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Manta Oyamada
Aug 4, 2014, 01:41 PM
SEGA - Packaged Games puts great profit loss, PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 PC version goes "solid" remains SEGA's top profit maker in Q1 2014.

Sega today reported earnings for the April-June quarter, announcing profits overall were halved, as the company's game business saw an operating loss. The publisher said uncertainty in the Japanese economy, along with a "softening" of the package game business, was to blame.

For the quarter ended June 30, Sega's game division--what it calls Consumer Business--saw net sales rise 13.3 percent to ¥21.4 billion ($207 million). However, this division still recorded an operating loss of ¥282 million ($2.7 million), compared to operating income of ¥39 million ($378,000) last year.

This downturn was attributed to an "increase in advertising expenses."
Sega sold a total of 1.7 million packaged games during the quarter, including 640,000 copies each for North America and Europe, along with 420,000 games in Japan. One of Sega's biggest games during the quarter was Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth, which shipped 250,000 copies in Japan.

Though Sega's packaged video game business was "soft," the company said sales of its digital offerings for mobile phones, smartphones, and PC remained "solid." Sega said online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 was a particularly strong performer during the quarter.

Overall, Sega recorded net sales of ¥88.4 billion ($858.7 million) for the quarter, which is down 2.6 percent year-over-year. Profit took the biggest hit, coming in at ¥5.5 billion ($53.4 million), a dramatic year-over-year decrease of 57.4 percent.

Some major upcoming Sega games include Sonic Boom and Alien: Isolation.

by junko

DJcooltrainer
Aug 4, 2014, 02:01 PM
SEGA - Packaged Games puts great profit loss,PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 PC version goes "solid" remains SEGA's top profit maker in Q1 2014.

The publisher said uncertainty in the Japanese economy, along with a "softening" of the package game business, was to blame.


Though Sega's packaged video game business was "soft," the company said sales of its digital offerings for mobile phones, smartphones, and PC remained "solid." Sega said online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 was a particularly strong performer during the quarter.


The Japanese economy was hit really hard around the same time the US economy started to really suffer, but they haven't recovered much yet. Look at the sales of the Wii and PS2 in Japan after the release of the 360 and PS3, it seems during that time most people were still going for the more 'affordable' consoles. I think that's also a big reason arcades are so big in Japan, and a big part of why F2P games are taking off in Japan.

Home video game sales in Japan have plummeted, while they've skyrocketed in most of the Western world. PSO2 and shitty mobile games are literally what Sega is making money off right now. You'd think that would be a little bit of an incentive to release those products outside of Japan, right?

Sega gonna Sega.

I predict Sega licensing PSO2 to more publishers in the near future, or Sega will just vanish. It appears that they're losing a shit load of money.

Rain Walker
Aug 4, 2014, 02:39 PM
They are making big money using pso2, not so surprising xd

mctastee
Aug 4, 2014, 08:49 PM
The publisher said uncertainty in the Japanese economy, along with a "softening" of the package game business, was to blame.

Really, SEGA, wtf? Where have you been for the past 10 years?

Meta77
Aug 4, 2014, 09:41 PM
A sign of good things to come. Keep your exclusives in japan only. Slowly sign your death contract sega.

GHNeko
Aug 4, 2014, 10:43 PM
Maybe if gaming in the west wasnt prone to redundancy and sequalitis, and better rewarded risky ventures COMMERCIALLY and not just critically, then investments would be easily to claim as worth while.

That and if AAA would stop fucking focusing on pumping money into movie-esque games, but at that point you're dealing with shitty top-down game development and that's a whole nother bag of fucking worms. -_-

Achelousaurus
Aug 5, 2014, 05:22 AM
The answer is simple.
Make less other games, put more effort into PSO2, make more money.

GHNeko
Aug 5, 2014, 12:47 PM
Putting all your eggs into one basket really wouldnt be the best of ideas, no?

Plus that doesn't really help the Sega brand as a whole.

Ygdrad
Aug 5, 2014, 01:30 PM
PSO2 and shitty mobile games are literally what Sega is making money off right now.

Only Sega's video games division, Sega's main source of money is their pachinko machine gambling centers in japan which bring in so much money that their gaming division looks like a joke.

Laxedrane
Aug 5, 2014, 01:31 PM
Putting all your eggs into one basket really wouldnt be the best of ideas, no?

Plus that doesn't really help the Sega brand as a whole.

Pretty much this. The kind of company size sega has to maintain to keep pso2 at the "Quality" it's at now. Begs for a company not just devoted to the game itself.

However I think them dragging their heels on an international release is just stupid. As much as people rally against it. I still think they make a killing being one of the first free to buy and play MOs(So we don't have that over done argument again) with high customization abilities. It would slaughter on either PS3 or the WiiU. Just pick one and go for it already.

Sizustar
Aug 5, 2014, 01:37 PM
Pretty much this. The kind of company size sega has to maintain to keep pso2 at the "Quality" it's at now. Begs for a company not just devoted to the game itself.

However I think them dragging their heels on an international release is just stupid. As much as people rally against it. I still think they make a killing being one of the first free to buy and play MOs(So we don't have that over done argument again) with high customization abilities. It would slaughter on either PS3 or the WiiU. Just pick one and go for it already.

They are focused on the Japanese market, which they are familiar with, and internationally, they would rather have other company publish in their region.
Gamania in Tw/HK
Asiasoft - SEA region

GHNeko
Aug 5, 2014, 02:02 PM
It's ironic considering Sega's origins though.

metatime
Aug 5, 2014, 07:08 PM
Putting all your eggs into one basket really wouldnt be the best of ideas, no?

Plus that doesn't really help the Sega brand as a whole.

I dunno, works for some companies like Blizzard, they only have a few brand names but they're good quality.

GHNeko
Aug 5, 2014, 07:55 PM
Huge gamble, but even Blizzard has at least 3 titles. Warcraft, Starcraft, and WoW.

It's not a smart decision for any fiscally conservative buisness, which essentially what Sega-Sammy is.

Nitro Vordex
Aug 5, 2014, 11:17 PM
Maybe if they'd stop making shitty Sonic games (that they don't even appear to care about anymore, in spite of the mega advertising[WHERE WAS ALL THAT WITH OUR PSO/U/0, HUH?]) they wouldn't lose so goddamn much money. Or at least put some effort into their games. Looks like they're gonna just shove Sonic's name off to other publishers. First Sonic Boom. Who's gonna get it next? Deep Silver?

Sonic's Row best game BEST GAME

Miyuki_Kamiko
Aug 5, 2014, 11:37 PM
One of Sega's biggest games during the quarter was Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth
Sega said online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 was a particularly strong performer during the quarter

what do both of these games have in common there both JRPGS maybe Sega should analyse there own statement because i bet they didn't realise there JRPGS are doing better than there Alien games

GHNeko
Aug 6, 2014, 12:12 AM
So Sega needs to take a page from SQ's book is what you're telling me.

Arkanoid
Aug 6, 2014, 12:47 AM
One of Sega's biggest games during the quarter was Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth
Sega said online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 was a particularly strong performer during the quarter

what do both of these games have in common there both JRPGS maybe Sega should analyse there own statement because i bet they didn't realise there JRPGS are doing better than there Alien games

Actually they sell a lot of Alien games in the west. The brand alone pretty much sells it. Colonial Marines was universally panned but look how well it sold:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-10-aliens-colonial-marines-managed-1-31-million-sales
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2013/02/22/aliens-colonial-marines-makes-mockery-of-review-scores/

elryan
Aug 6, 2014, 01:45 AM
tl;dr SEGA needs to do less Sonic, more PSO2.

If only SEGA does what Square Enix does (localize FFXIV English and Japanese translation and deploy update for both version at the same time, launch servers to NA, EU and JP continent), SEGA would get much more profit from worldwide audience.

AlaskanKactus
Aug 6, 2014, 01:47 AM
I still think they make a killing being one of the first free to buy and play MOs(So we don't have that over done argument again) with high customization abilities. It would slaughter on either PS3 or the WiiU. Just pick one and go for it already.

I'm not one of those people who are still complaining about a Western release but I believe it might have a chance. At the very least, a 50-50 chance. It could be one of the handful of F2P games on nextgen consoles. There isn't much of game selection right now so a lot people will give it a shot. This is a perfect chance for Sega to get their foot in the nextgen console market and gain some new customers.

Not to mention this could persuade those "die hard" PSU fans to upgrade to a new console. You know, since they're still waiting and all.