Joystiq

Xbox division earnings down 1% compared to last year

JC Fletcher — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:30:00 EST

In today's most incremental news, Microsoft reported that its Entertainment and Devices Division, responsible for the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone, earned $1.95 billion in revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal 2013, down 1% from the same period last year.

1.7 million Xbox 360 consoles were sold in the quarter ending September 30. This is a 29 percent drop from last year. Microsoft expects division revenue (from Xbox, Windows Phone, Skype, and everything else the Entertainment and Devices Division manages) to continue dropping in the next quarter, but rise in "low single-digits" for the year.

Xbox division earnings down 1% compared to last year originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix sees losses in fiscal Q1, but handheld and social games help

JC Fletcher — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:00:00 EST

Square Enix faced net losses of 2.077 billion yen ($27 million) in the fiscal quarter ending June 30. The Digital Entertainment division, responsible for home and mobile video games, reported that "sales of console games were weak" in the quarter, but sales of portable games, specifically the Japan-only Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D, were more positive.

Square's mobile and social games, including the browser game Sengoku Ixa and the mobile Final Fantasy Brigade, also performed well.

Back in May, the company forecasted that the fiscal year would end with net income up 48.5 percent, a forecast that it's holding to even following this slow quarter.

Square Enix sees losses in fiscal Q1, but handheld and social games help originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ lives to fight another day following Q1 results

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST

THQ walked away from its first quarter, ending June 30, with $133.7 million in sales and income of $15.4 million. Of course, a lot of blood had to be shed to get there.

Beyond that, the company's financial release reiterated a lot of the key points the company has been trying to make regarding its turnaround.

"We have made significant progress reshaping the company," said CEO Brian Farrell. "With the changes implemented over the last several months, we are in a much better position today to deliver on our pipeline of games, beginning with Darksiders 2, which launches next week in North America."

That reshaping included new executives, layoffs, closures, the UFC rights sale, the Saints Row product shuffle and...um, we think that's about it? Oh wait, the reverse stock split. Okay, now we think that's it.

THQ lives to fight another day following Q1 results originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Namco Bandai game business up 32% in fiscal quarter, Soulcalibur 5 leads sales

JC Fletcher — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EST

Namco Bandai's Game Software Division brought in 13.8 billion yen ($176.3 million) in its fiscal Q1 (ended June 30), up over last year's 10.4 billion yen. Overall, the "Content Business" that includes game software brought in 57 billion yen ($728.18 million), a 60% increase over the 35.6 billion from the same time last year.

The success of Namco's game business is partly due to just brute force - Namco released 46 games worldwide in the quarter, versus 27 last year. Its best selling game for the quarter was Soulcalibur 5, which added 680,000 worldwide sales to its total, for a life-to-date 1.38 million. Its other named best sellers include Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, which sold 440,000 in the quarter, and the Japan only Toriko Gourmet Survival 2 for PSP, which sold 100,000.

Namco Bandai game business up 32% in fiscal quarter, Soulcalibur 5 leads sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take-Two investor call theme: Where's Grand Theft Auto 5?

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:18:00 EST

The first half of Take-Two's question and answer session, during today's first quarter investor call, revolved around the theme of Grand Theft Auto 5 and its current status. Whether directly or indirectly, three questions in a row tried to eke out any details about the game, which appears to be part of the publisher's high revenue projections but still has an official "TBA" release date.

"Strauss, we've heard nothing, next to nothing, on GTA 5 development over the last couple months," said Mike Hickey of National Alliance Securities. "We've seen a couple screenshots. The game is believed by the street to be implied by your guidance for this fiscal year, but what believability do we have that this game is actually going to come out this year?"

CEO Strauss Zelnick responded, "We haven't talked about a release date. So obviously we can't talk about the credibility of a release date that we haven't announced."

Pushed further on whether the publisher is receiving consistent updates, the CEO deflected.

"We wouldn't talk publicly about the way we communicate with our teams internally," replied Zelnick. "We are blessed to be in business with the Rockstar folks and everyone knows that I feel that way. We have the best creative teams in the business across our company."

Though the company did announce today that "consumer anticipation is phenomenal" for Borderlands 2, it would still need to hit home runs with NBA 2K13, XCOM: Enemy Unknown and BioShock: Infinite to hit its forecast.

Take-Two investor call theme: Where's Grand Theft Auto 5? originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Capcom's quarterly earnings strong on Dragon's Dogma, social games

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:30:00 EST

Capcom enjoyed a very robust first quarter, with a profit of ¥1.3 billion ($16.9 million) for the period ending June 30, which is up 290 percent from the same period last year. The company's digital content group (games!) made the majority of revenues during the quarter, with ¥13.74 billion ($176 million) in sales of the company's overall ¥18.62 billion ($238 million). That's up 79 and 56 percent from the same time last year, respectively.

The company highlighted Dragon's Dogma as being part of the success. Despite having "struggled abroad," according to Capcom, the game's "popularity in the more profitable domestic market exceeded expectations by selling more than one million copies."

The publisher also mentioned the continued strength of social games The Smurfs' Village and Snoopy's Street Fair, which have "brought Capcom steady fees." Minna to Monhan Card Master, Sengoku BASARA: Card Heroes and Resident Evil: Outbreak Survive were also mentioned as gaining Capcom 2 million new social network site users. Those new friends are sure to make all the other companies jealous.

Capcom's quarterly earnings strong on Dragon's Dogma, social games originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo posts $220 million net loss for first quarter

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EST

Another year, another not-great first quarter for Nintendo. Although not as bad as last year's (and the year before's) net loss of ¥26 billion ($332M), the company still reported a loss of ¥17.23 billion ($220 million).

Nintendo acknowledged 3DS sales had "only reached" 1.86 million for the quarter, hitting 19 million units sold in its lifetime. On the upside, the company isn't selling the hardware at a loss anymore.

"Compared to the quarter a year earlier, global sales of Nintendo 3DS hand-held game hardware increased 162 percent, while Nintendo 3DS software rose 63 percent," Nintendo noted. "In addition, the company announced that as of July 25, 2012, it was no longer selling Nintendo 3DS hardware below manufacturing costs."

At this point, everyone is waiting to see how the Wii U performs when it launches later this year.

Nintendo posts $220 million net loss for first quarter originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft sales up in last quarter thanks to Ghost Recon

JC Fletcher — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:30:00 EST

Ubisoft sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2012-2013 (which ended June 30) are up 27.2 percent over the last year, coming in at €131 million ($160.6 million). The company attributes the better-than-expected performance to surprisingly high sales of Ghost Recon Future Soldier, indicating that Ubisoft didn't think to ask the title character about the future of his own game. In addition, digital distribution was a boon for Ubisoft, including free-to-play games and the phenomenon of Trials Evolution.

For the second quarter, Ubisoft expects to come in short of last year's performance, because Driver: San Francisco did so well last year.

Ubisoft sales up in last quarter thanks to Ghost Recon originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take-Two profits down in first quarter of Red Dead-free fiscal year

JC Fletcher — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:56:00 EST

Take-Two's net revenue for its first quarter of fiscal 2012 (which ended June 30) represents a downturn year-over-year -- $334.4 million versus fiscal 2010's $375.4 million (Take-Two shifted its fiscal calendar since then, in case you're wondering why we're comparing Q1 2012 with Q3 2010), with a net loss of $8.7 million instead of profits of $26.3 million. Last year around this time, of course, everyone on Earth was buying Red Dead Redemption, pushing Take-Two's profits into the stratosphere.

With the game sold to all of Earth's residents to date, that leaves only babies born in the interim as the audience for new copies of the game; that market of babies has done well enough for the company to count RDR and its Undead Nightmare expansion as one of the leading products in this quarter, with 2 million retail copies of Undead Nightmare shipped life-to-date and 9 million Red Dead Redemptions. Other leaders include Duke Nukem Forever, LA Noire, NBA 2K11 and Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Take-Two profits down in first quarter of Red Dead-free fiscal year originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Namco game sales increase in Q1, income on the rise

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:10:00 EST

Namco Bandai has released the financial results (PDF) for the first quarter of its fiscal 2012, which ended June 30. Worldwide game sales - accounting for a total of eleven new titles - rose to 3.38 million units, up from 3.15 million units during the same period last year. With the help of growing arcade machine and amusement facility business, Namco's net income reached ¥3.25 billion ($42.1 million), a big improvement over last year's ¥1.64 billion ($21.3 million) loss.

The 3DS proved to be a top performer for the company, with its four titles for the new handheld moving a combined 622,000 units. In particular, 3DS titles One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP and Tales of the Abyss sold 170,000 and 150,000 copies, respectively. Meanwhile, the US release of Ridge Racer 3D moved 90,000 copies. Get a full breakdown at the Source link.

Namco game sales increase in Q1, income on the rise originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1.8 million PS3, 1.8 million PSP units sold from April-June

Justin McElroy — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST

Sony announced that it sold 1.8 million PS3s worldwide between April 1 and June 30 (Q1 for Sony), a drop of around 600K from Q1 of FY 2010. Though numbers may have slipped, Sony is still predicting an uptick in sales for the whole of FY 2011: 15 million PS3s as compared to 14.3 in the year prior. On the games side, Sony fared a little better with 26.1 million PS3 games sold versus 24.8 in last year's first three months.

The real success story for Sony's console business is the PSP, which moved 1.8 million systems in the first quarter. That's compared to 700K during the same time period for the Nintendo 3DS and the 1.2 million PSPs sold in Q1 FY 2010.

In closing: Nintendo really needs a Monster Hunter game on 3DS.

1.8 million PS3, 1.8 million PSP units sold from April-June originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Capcom sales fall in 1st fiscal quarter, income rises

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:30:00 EST

Capcom has reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter of 2011, which ended June 30. The company reported sales of ¥11.95 billion ($153.7 million), down from ¥19.04 billion ($244.91 million) during the same period last year -- a 37 percent decrease. Despite the dip in sales, Capcom managed to pull in a net income of ¥338 million ($4.35 million), up by 58 percent from ¥213 million ($2.74 million) during the same period last year.

Sales of "consumer online games" fell sharply, with Capcom stating that Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Monster Hunter Freedom 3 and Monster Hunter Frontier Online Forward "basically" met sales projections.

Specifically, The Mercenaries 3D - available since June 2 in Japan and since June 28 in the US - moved 400,000 units. Super Street Fighter IV Arcade, only available as DLC for a few days in June, sold 300,000. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 still managed to move 100,000 copies despite being released all the way back in December.

Meanwhile, Capcom's arcade sales were up eight percent despite the difficulties faced after Japan's earthquake earlier this year. Social games are also doing quite well for the company, cresting 19 million downloads largely on the back of Smurf's Village.

Capcom sales fall in 1st fiscal quarter, income rises originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo cuts profit forecast by 82%

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:01:00 EST

If it wasn't clear already: the 3DS has not been a home run for Nintendo. In its revised earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2012, the company dropped its estimated profit to ¥20 billion ($257M), an 82 percent drop from the ¥110 billion ($1.41B) it expected. The company stated the modification had been done to reflect "trends of stronger-than-expected yen appreciation and sales performance, the decided price reduction of the Nintendo 3DS hardware, and the sales outlook for the holiday season."

A similar cut in Japan (effective August 11) will take the system from ¥25,000 (around $317) to ¥15,000 ($190).

The steep profit reduction isn't Nintendo's only glaring concern, as the company couldn't regain investor confidence after announcing the Wii U at E3 and its stock currently sits at five-year lows.

For the first quarter ending June 30, Nintendo saw its net sales cut by half from the same period last year to ¥93 billion ($1.2B), causing a ¥38 billion ($489M) loss in operating income, with a net loss for the quarter staying relatively even to last year's at ¥26 billion ($334M).

Nintendo cuts profit forecast by 82% originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ disappointed in Red Faction performance, thinks fiscal Q3 could be its best ever

JC Fletcher — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:30:00 EST

Despite the fact that net sales were up year-over-year in THQ's fiscal Q1 (which ended June 30), from $149.4 million to $195.2 million, CEO Brian Farrell still wasn't satisfied. "We are disappointed in our first quarter financial performance," he said in the earnings release. "Sales of Red Faction: Armageddon and our licensed kids titles were below our expectations, and the late release of UFC Personal Trainer also adversely impacted the quarter." Of course, that disappointment is probably due to the fact that even with increased net sales, the company came out negative, with a net loss of $38.4 million. Most of the "losses" are from "deferred revenue" -- revenue that the company isn't counting now, because it'll go toward ongoing online services for its games.

However, Farrell is looking forward to a profitable Q3 (October through December) -- so profitable, in fact, that he said THQ expects it to be "the biggest third quarter, both in revenue and earnings per share, in our company's history," thanks to Saints Row: The Third, WWE 12, and the PS3/Xbox 360 versions of the uDraw tablet, all scheduled for November releases.

THQ disappointed in Red Faction performance, thinks fiscal Q3 could be its best ever originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA sees dip in physical sales for Q1 2012, increase in digital

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:25:00 EST

Thanks to a somewhat limited release line-up which included Portal 2, Alice: Madness Returns, Shadows of the Damned and Darkspore, EA saw sales in its packaged goods division slip during the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year. The four titles (among other back catalog releases) raked in a net non-GAAP revenue of $195 million, a decrease from the $298 million packaged games pulled in during the same period last year.

However, a steady increase in digital sales softened the blow to the company's bottom line, pulling in a total non-GAAP revenue of $524 million, down from $539 million from last year's first quarter. EA's counting on both digital sales and packaged goods (supported by big-name releases like Battlefield 3 and the back-on-track Madden 12) to continue to grow as the year goes forward, and has increased its net revenue guidance for the entire fiscal year by nearly $100 million.

EA sees dip in physical sales for Q1 2012, increase in digital originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crysis 2 ships 3 million

JC Fletcher — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:40:00 EST

The most memorable sales numbers we've heard about an EA game recently were not good (see: Shadows of the Damned's disappointing debut). EA has some much happier numbers to report (about other games) in its latest quarterly earnings report.

According to the report, Crysis 2 has "sold in" (shipped) "approximately three million units" since its March release, adding another million since last quarter.

You want some more big numbers? How about 15 million FIFA 11 shipments (including various mobile and downloadable versions), and 9 million of Battlefield Bad Company 2? The document is full of large numbers in various denominations; we'll talk about some of the others soon.

Crysis 2 ships 3 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft profits decline, limited marketing blamed

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 EST

MMORPG publisher NCSoft has reported a year-over-year decline in both revenue and profit during the first quarter of 2011. The company's revenues fell 7 percent from the same period a year ago to 155.4 billion Korean Won (about $143 million), despite increased sales from Lineage 2. Profits showed an even sharper decline, dropping 30 percent to 40.8 billion KRW ($37.5 million).

The company chalked up the losses to "soft sales promotions" of its other two key games, the original Lineage and Aion -- or, as we like to call them, "the one with all the castles" and "the one with all the angels." That's ... about all we know about the two games. You know, ahem, because of their limited marketing budgets.

NCsoft profits decline, limited marketing blamed originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision Blizzard banks $503 million in first quarter profits

Randy Nelson — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:45:00 EST

Beneath the Southern California headquarters of Activision Blizzard there lies a zeppelin-sized vault, near-bursting with piles of gold and riches -- or at least that's how we imagine it. The company today reported its first quarter 2011 earnings, reaping a record $1.4 billion in sales revenue, an increase of $100 million over the same period last year. Net income came to $503 million, up from $381 million in Q1 2010.

Not surprisingly, the publisher attributed a hefty chunk of those profits to continued sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops -- which it also confirmed is not just the best-selling game ever (in terms of revenue) in the US, but in Europe as well. In addition, the company noted that digital sales were up 30 percent over Q1 2010 and accounted for 30 percent of Activision Blizzard's revenue last quarter.

Finally, although it comes second in the "Activision Blizzard" name, Blizzard was first in profit for the quarter. The unit accounted for a whopping $170 million in income, compared to Activision Publishing's $48 million.

Activision Blizzard banks $503 million in first quarter profits originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 May 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Increased game sales 'partly offset' Warner Bros' revenue decline

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:20:00 EST

The precise impact of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on big daddy Time Warner's bottom line is pretty obscured. WBIE is a division within a division of the media behemoth, which didn't bother to include a line for "video games" in its first-quarter earnings report. Though the company did manage to share a few positive words about its game-making sub-division.

Nestled somewhere underneath Time Warner's "Filmed Entertainment" umbrella (a.k.a. Warner Bros.), WBIE apparently performed admirably for a division that ultimately suffered declining revenues. Filmed Entertainment, which encompasses feature film, television, home video and "interactive game production and distribution" (that's video games!), saw its revenues slide 3 percent to $2.6 billion in the first three months of 2011, as compared to the prior-year first quarter. More noticeable was the division's 50 percent plunge to $155 million in "adjusted" operating income for the period.

However, Time Warner noted in its report that "declines were partly offset" by "higher video games revenues," in addition to other factors relating to television. While it's impossible to parse out video game sales from what's dubbed "other content" in the earnings breakdown, this category did show the biggest year-over-year percentage growth of all content in the Filmed Entertainment division, even if its dollar-amount revenues were a fraction of theatrical and television products' hauls.

Notably, Time Warner indicated that first-quarter game sales were "driven by Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars," which was developed by Traveller's Tales, part of WBIE subsidiary TT Games. The game is published by LucasArts.

As for Time Warner's outlook on Filmed Entertainment for the rest of the year, CEO Jeff Bewkes said during the earnings call, "With our strong film slate, the momentum in our TV business and several promising games, we continue to expect Warner will post record profits this year." Would it have killed him to namedrop Mortal Kombat and the next Batman? Jeez.

Increased game sales 'partly offset' Warner Bros' revenue decline originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 May 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SSX to descend in January 2012

David Hinkle — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

During EA's Season Opener event yesterday, SSX creative director Todd Batty revealed a launch window for the snowboarding revival: January 2012. The game will be playable at E3 in June, so expect a more detailed evaluation from us at that point.

The presentation was very light on SSX gameplay footage, though we were shown some new mechanics. An overhauled physics system in the game will attempt to eliminate invisible or man-made boundaries, allowing you to trick off rocks and find you own way down through the particular track in question. You'll also be able to employ a wingsuit in mid-air, making it possible to clear large, otherwise unnavigable terrain. Expect some familiar faces to return for this latest entry, too -- you can see the new version of Elise in the gallery below.

During our interview with Batty following his presentation, he explained that dynamic snow particles, imbued with their own physics, could influence spontaneous avalanches throughout descent (now that sounds deadly).

Gallery: SSX (4/13/11)

SSX to descend in January 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stark SouthPeak Q1 financials due to My Baby issues

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:40:00 EST

SouthPeak's first quarter results saw the shaky publisher report a net loss of $1.2 million, compared to the $687K profit it reported during the same time last year. Revenues during the period were $1.4 million, a steep drop from the $16.7 million reported in the previous fiscal year.

The publisher claims sales during the quarter were "largely impacted" by the My Baby mama-drama currently going on in the courts. SouthPeak is hopeful that a summary judgment granting the company the rights to resume production of My Baby: First Steps and "reinstate the contract with Nobilis" for future My Baby sequels will be upheld on December 2.

Beyond praying that it gets My Baby back and sequels popping out, SouthPeak also spent time, and the bulk of its marketing costs during the quarter, promoting Two Worlds 2 -- which will arrive in the UK and US in January -- and getting the hype machine rolling for Stronghold 3.

Stark SouthPeak Q1 financials due to My Baby issues originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix profits down, but not out as familiar franchises keep sales alive

James Ransom-Wiley — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:15:00 EST

If you think we're going to explain that mess of scribbles above -- fuggedaboutit! What we have parsed from Square Enix's six-month financial report (April-September 2010) is a rather slight net income: ¥1.723 billion ($21.4 million). While any company would take pocket change over a loss, Square Enix profits are indeed down 36 percent from the same period last year, and software sales for the first half of this fiscal year have relied heavily on "contribution from highly profitable carryover sales of major titles released in March" -- in other words: Final Fantasy XIII picked up the slack.

And who were the slackers? Square Enix highlighted five "major titles" released during the period:

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (DS) - 1.28 million units sold (Japan-only)
Final Fantasy XIV (PC) - 630K units sold (worldwide)
Just Cause 2 (multiplatform) - 560K units sold (worldwide)*
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (multiplatform) - 1.12 million units sold (worldwide)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP) - 510K units sold (worldwide)*

*Title released in some regions prior to April 2010; sales only reflect those recorded in the six months ending September 30, 2010.

Finally, Square Enix heralded its recent partnership with Chinese online games publisher Shanda Games; a deal indicative of two of the company's three proclaimed growth strategies: globalization and becoming "network centric." As for the third? Square Enix's three-pronged attack also stresses "strengthening our own-IPs." So when's that next Final Fantasy coming out again?

[Image: Year-over-year comparison of monthly revenues from existing outlets; source: Square Enix]

Square Enix profits down, but not out as familiar franchises keep sales alive originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix lowers six-month financial forecast, cuts expected sales by $100M

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:25:00 EST

It looks like Square Enix characters will have to hold that spiky hair with generic product, as the company lowered its earnings forecast today for the six months (first half of its fiscal year) ending September 30, 2010. The publisher reduced new sales expectations by 10.5 percent to ¥68 billion ($846 million), which is far below the ¥90.6 billion the company took in during the same period last year. Squeenix also lowered its net income expectations for the two quarters to ¥1.7 billion ($21 million), a reduction of just over 29 percent from the original forecast.

The company said that the declining figures were due to the "challenging operating environment" in which new games experienced "relatively slow growth." Squeenix's operating income remains high, however, thanks to "profitable carryover sales of major titles released in March of the previous fiscal year" -- i.e., Final Fantasy 13 et al. Square Enix will release its actual second fiscal quarter results in the near future.

Square Enix lowers six-month financial forecast, cuts expected sales by $100M originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega software sales on the rise, for now

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:20:00 EST

Sega Sammy's recovery continues: Despite the generally bad economy, the company is turning around -- just not at Sonic speed. For the first half of the company's fiscal year, ending September 30, 2010, sales in the Home Video Game Software division (the "Sega" you know) were up 19 percent over the same period last year to ¥18.7 billlion ($231 million). Now, imagine this group as a Russian nesting doll inside the "Consumer Business" division, which recorded net sales of ¥38.7 billion ($477.5 million; up 2.9 percent) during the first half, despite an operating loss of ¥1.3 billion ($16.1 million) -- though the full-year projection is a more rosy ¥7 billion in operating income.

Three PSP games were highlighted as "Major Titles" for the period, including Kurohyo: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsyo, a.k.a. Black Panther: New Yakuza Chapter, which sold 250,000 units; and a pair of licensed music games, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd and K-On Houkago Live, accounting for 340,000 and 210,000 units sold, respectively. Overall, total sales of 33 available software SKUs in the first half reached 6.6 million units, besting the 5.4 million mark set by 30 SKUs during the first half of the last fiscal year. However, the full-year projection -- 16 million units sold from 75 SKUs -- is significantly lower than last fiscal year's total, 26.75 million units sold (across 105 SKUs).

In its report, the company said that the software industry has been "generally weak" in the US and European markets due to ... "headwind like sluggish personal consumption." The company's overview statement claims: "The Group needs to adapt to changing business environment in which the market demand for new content geared to social networking service (SNS), smartphone is expanding."

Sega software sales on the rise, for now originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft announces record Q1 revenue, thanks 'Xbox 360 consoles and games'

Randy Nelson — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:49:00 EST

Microsoft has issued its earnings report for Q1 of its fiscal year 2011, and things are looking good for its gaming division. The company reported revenue of $16.20 billion for the period, which ended on September 30. This amounts to a 25 percent increase over Q1 FY 20111 overall.

When it comes to Xbox 360, the console was cited as a top performer, alongside Windows 7 and Office 2010. In fact, Microsoft reports that sales are up 38 percent overall, compared with the same quarter last year, "outselling every competing console in the U.S. for each of the past four months," it gloats.

Diving into the numbers, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division (home to Xbox, Zune, and Windows Phone 7) benefited from a 33 percent rise in revenue from Xbox 360 sales over Q1 FY 2010, to the tune of $409 million. Shipments of the console to retailers totaled 2.8 million units for the quarter, up from 2.1 million during the same period last year.

Revenue from software sales also increased, bolstered by (what else?) Halo: Reach. The Bungie title generated a whopping $350 million for Microsoft in the quarter -- a number made more impressive by the fact that, having launched September 14, that revenue resulted from only 17 days of the game's sales. No wonder Microsoft is considering releasing Halo games on a more frequent basis.

Microsoft announces record Q1 revenue, thanks 'Xbox 360 consoles and games' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo painted red in first-half fiscal year results

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:02:00 EST

We'll be the first to admit it's nigh impossible to grasp the nuances of just what in the world is going on with the global economy, but things are clearly up you-know-whose creek without a paddle when Nintendo reports a ... loss?! Sure, earnings were seriously down for Nintendo during the same six-month period last year (April-September), but even then, as other companies suffered tremendous hits, Nintendo enjoyed ¥69.5 billion in profit (which was roughly $766 million by the rate of exchange a year ago).

The problem is that the yen has appreciated wildly against the dollar since that time -- what was $766 million a year ago, would be more like $850 million today. In and of itself, that kind of appreciation might look spectacular, except 81.4 percent of Nintendo's sales have been overseas during the current fiscal year. When the yen is this strong, earnings on Japanese exports (sold with importers' currencies) are dashed on their way back to Japan (where they are converted back to yen). According to Nintendo's first-half report (April-Sept. 2010), "foreign currencies generated exchange losses totaling 62.1 billion yen," and, in turn, the company suffered net losses of ¥2 billion (about $24.6 million) for the period.

Keep in mind, this loss comes after selling 4.07 million copies of Pokémon Black and White since September 18 (in Japan alone); 5.1 million units of Super Mario Galaxy 2; and a million-plus Wii Party games. Worldwide, DS software sales totaled 54.84 million units, while Wii games accounted for 65.21 million units sold in the first-half of the fiscal year.

As for hardware, the various DS models combined to move 6.69 million units (including 2.26 million DSi and 3.21 million DSi XLs), as Wii racked up another 4.97 million units sold during the period. And did you hear? The new red Wii and DSi XL are going to be released next month to celebrate ... uh, the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., of course!

Nintendo painted red in first-half fiscal year results originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ report: $30m Q1 loss, UFC Undisputed 2010 moves 2.7m units

Christopher Grant — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:45:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

While THQ may be rebounding in terms of brand and product quality, that doesn't mean it can simply take the express bus to Money Town. There's more to running a successful entertainment business than simply making well-received games.

For its fiscal 2011 first quarter ended June 30, 2010, the publisher reported net sales of $149.4m driven primarily by UFC Undisputed 2010. While that sounds like a lot of scratch, that's compared with last year's sales for the quarter of $243.5m, driven by UFC 2009 Undisputed and Red Faction: Guerrilla. The earnings report explains, "No title comparable to Red Faction: Guerrilla was released during the first quarter of fiscal 2011." With sales down, losses are up, with a net loss of $30.1m for the quarter compared with a net income of $6.4m for the same period last year.

So with all bets on UFC 2010 for the quarter, and despite a stronger Metacritic score, it managed to move just 2.7m units compared with 2.9m units for its predecessor last year. "We built our plans for growth in UFC this year," Farrell told investors.

Though no new major titles are planned for the company's upcoming Q2 period, the remainder of the fiscal year holds releases for both Homefront and Red Faction: Armageddon, and THQ expects non-GAAP net sales "in the range of $845 million to $865 million" and "roughly breakeven" earnings for the year. The focus is very much on fiscal 2012, which includes major releases like Warhammer 40000: Space Marine and Darksiders 2. "We also delivered our most critically acclaimed E3 showing ever with a strong line-up of games in development, several of which are based on proven long-term franchises," Farrell says. "Our goal this fiscal year continues to be to position THQ for growth in fiscal 2012 and beyond."

THQ report: $30m Q1 loss, UFC Undisputed 2010 moves 2.7m units originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tekken 6 leads Namco Bandai's Q1 sales

JC Fletcher — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

The North American release of Tekken 6 was the brightest spot on Namco Bandai's game release calendar for its fiscal Q1 (which ended June 30). The fighting title sold 1.07 million copies in the US in that quarter, giving a clue as to why Namco Bandia would be so eager to collaborate with Capcom on Street Fighter x Tekken -- it means more Tekken games.

The next best-selling game in the quarter was the third Taiko Drum Master game on DS, which sold 170,000 copies in Japan; Ben 10 Alien Force, a title published by subsidiary D3 Publisher, sold 110,000 in the US and Europe and the latest Super Robot Wars for DS sold 110,000 in Japan.

Overall, the "content" division brought in ¥32.9 billion ($385 million) in net sales in the quarter, up from ¥20.2 billion last year. How is it up with lowered sales? Well, this year, the visual and musical content divisions were integrated with the game division. So it's kind of a technicality. It only lost ¥619 million in operating losses, compared to last Q1's ¥4.1 billion

Tekken 6 leads Namco Bandai's Q1 sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix reports increased fiscal Q1 sales, lists upcoming games

JC Fletcher — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:25:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Square Enix's net sales were up 11% year-over-year in its fiscal Q1 (which ended June 10), from ¥29.4 billion ($341.5 million) to ¥32.5 billion ($378.2 million). It's a phenomenon that president Yoichi Wada attributes to the million-plus copies sold of Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 in Japan, and continued sales of Final Fantasy XIII and Just Cause 2 in the west.

Operating income jumped 814% in the same period, from ¥594 million ($6.9 million) in Q1 2009 to ¥5.43 billion ($63.14 million). That can be attributed to the fact that Square Enix didn't buy any major publishing companies this year.

The earnings presentation for the quarter (PDF) lists the company's current publishing plans for the near future, including the surefire Wii hit Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory for Japan only, as well as the Parasite Eve sequel The 3rd Birthday with a "This Winter" date in Japan and a "TBD" date in North America and Europe. The slides also reveal that Square Enix will handle Japanese publishing duties for Call of Duty: Black Ops, like it did for Modern Warfare 2.

Square Enix reports increased fiscal Q1 sales, lists upcoming games originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Konami's game business Peace Walks toward profit in its fiscal Q1

JC Fletcher — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Konami Corporation's operating income jumped 244 percent year-over-year in its fiscal Q1 2011, from ¥367 million ($4.26 million) last year to ¥1.265 billion ($14.7 million). Within its Digital & Entertainment Business division (the one for video games), Konami attributed the income to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Winning Eleven 2010 Aoki Samurai no Chosen (which " was launched on multiple platforms in May to coincide with the once-every-four-years festivities that excite soccer fans worldwide"), and the Japan-only DS girlfriend simulator Love Plus, which has since been expanded with a followup release, Love Plus+.

Other contributing games with "strong sales" included Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story and Fairy Tail Portable Guild, both for PSP. In the future, the company is looking to make a bigger splash in "the expanding overseas video game software market" with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Winning Eleven, and music games like Def Jam Rapstar and Karaoke Revolution Glee. We're guessing we'll see more PSP games from Konami, as well, since that's going so nicely for them.

Konami's game business Peace Walks toward profit in its fiscal Q1 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA reports increased revenues in Q1 of new fiscal year

JC Fletcher — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:50:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Things are looking rosy in general for EA, which today reported the results of its fiscal first quarter (April-June). While the company faced a $234 million net loss in the same period last year, this year the publisher recorded $96 million in net income during the quarter. Both digital revenues and revenues from packaged goods were up, though sales of distribution titles (EA Partners games) were down, suggesting that Green Day: Rock Band and APB sales weren't quite what EA would have wanted.

EA had plenty of boasting to do in light of the quarterly revenue growth, claiming its status as "the #1 publisher on high definition consoles with 22 percent segment share" in the 2010 calendar year. The company also claimed itself to be the top PC publisher and, amazingly, the #1 publisher "across all platforms" in the App Store for the quarter. So that's what that sale was for!

EA reports increased revenues in Q1 of new fiscal year originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega sales up in fiscal Q1, despite Alpha Protocol's disappointing performance

JC Fletcher — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:50:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Sega parent, Sega Sammy Holdings, has reported net sales of ¥91.3 billion ($1.05 billion) for its fiscal first quarter, which ended June 30. The outcome compares favorably to the ¥60.5 billion ($700 million) recorded by the company during the same period last year -- and it's mostly due to pachinko sales. Still, Sega's consumer products division -- the part that makes home video games -- also enjoyed increased sales, bringing in ¥20.9 billion ($241.8 million), minus ¥636 million ($7.36 million) in operating losses.

Despite the generally upward trend, Sega reported slow sales of its major Q1 titles, Iron Man 2 and Alpha Protocol, due to "adverse market conditions." Iron Man 2 sold 1.12 million units across multiple platforms, while Alpha Protocol only sneaked into about 700,000 homes.

Sega sales up in fiscal Q1, despite Alpha Protocol's disappointing performance originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's PlayStation division sees sales increase, still operating at a loss

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:45:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

As analysts predicted, Sony finished the first quarter of its fiscal year (ending June 30, 2010) with a net income of ¥25.7 billion ($295M), a significant increase from the ¥37.1 billion ($426M) loss during the same quarter last year. Overall, sales were up 3.8 percent year-over-year to ¥1.7 trillion ($18.7B).

Compared to the same time last year, the division that houses the PlayStation brand is in a much better place, even though it still operates at a loss. While sales increased 32 percent this year to ¥326 billion ($3.7B), bumped up by PC and PlayStation 3 hardware and software, the division had an operating loss of ¥3.8 billion ($43 million) -- a vast improvement from the ¥36.7 billion ($422M) loss last year. The company expects hardware sales of the PS3 to continue increasing this year and software sales to remain flat.

Sony's PlayStation division sees sales increase, still operating at a loss originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gameloft Q2 sales up 15% (thanks, Apple!)

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Reporting its second quarter financials for 2010, the unassailable Gameloft appears to remain unassailed. The company reports sales of €33.6 million ($43.6 million) for the second quarter, a gain of nearly 15 percent over the same period last year, which saw sales of €29.3 million ($38 million). Taking the first half of 2010 as a whole, sales have reached the devilish amount of €6.66 million ($8.65 million), an 11 percent increase over the €60.1 million ($78.1 million) earned in the first half of 2009.

Gameloft pins the increase in sales on "increased market share in traditional Java and Brew phones as well as by the massive success enjoyed by Smartphones around the world." More specifically, the company's sales in the Apple App Store increased by a staggering 113 percent. With more smartphones (and devices like the iPad) on the way, and with digital distribution becoming more popular, Gameloft expects to sustain its growth through the end of 2010.

Gameloft Q2 sales up 15% (thanks, Apple!) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Atari sales down in Q1, online is the glimmer of hope

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Atari announced that revenues were down 65 percent to €19.3 million ($25M) in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. The company didn't reveal any profit or loss data, but given its loss during the previous fiscal year, it's pretty safe to guess that Atari isn't doing so hot. Last year's Q1 included Ghostbusters and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, while this year had, according to the company, "only one major game" ... Sandlot Sluggers.

A small piece of "good news" during the quarter, which also included another major executive shuffle at the publisher, was that online revenues were up 320 percent to €8.4 million ($10.9M). The much-needed money injection was thanks to digital distribution sales and subscriptions for Star Trek Online and Champions Online.

Some of the hopes Atari has for the rest of the year include the reboot of Haunted House in September, The Witcher 2 next spring and "numerous casual and social online game releases based upon Atari's classic video game brands."

Atari sales down in Q1, online is the glimmer of hope originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft fiscal Q1 sales up 94% over last year

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Ubisoft has released a preliminary report on its fiscal first quarter, which ended June 30, revealing that software sales totaled €161 million ($207.8M). The company recorded a 94 percent revenue increase over the same period last year thanks to sustained sales of Assassin's Creed 2, Just Dance and Avatar. The company also reported "solid performance" from Splinter Cell: Conviction and shipped 1.9 million units of the game during the quarter. Ubisoft will reveal actual profit (or loss) figures for the quarter at a later date.

The company expects sales in the second quarter, which concludes at the end of September, to be flat year-over-year at an estimated €83 million ($107M). The company's Q2 releases are "highlighted" by plans to ship HAWX 2, Racquet Sports and R.U.S.E. -- although the strategy game has been known to live up to its name when it comes to sticking to a release date.

Ubisoft fiscal Q1 sales up 94% over last year originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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XBLA sales stats for first half of 2010, as deduced from leaderboard data

David Hinkle — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Gamerbytes has compiled a list of several Xbox Live Arcade games and their performance in the first half of 2010 based on data derived from leaderboards.

First, there are the top performers: Trials HD apparently had the biggest user base, jumping from 600,000 players to over a million during the first half of 2010 (not counting its DLC, which had almost 300,000 players over that period). But how about games that launched this year? Well, Perfect Dark enlisted 265,000, and Toy Soldiers and its DLC managed to recruit a combined 346,000 players. Risk: Factions and Snoopy Flying Ace have yet to reach 100,000.

Other games didn't fare so well, with several failing to capture the attention of even 1,000 users -- Voodoo Dice, Ben 10 and Fret Nice were near or below that mark -- and of the 24 new games that Gamerbytes catalogued, only 13 managed to reach 10,000 players.

Seeing how deals and promotions affected the growth of user bases on older titles is particularly interesting in the case of Zombie Apocalypse and TMNT: ReShelled, both of which came darn close to doubling their respective audiences when discounts were applied.

XBLA sales stats for first half of 2010, as deduced from leaderboard data originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bulletstorm kills retail with skill on February 22, 2011

David Hinkle — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Epic Games' Cliff Blezsinski took the stage at the EA keynote to show off People Can Fly's Bulletstorm. Thankfully, he had more than a new trailer with which to scare your dick off (that's an actual phrase in the game, by the way) and confirmed a launch date of February 22, 2011 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 EA Partners title.

Would you like to know more? Feel free to crack open our preview and sup on its delicious juices.

Continue reading Bulletstorm kills retail with skill on February 22, 2011

Bulletstorm kills retail with skill on February 22, 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Dead Redemption a 'surprise' hit for GameStop

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:30:00 EST

During an investors call today, GameStop executive VP of Merchandise and Markerting Tony Bartel mentioned that the company's recent earnings had been boosted by a title that apparently wasn't expected to be such a powerhouse. "Red Dead Redemption has been one of the very positive surprises," Bartel explained. "It probably has outperformed as large as any title has so far year-to-date." (Redemption was released this week, so presumably Bartel is largely referring to pre-order figures.)

As we see it, this could mean one of two things: Either Red Dead Redemption is doing outrageously, phenomenally well, or GameStop didn't expect a game made by Rockstar, which had a marketing budget of a hojillion dollars, to have much sales power. Considering the company isn't run by baboons, we doubt it's the latter.

Red Dead Redemption a 'surprise' hit for GameStop originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 May 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New game sales up in GameStop's fiscal Q1

JC Fletcher — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:33:00 EST

GameStop reported earnings for its fiscal first quarter (February-April). Sales are up five percent over the first quarter of 2009, to $2.08 billion.

Some of that growth is no doubt due to strong sales of new games. The retailer announced that new software sales increased 13.3 percent in the quarter -- a trend that the GameStop should be happy to see, now that EA and THQ are taking aim at the used games business.

The company identified five games in particular that drove revenue growth: Battlefield Bad Company 2, God of War 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and BioShock 2. We all love buying sequels at GameStop, apparently.

New game sales up in GameStop's fiscal Q1 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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