A couple of points here:
1) Souls games are difficult, but they have a much easier barrier of entry than an average character action game. Reason being: you have two attacks to memorize - a light attack, and a heavy attack. No combos. That means even though the enemies themselves are difficult, the combat is simple to understand and quick to learn.
Compare this to DMC or Bayonetta, where learning the combat engine means memorising long strings of combo inputs.
2) Fighting game developers have been spending the last two decades trying to work out how to ensure their games appeal to both a core fighting game demographic as well as a wider, more casual base. You'll note that the most popular fighting game franchise (Smash Bros) is also the one that has deliberately ignored complex, combo based gameplay instead focusing on one off, simple attacks and platforming gameplay.
As development costs increase, every single fighting game dev will have been having internal discussion about what they can do to make sure their games appeal to more than just a core hardcore demographic. Why do you think SF6 has included a single player open world campaign?
Untrue. DMC3 is well known for its cinematic direction. And if anime aesthetics were a barrier to sales, Metal Gear Solid would have died on the vine with 2.
God Of War 2018 specifically went for an over the shoulder camera and shoulder button inputs to appeal more to gamers familiar with third person shooters rather than character action games. SSM did literally everything they could to ensure the combat appealed to people who ordinarily have no interest in high scoring combos.
1. Uh, no? DMC and Bayonetta don't have long combo strings that require memorization. They have a large
breadth of different moves, but none are technically difficult to execute. The skill ceiling comes in from ad-lib chaining moves together and getting a high score, not memorized combos. Again, a high skill ceiling isn't the same as high skill floor.
The combat is as complex as you make it, and the skill floor is very low. They're plenty enjoyable by just having a basic understanding of the combat mechanics, which (judging by achievement statistics) is what the majority of players end up doing.
2. Yes, that's true. It's also true that the
most technically demanding fighting games (such as Tekken and Street Fighter)
sell substantially more than "character action" games. Tekken 7 has trash singleplayer content and has sold amazingly well at 9 million copies; significantly more than any "character action" game. Obviously fighting game devs are always looking to expand their audience, which is why SF6 included that open world single player mode. But a high skill floor is not an inherent barrier of entry to mainstream consumers.
Untrue. DMC3 is well known for its cinematic direction. And if anime aesthetics were a barrier to sales, Metal Gear Solid would have died on the vine with 2.
All DMC games post DMC3 have had an equal story focus. They're good cutscenes and good stories, but they're not story-focused games in the same way GOW18 is. Evidently that cinematic, walkie-talkie Naughty Dog-style is more broadly appealing than DMC's story formula.
DMC was fairly anime prior to DMC5 (mainly DMC4), and yeah that aspect probably limited its sales.
Concerns over the marketability of that aesthetic is what led to DmC being an edgy "grounded" reboot, and for Capcom themselves to go with a more realistic artstyle for DMC5. Anime aesthetics can absolutely be a sales barrier and turn-off for mainstream audiences.
God Of War 2018 specifically went for an over the shoulder camera and shoulder button inputs to appeal more to gamers familiar with third person shooters rather than character action games. SSM did literally everything they could to ensure the combat appealed to people who ordinarily have no interest in high scoring combos.
Yes, they made it as broadly appealing as possible (at the expense of the game's quality). The other broadly appealing elements of the game (gritty story-focus, exploration, faux-RPG elements etc.) are the largest contributors to the game's success, not the shallow action. If you kept the rest of GOW18 intact, but plopped more in-depth combat mechanics, that doesn't hold it back from selling like gangbusters. The other elements are what elevated it, not the combat system. High skill floor games, like Souls and Tekken, selling better than any "character action" game prove that mainstream accessibility isn't inherently the issue.
And that's what FF16 is doing, including a high skill ceiling combat system inside a broadly appealing game. That combat system isn't the cause for sales concerns, it's because the game is different compared to past mainline entries. Swap a DMC-like combat system for a Souls-like combat system and there'd be the same sales concerns.
