They've been complaining about most of their games, especially Western ones, since at the very least 2012
https://www.shacknews.com/article/76454/square-enix-projects-68-million-loss-cites-slow-sleeping-dogs
Square Enix cited sluggish sales and setbacks in various departments as the reason behind the revision, chief among them slower-than-expected sales of the now-rebranded Sleeping Dogs. Gamasutra reports that "sluggish" sales of arcade games from Square Enix subsidiary Taito, and the delay of Square's social games service, were also cited as factors in the revisions.
https://www.eurogamer.net/tomb-raider-has-sold-3-4-million-copies-failed-to-hit-expectations
3.4 million copies of Tomb Raider have been sold in four weeks, publisher Square Enix has revealed, which is not enough to hit the game's sales target.
https://www.vg247.com/deus-ex-series-on-hold-after-mankind-divideds-underwhelming-sales
Despite debuting at no.1 in its first week, the title didn't do nearly as well as its predecessor Human Revolution and this has had predictable consequences.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/its-not-hitman-without-io-why-square-enix-set-the-franchise-free
"In the case of Hitman, I personally love the game," he tells us. "I think it's very unique, but I always have to look at things from the perspective of what it costs us to develop it and the performance it delivers. In doing that, in the case of Hitman, we had several expectations where that balance was not sufficiently achieved.
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/just-cause-4-performed-below-expectations-we-sold-fewer-units-on-launch-than-we-had-anticipated/
"Meanwhile, while we released “JUST CAUSE 4,” we sold fewer units on launch than we had anticipated and were therefore unable to offset charges such as the amortization of development costs."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/square-enix-confirms-avengers-missed-expectations
"The HD Games sub-segment posted an operating loss as initial sales of Marvel's Avengers were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game's development costs," Matsuda said.
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/square-enix-admits-neo-the-world-ends-with-you-underperformed-3103721
Speaking in the first-half results briefing for 2022-2023 (thanks, VGC), Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda revealed that “while Neo: The World Ends With You was received well by users, it has underperformed our initial expectations”.
https://www.eurogamer.net/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy-undershot-our-initial-expectations-says-square-enix
In the newly-released outlines from Square Enix's Q3 financial results briefing, representative director Yosuke Matsuda stated: "The HD Games sub-segment launched Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy in Q3. Despite strong reviews, the game's sales on launch undershot our initial expectations".
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/square-enix-says-forspoken-sales-have-been-lackluster-3412438
In a financial presentation, Square Enix revealed that while reviews for the game “have been challenging”, it has also received “positive feedback on its action features”, highlighting its parkour and combat mechanics. “That said, its sales have been lackluster,” Yosuke Matsuda said as part of his presentation.
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-final-fantasy-xvi-fell-short-of-square-enix-s-high-end-expectations
Final Fantasy XVI failed to meet the high-end of Square Enix's sales expectations, according to company president Takashi Kiryu. As highlighted by Bloomberg, Kiryiu provided that assessment during a recent post-earnings call. He claimed slow adoption of the PlayStation 5 limited the game's performance, with Sony struggling to meet consumer demand due to supply issues during the console's first years on shelves.
