Sometimes even well-received games don't manage to sell well, despite their quality. This appears to have been the case for NEO: The World Ends With You, as it has been detailed in Square Enix's latest financial briefing that it fell short of sales expectations.
Within the briefing, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda said: "While NEO: The World Ends With You was well received by users, it has underperformed our initial expectations."
2021 has reportedly also been a weaker year for Square Enix overall. The company reported a decline in sales year-on-year, despite releasing titles such as Outriders, Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139, and Life is Strange: True Colors.
NEO: The World Ends With You's poor initial performance could be due to a variety of factors. First of all, there is an unusually large 14-year gap between it and its predecessor. Secondly, the original title's Switch port might have left a bad taste in some people's mouths, as its control scheme and other factors were widely criticised.
Thanks, IGN.