Speaking with the Nikkei Sangyo Newspapers in Japan yesterday, Square president Takashi Suzuki made some projections concerning Final Fantasy X, which is currently under development. He made the statement "I'm not entirely sure if Final Fantasy X will achieve 2.9 million units," which has been taken as a projection of sorts. If this estimate sounds somewhat pessimistic, there is some reason to be hesitant; after all, Final Fantasy IX has yet to break the 3 million mark itself, and it has been one of the most widely received games in the series. Moreover, at this point, there are barely 3 million PlayStation 2 units in existence(although that should change significantly by Christmas). All in all, the numbers suggest that by the time Final Fantasy X is released, one out of every two PlayStation 2 owners will have to buy the game in order for 3 million units to be reached.

There is, however, still cause for optimism. After all, one has to consider the fact that there are currently very few standout RPGs for the PlayStation 2, so a starved market could work to Square's advantage. The example of Final Fantasy VII is also noteworthy here, since it boosted sales of the PlayStation at the time of its release; Final Fantasy X could have a similar effect on PlayStation 2 sales. Whatever the case, 2.9 million is an ambitious total, but the Final Fantasy series is popular enough to make it feasible, at least.