Joystiq

Sega promotes Yakuza creator Nagoshi to Chief Creative Officer

JC Fletcher — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:29:00 EST

Prompted by the retirement of Sega Sammy COO Okitane Usui, several executives at the company are moving up -- most notably Yakuza, Binary Domain, and Super Monkey Ball producer Toshihiro Nagoshi, who will be the company's Chief Creative Officer starting April 1. That seems like a good move, as Nagoshi's Yakuza franchise is a rare success among Sega's products.

Taking over as President and COO is Naoya Tsurumi, who has previously served as CEO of Sega Europe and Sega of America, and has been General Manager of Sega International since 2010.

Sega promotes Yakuza creator Nagoshi to Chief Creative Officer originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega signs distro deal with Atlus parent company Index Holdings

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST

Index Holdings, parent company of developer and publisher Atlus, is looking to take advantage of Sega's significantly larger distribution network in Japan, announcing intentions to partner with the Japanese publisher for future distribution. The deal kicks off in April 2012 and will see games across Atlus' various properties distributed under the Sega moniker in Japan.

The deal doesn't apply to digitally distributed titles, and it's unclear if this will affect Atlus' distribution in other parts of the world. It seems that the distribution deal arises from Index Holdings' consistently declining revenues and an inability to support Atlus' growth in its most important market. We've reached out to Atlus for further comment.

Sega signs distro deal with Atlus parent company Index Holdings originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega's home game division posts losses, Mario & Sonic a bright spot

JC Fletcher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EST

Sega's "Game Contents" division (i.e. home video games) was down 5.1% for the nine-month period ending December 31, with the company reporting 63.5 billion yen ($833 million) in net game sales from the division ... and 5.5 billion yen in total losses. As for reasoning, Sega said only that "in the overseas markets, sales of the new titles remained slow as affected by adverse market condition." Best we can tell, that "adverse market condition" refers to our economies all being really, really terrible.

The publisher shared sales numbers for its major releases. Sonic Generations sold 1.63 million copies across four platforms (Wii, PS3, PC, and the 3DS Generations game). Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games outsold it with 2.39 million copies -- despite not being released in Japan yet, and only being on one platform at the time, the Wii. And, uh, despite being a Mario & Sonic Olympics minigame collection. Hatsune Miku Project Diva Extend for PSP (released in Japan only) was the other named hit, with 290,000 copies.

Looking up at Sega's sales by platform, it's worth noting that Sega's single PlayStation Vita release, Virtua Tennis 4 (called Power Smash 4 in Japan) sold just 10,000 copies between the Vita launch date of December 17 and the end of the year. That ... doesn't seem very good.

Sega's home game division posts losses, Mario & Sonic a bright spot originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega game sales down in first half of fiscal 2012; Rise of Nightmares fails to hit the heights

JC Fletcher — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:27:00 EST

The net sales for Sega Sammy's consumer division were down 13.7% year over year in the six months ended September 30. Sega brought in 33.4 million yen ($428,655) from its home game business, part of the 152.6 million yen in overall net sales.

The 29.9% slump in company-wide net sales is mostly attributed to a slowdown in demand for new pachinko machines and "the settlement payment for patent licensing". Within the consumer business, Sega cited "weak" sales of its titles, especially in the west, which, Sega claims, continues to experience "headwinds such as sluggish personal consumption."

Sega named three "major titles" released in the period, and detailed their sales. Captain America: Super Soldier, released only in the west, sold 450,000 units across four platforms. Rise of Nightmares sold 200,000 worldwide. The other major release, the Japan-only PSP soccer management sim Sakatsuku 7 Euro Plus, also sold 200,000.

Sega game sales down in first half of fiscal 2012; Rise of Nightmares fails to hit the heights originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega Sammy financial posting shows weak US demand, losses

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:00:00 EST

Sega Sammy Holdings posted weak financial results for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, including a net-profit loss of $28.1 million -- last year in the same quarter it posted a net profit of $89.6 million. Contributing to this was a 22.3 percent decrease in Sega's regular sales, bringing the entire company's operating loss to $49.9 million, which is 500 percent higher than last year's quarter.

Sega Sammy noted "generally weak" demand in United States and European markets as a major loss factor, citing "sluggish personal consumption" in the regions and the need to adapt its focus to social and smartphone gaming. Sega said Japanese sales remained strong and its iOS title Kingdom Conquest was downloaded 1.3 million times, while pay-per-use sales of the online pachinko service 777 Town "remained solid." This could mark a shift in Sega's operating tactics, so we'll be on the lookout for Sonic's Social Network App for Android and iOS later this year.

Sega Sammy financial posting shows weak US demand, losses originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega earnings suffer from Yakuza delay, 'sluggish' Western game sales

JC Fletcher — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:00:00 EST

Sega Sammy's consumer game division -- a.k.a. Sega games -- brought in ¥89.55 billion ($1.1 billion) in sales over the last fiscal year (ending March 31), down 26.5 percent from the previous year. Operating income declined even more sharply to ¥2 billion ($24.8 million), down 68.9 percent. While the previous fiscal year saw major success from Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, this latest 2010-11 fiscal year was an off-year for the two Olympians, who were in training for their next competition.

Sonic's less sporting pastime, Sonic Colors, was the bestseller in Sega's lineup, moving 2.18 million copies worldwide. It was followed by ... Iron Man 2, which sold 1.54 million. Vanquish, which everyone without Stark Industries stock would agree is the better robot-suit game, only managed about half of that achievement at 830,000 units sold. Shogun 2: Total War and Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity (which only came out in Japan) rounded out Sega's "major" lineup with 600,000 and 370,000 copies sold, respectively.

Sega said that sales were slow in North America and Europe due to "the adverse market condition," noting "sluggish personal consumption" in those regions (which ... didn't seem to be an issue for everybody). Additionally, Sega's big Japanese release, Yakuza: Of the End, was delayed out of the fiscal year as a result of the Tohoku earthquake in March, further reducing the company's bottom line.

Overall, however, Sega Sammy about doubled its net profits from the previous year to ¥41.51 billion (roughly $513 million) on the strength of its pachislot and pachinko business.

Sega earnings suffer from Yakuza delay, 'sluggish' Western game sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega Sammy posts profitable third quarter, Vanquish moves 820K

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST

Sega Sammy's financial results for the nine months ending December 31, 2010 showed marked upswings in overall sales and profit for the company. While the majority of money came through its pachinko and amusement arm, game publishing saw ¥67.4 billion ($826 million) in revenue and ¥2.8 billion ($34.3 million) in profit -- both notable increases since the company's last check-in.

Hidden among the many, many financial numbers was news that Platinum Games' fourth effort, Vanquish, had sold 820,000 copies since its release in late October, while Sonic Colors had moved a whopping 1,850,000 by the end of 2010. That's alotta hedgehog! The majority of the company's overall sales took place in Europe (owing to sales of Football Manager 2011), with the US following closely behind and Japan in a distant third.

Sega Sammy posts profitable third quarter, Vanquish moves 820K originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:00:00 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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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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Mario, Sonic, and Profits in Sega's fiscal 2010

JC Fletcher — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:28:00 EST

Despite recent troubles in the North American and European branches, Sega overall had a good fiscal 2010, which ended March 31, financially speaking. The company as a whole saw its operating income rise to ¥36.7 billion ($397 million), a huge increase over fiscal 2009's operating income of 8.3 billion ($89.8 million). Operating income refers to profits minus expenses incurred in running the company -- in case you wondered why we picked up on that random statistic.

The consumer games division made ¥6.3 billion ($68.2 million) in operating income, returning to profitability despite a year-over-year drop of 7.5%. The profits in this division were driven by ridiculously strong sales of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (6.53 million copies!), as well as million-plus sellers Aliens vs. Predator (1.69 million), Bayonetta (1.35 million), and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (1.07 million).

Source [PDF] - Appendix of Consolidated Financial Statements Year Ended March 31, 2010

[Via Andriasang]

Mario, Sonic, and Profits in Sega's fiscal 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 May 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bayonetta moves 1.1m units in Sega fiscal Q3 2010 results

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:40:00 EST

After surviving harrowing losses of ¥22.8 billion (nearly $254.8 million) during its fiscal year 2009, Sega Sammy Holdings (parent company to Sega, which you've probably sussed out) has managed to revive its faltering bottom line. According to the company's latest financial report, Sega Sammy brought in a net income of ¥16.9 billion ($189.5 million) during the first nine months of its fiscal 2010 (April-December 2009).

This income came in spite of the fact that Sega's total game sales had dropped 13 percent from the same 9-month period the previous fiscal year -- however, thanks to the company's massive restructuring last February, operating income skyrocketed to ¥28.8 billion (about $323 million), which more than softened the blow. The company's highest-selling title was, alarmingly, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, with 5.6 million units sold (and probably counting). Bayonetta, which was only available in Japan (released October 29) during the period covered by the report, came in a distant second with 1.1 million units sold.

It looks like the company's managed to recover from an extremely painful fiscal 2009 -- at a cost.

Bayonetta moves 1.1m units in Sega fiscal Q3 2010 results originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega reports $150 million dip in sales for Q1 2010

Randy Nelson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Sega Sammy Holdings, Inc. has released its Q1 2010 financial earnings report, which covers the period from April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009. The document shows that the company saw a ¥14.139 billion ($150 million) decline in sales over Q1 2009. Specifically, Sega reported first-quarter sales of ¥60.461 billion ($639M) as opposed to ¥74.6 billion ($789M) for the same period in FY 2009.

The publisher's figures show that, in addition to changes in its pachislot business, a smaller number of home console releases contributed to the decline. Sega released 37 titles across all platforms during Q1 2009, but only 17 for Q1 2010. Still, it projects total software sales to be up ¥230 million ($2.4M) for FY 2010.

Sega reports $150 million dip in sales for Q1 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega loses less money in 2008 (Thanks, Werehog!)

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:30:00 EST

According to Edge, the house that Sonic built is inching toward the black. Sega Sammy has reported a net loss of around $240 million for its fiscal year ending March 31, down $310 million from last year's losses of $550 million. The company's sales declined 6.5% to roughly $4.5 billion, while the game division itself saw a sales decline of 7.5% to $1.38 billion. The gaming division also managed to dramatically reduce its operating loss to $9.9 million, down from 62.8 million last year.

The company highlighted Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Football Manager 2009 and Sonic Unleashed as good performers in the US and European markets, while Yakuza 3 and Phantasy Star Portable did well in the Japanese market. The company also noted that 85% of the 29.47 million games sold this fiscal year were sold in the US or Europe.

Having already laid off 560 employees and closing 110 amusement facilities, Sega plans to continue with restructuring plans, which include "bringing together the sales and manufacturing functions" and also publishing fewer titles. No word on whether the publisher plans to continue its streak of putting out well-reviewed games that no one will buy.

Sega loses less money in 2008 (Thanks, Werehog!) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 May 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega Sammy's stock rises on news of $100m net loss for Q109

Ross Miller — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business

Japanese publisher (and House of Sonic) Sega Sammy posted a ¥10.5 billion (approx. US $96 million) net loss for the first quarter of Fiscal 2009 - that's double the losses from a year earlier -- and sales of ¥74.6b, a 22% decline. Despite all this, the publisher managed to beat expectations and subsequently shares were up 13% to ¥1,201 per share, the sharpest increase since its listing as a holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2004, according to Bloomberg.

The pachinko and arcade divisions, as well as the global and Japanese economy, were cited as reasons for the losses. Particularly, the pachinko business saw around US$40 million in losses. The games division increased sales to ¥30.5 billion, reducing the operating loss to ¥4.12b. Overall unit sales were around 6.89 million (3.16m in US, 2.89m in Europe and 830k in Japan), with Mario and Sonic at the Olympics noted as having so far shipped 7 million units worldwide.

Sega Sammy's stock rises on news of $100m net loss for Q109 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega shuts down Korean offices, cancels Yokohama arcade plans

Scott Jon Siegel — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Arcade, Business

Hard times have fallen on publisher Sega Sammy, who has announced the closing of a subsidiary office based in Korea, as part of a "global business optimization" in the wake of massive financial losses.

The "global business optimization" will also affect Sega Sammy in Japan, where plans for a $330m arcade in Yokohama have been canceled, after an initial $227m investment in the purchase of land. At fault is the coin-operated amusement side of the company's business, which is suffering in Japan at the hands of the home console market. At least Sega Sammy continues to hold its head up high, denying any potential for buy-out.

Sega shuts down Korean offices, cancels Yokohama arcade plans originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega: We're not interested in a buyout, thanks

Kyle Orland — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business

Apparently, one merger per decade is enough for Sega. Despite falling on some tough financial times recently, Sega has declared that it is decidedly not interested in getting bailed out by some generous big-time buyout (not that anyone else was necessarily interested, mind you).

In an interview with Reuters, Sega Sammy CEO Simon Jeffrey said his company isn't eager to ride the industry's recent wave of consolidation. "That's not an area we want to play in right now," he said. "We have no interest in being acquired, we are very happy with our position right now."

Buoyed by extremely strong sales of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Jeffrey seems perfectly content with his company's current sixth-place position in the game publisher rankings. "There is plenty of room for smaller companies to be successful and profitable in this business," he said. "You don't have to be number one or number two. You can be number six very happily," Jeffrey said. Chant along with us everybody: We're number six! We're number six!

Sega: We're not interested in a buyout, thanks originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega Sammy losses bring layoffs, arcade closings

Kyle Orland — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:40:00 EST

Filed under: Arcade, Retro, Business, Casual

Life comes at you fast if you're Sega Sammy. Just a couple of years after increased profits had the company rolling in money, the company today announced that it plans to lose a whopping 26 billion yen (approx. $230 million) this fiscal year. Compared to the previous projection of a billion yen profit for the year, the turnaround comes as a bit of a shock.

The main culprit behind the downturn seems to be the pachinko side of the business, which saw a predicted 85 percent fall in profits, and arcade sales, which switched from a slight profit last year to a 11.4 billion yen loss this year (damn that popular Wii).

To staunch the bleeding, the company will be offering early retirement to 400 employees and closing 110 unprofitable amusement parks and arcades around Japan. Hard to believe the previous incarnation of this company once held the lion's share of the home video game market.

Sega Sammy losses bring layoffs, arcade closings originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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