Sega Sammy released their financials for the most recent six month period that ended on September 30, and it’s all good news. Not only did Sega’s entertainment section see a 13.8% increase in sales (totaling 97.8 billion yen), the company’s overall profits went from a mere 964 million yen to 24.3 billion yen. That’s the equivalent of going from just over 9 million dollars to raking in over $235 million.
A major part of the entertainment side’s success is due to an increase in physical sales, which are up 58% from last year and now generate 21 billion yen worth of revenue. Digital sales grossed even more than physical, although they didn’t see such a drastic increase. In the past six months, Sega was able to pull in 24 billion yen in digital sales.
Here’s an excerpt from the Sega financials report regarding the video game part of Sega’s entertainment portfolio, which also includes amusement centers, animated films and toys.
With regard to the Entertainment Contents Business, in the field of digital game software, “PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2,” which celebrated its fourth anniversary since its release, topped 4.5 million IDs in Japan and continued to maintain its strengths. With regard to titles for smart devices, sales remained robust mainly for major titles including “Puyopuyo!! Quest,” for which real-time competition among players officially started in September has been well-received, as well as “CHAIN CHRONICLE – Kizuna no Shintairiku” and “Hortensia SAGA,” which held various events. In addition, the Group released a chain scenario RPG “WORLD CHAIN” as a new title in September. In the packaged game software field, sales amounted to 4,650 thousand copies, which were higher than the level for the same period in the previous fiscal year, as sales were strong for major titles such as “Persona5,” the latest title in the “Persona” series launched in September. In the amusement machine field, as operations of “KanColle Arcade” continued to be favorable, revenue share models made contributions to income. Sales of CVT KIT “StarHorse3 SeasonⅤEXCEED THE LIMIT” from the “StarHorse” series, a horse racing medal game, now in its 16th year of evolution, were robust.
While the news that Phantasy Star Online 2 is doing so well might be a bit painful to read due to the MMO not coming stateside, it’s nonetheless positive news for the company. It’s also good to see that the Atlus acquisition is already paying dividends with Persona 5 having a “strong” launch so far. Sega will attempt to carry this positive momentum into next year where they have a number of high-profile games releasing including the next 3D Sonic title and Sonic Mania.
(Source: Sega Sammy via Gamasutra, Gamespot)
