deals in the future to not only bolster their appearance in the gaming market, but to expand in profitability as a third-party publisher. Dead or Alive 5 & Dead or Alive 6 are Free-to-Play games and have been successful following this plan, but adding the (unannounced) full Dead or Alive 7 game to game pass while also leaving open a FTP model could bring a new level of business and eyes to DOA that the series has never seen before in its 25 years of existence.
While Wo Long has hit about 30 million in revenue, Koei Tecmo also aimed high for Atelier Ryza 3 which is expected to make around 15 million in revenue. Just recently KT reported that the game has shipped 300,000 units across PlayStation, Steam & Nintendo Switch. This is the highest rated and bestselling title in the franchise over 20 years later.
Koei Tecmo's Fatal Frame remaster sold roughly 120,000 copies worldwide which isn't really a number to brag about, but it's not damaging to the series either as it was a remaster with reused assets and little marketing applied. Koei Tecmo's horse racing title Winning Post 10 wasn't far off from that number selling 70,000 units worldwide.
Wild Hearts is the last remaining mystery for quartley sales since KT has yet to reveal the numbers for the game which could be due to a big trial they launched, and a one-hour Game Pass trial that could have manipulated the actual player number. KT claims that they are pleased with the result of Wild Hearts despite side-stepping the sales number for now.
Moving forward Koei Tecmo will no doubt be looking to Game Pass in the future for extended revenue and interest from gamers all over the world. Though most of Koei Tecmo's announced titles for the rest of the year are skipping XBOX, for reasons they will likely regret with their newfound success in Game Pass through Wo Long, and probably a quarterly mistake KT will not make again.
Not everything is sunshine and daises as Koei Tecmo Holdings CO. was forced to write-off 30 million dollars of Credit Suisse Group AG's most dangerous bonds after they became completely worthless in value following the bank's near-death downfall. Koei Tecmo was unable to sell the bonds before the collapse, so the value became a complete write-off and loss to the company.
Team NINJA has still not announced any new titles, but if you follow the financial report KT states that Rise of the Ronin is still scheduled for its 2024 release. Team NINJA has also not released information for the first of three DLCs for Wo Long but is expected to soon. Team NINJA has steadily improved Wo Long overall with three huge updates to the game (now at Version 1.07).
While some may be getting tired of updates for Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation (Amy is now on the Island Steam players) & Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty; you would have to imagine that Team NINJA is ready to tackle business ventures from a new perspective following their recent success with Game Pass that involve the DOA 3D-fighting game and NINJA Gaiden.
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