fiscal-2013
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Destiny to be 'best-selling new IP in history' according to Activision [update]
Activision is dreaming big for Bungie's Destiny, dubbing it the "next billion dollar franchise." Activision CEO Bobby Kotick echoed the projection, telling investors during today's earnings call that the publisher expects "Destiny will become the best-selling new video game IP in history." Destiny, an online, loot-heavy first-person shooter, is due on September 9. No pressure. Activision also reported $4.58 billion in revenue for the 2013 calendar year. The earnings represent a 5.76 percent decrease compared to that of 2012, in which the publisher earned $4.86 billion. It also reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.52 billion, a nearly 120 percent leap from its $691 million in revenue during the third quarter and well above its $1.26 billion projection. Finally, World of Warcraft had 7.8 million subscribers as of December 31, 2013, an increase from the 7.6 million reported during the last quarter. Update: As it turns out, Kotick's direct quote from the earnings statement is that Activision expects "Destiny will become the best-selling new video game IP in history," which is substantially different than being the best-selling game overall. We've updated the quote and headline accordingly. We apologize for the error. [Image: Activision]
Gamestop Q1 sales and profits down, mobile/digital sales up
Gamestop's financial data for the first quarter of its fiscal 2013 have arrived like a pizza with nearly 25 percent fewer toppings than the pizza you ordered during the same 13-week period last year. Also, cheesy bread sales are way up? This may not be the strongest analogy. In non-allegorical terms, gross revenue (overall sales) and net income (post-tax profit) were both down year-over-year, at $1.865 billion and $54.6 million, respectively. As far as net income, that's a 24.69 percent decrease from the $72.5 million Gamestop reported at the end of Q1 2012. Meanwhile, mobile device sales were up 290 percent, though this massive increase was largely due to the fact that Gamestop's mobile trade-in/sales program was just getting started during Q1 of 2012. Digital sales also increased, to the tune of 47.3 percent year-over-year, while new software sales, both physical and digital, fell 3.8 percent. As was the case during Q1 2012, used hardware and software sales accounted for the majority of Gamestop's pre-tax profit, with new hardware and software sales making up just 29.5 percent of the quarter's overall gross.
Ubisoft ends fiscal 2013 with €64.8 million in profit
Ubisoft has released its financial information for the 12 month period ending March 31, 2013, which by all accounts seems to have been a pretty legit fiscal year for the publisher/developer conglomerate. The company crossed the finish line with €1.256 billion ($1.615 billion) in revenue and €64.8 million ($83.3 million) in profit, an 18.3 and 73.7-percent year-over-year increase, respectively, when compared to the €1.061 billion ($1.364 billion) in revenue and €37.3 million ($47.9 million) in profit recorded at the end of 2012. Ubisoft contributes its stellar year to the continued success of its main three franchises, Assassin's Creed, Just Dance and Far Cry, the latest entries in which have all sold between six and 12 million copies.
Take-Two year-on-year revenue up, digital sales on the rise
Take-Two announced its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, revealing that the company took in $1.214 billion in sales last year, up from $825.8 million for the fiscal year 2012. Take-Two notes that BioShock Infinite met with "significantly" higher sales than any previous BioShock release, shipping over 3.7 million units to date. The company reports a net loss of $31.2 million over the past fiscal year, but projects between $1.75 to $1.85 billion in revenue for the current fiscal year (ending in March, 2014), spurred by upcoming releases like Grand Theft Auto V and WWE 2K14. The report notes year-over-year improvements in both revenue and net losses, bolstered by big sellers like Borderlands 2, NBA 2K13, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Catalog sales for older releases like Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption also saw strong performances, as Take Two noted a 192 percent year-over-year rise in revenue from digitally delivered software.
Namco Bandai's year-end revenues rise despite missing Tekken target
Namco Bandai released its financial results for the end of its fiscal year today, noting increased earnings in multiple sectors despite missing sales targets for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tales of Xillia 2. The company's worldwide net sales grew by 7.3 percent, ending this fiscal year at ¥487 billion (approximately $4.9B), compared to last year's earnings of ¥434 billion. Namco Bandai's net income for the year ending March 31, 2013 was ¥32.4 billion ($327M), a 67.8 percent increase over last year's reported ¥19.3 billion. Regional sales saw significant boosts. Net sales of Namco Bandai products in Japan increased 7.3 percent year-over-year to ¥406 billion ($4.1B), while sales for the Americas rose 38.3 percent, finishing at ¥33.6 billion ($339M). The report additionally reveals that Namco Bandai failed to meet shipping targets for some of its key titles. Siliconera notes that Namco Bandai expected to ship 1.7 million units of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 worldwide, but came up short at 1.5 million. The Japan-exclusive RPG Tales of Xillia 2 shipped 500,000, missing its initial target of 650,000 units. Other big titles for the company include SoulCalibur V, which shipped 1.05 million units worldwide in the fiscal year ending in March, and two entries in its Naruto Shippuden series, which shipped a combined 1.76 million units across all regions.
Konami reports year-over-year losses, strength in social games
Konami has released details of its financial performance in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, reporting sizable year-on-year losses in its digital entertainment and pachinko divisions but growth in its social gaming sector. Company product sales and service revenue for the year amounted to ¥226 billion ($2.4B), down 15 percent from its earnings of ¥266 billion last year. Net income sank to ¥13.2 billion ($140M), a decrease of 42.8% compared to last year's reported income of ¥23 billion. Konami saw its largest losses in the pachinko sector, in which revenue fell more than 70 percent compared to last year. The company's Digital Entertainment division reported a loss of 17.1 percent in year-on-year revenue, though solid worldwide performances for titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance boosted earnings. Konami's finances are buoyed by the success of Metal Gear Solid Social Ops and another popular online game, Dragon Collection, which it operates in partnership with Japanese social networking service GREE. Konami's social games currently boast more than 35 million registered users worldwide.
Activision Blizzard closes out Q1 2013 with $1.32 billion net revenue
The first quarter of Activision Blizzard's fiscal 2013 has come to a close, with the massive developer/publisher reporting $1.324 billion in net revenue for the three months ending March 31, 2013. This figure is $164 million beyond Activision Blizzard's prediction for the quarter ($1.16 billion), and 12.96 percent more than the $1.172 billion earned during the same period last year. "The shift in release dates of competing products, the disappointing launch of the Wii U, uncertainties regarding next-generation hardware, and subscriber declines in our World of Warcraft business all raise concerns, as do continued challenges in the global economy," CEO Bobby Kotick said in the report. "For these reasons, we remain cautious." Despite this, Activision Blizzard is raising its net revenue outlook for calendar year 2013 by 3.3 percent, from $4.085 billion to $4.22 billion. Kotick attributed the company's successful quarter to Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and World of Warcraft, as well as continued consumer interest in Call of Duty and Skylanders.
EA revenues over $1B in fiscal Q4, down from last year
Following a weak third quarter in its fiscal 2013 calendar, EA has reported strong digital sales in the home stretch but an overall decline in revenue. The three months leading to March 31, 2013, generated $1.209 billion for EA, compared to last year's final quarter revenue of $1.368 billion. Digital sales in particular showed a 22 percent increase in cash flow to the tune of $108 million, over $88 million during the same period as last year. In the financial report, EA claimed it was the top global publisher on the iOS App store for the entirety of its fiscal 2013. As for full fiscal year performance, EA reported net revenue of $3.797 billion, down from $4.143 billion in 2012. FIFA 13 sold 14.5 million copies for EA, a 30 percent increase over last year's game, and Battlefield 3's Premium subscription service generated $120 million. SimCity has sold 1.6 million copies, with half of those sales coming via online purchases.
Zynga sees revenues and users decline in Q1, Draw Something 2 out today
Social game publisher Zynga has revealed financial results for the first quarter of 2013. The company posted revenue of $263.5 million, a significant decline from the $320.9 million posted during the first quarter last year. Zynga saw its user numbers decline as well. Daily active, monthly active and monthly unique users fell across the board. Despite these losses, Zynga recorded a net income of $4.1 million, as compared to a $85.3 million loss during the same period last year. The company identified FarmVille 2 as "a breakout hit with daily audience engagement and bookings exceeding the company's expectations." For the second quarter, the publisher is predicting a net loss of $36.5 million to $26.5 million. Zynga posted a huge loss of over $200 million for 2012, and today's results follow a string of rocky news for the company, including high-profile departures, game shutdowns and multiple studio closures or consolidations. Earlier this year, J.P. Morgan sold the majority of its stock in the company. At the very least, Zynga is looking to keep its current stable of executives on board with the promise of larger salaries. Alongside its financials, Zynga announced that Draw Something 2 is launching today. Dan Porter, former CEO of Draw Something studio OMGPOP, left Zynga earlier this month.
Konami revenues, income down year-over-year, still profitable
Konami has released its year-to-date financial information for the nine month period ending on December 31, 2012, and while the company has posted significant year-over-year losses, it is still reporting a profit in all areas.So far, Konami has accrued revenues of ¥160.1 billion ($1.71 billion), down nearly 18 percent from the ¥194.5 billion it had earned by the end of calendar 2011. Likewise, net income (read: post-tax profit) was down 48 percent; ¥8.82 billion ($94.6 million) as compared with the ¥17 billion reported this time last year. Konami's "Digital Entertainment" division, responsible for all video games and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, brought in roughly half of the company's overall revenues with ¥80.5 billion ($861.1 million) reported.Konami also produces a wide assortment of slot machines and pachinko games for western and Japanese markets: Its "Gaming & Systems" and "Pachinko & Pachinko Slot Machines" segments, respectively. While all of Konami's divisions suffered losses, its Pachinko division experienced the most severe year-over-year disparity, reporting a 77.8 percent decrease in revenue versus last year.
Activision Blizzard sees 'best performance in history' during 2012
Activision Blizzard and its many, many franchises brought in $4.85 billion dollars in net revenue over the course of calendar 2012, with $1.76 billion of that hitting its coffers during the three month period ending on December 31, 2012. Digital sales represented 32 percent of that total annual new revenue, raking in $1.54 billion.As far as actual profit is concerned, Activision Blizzard reports net post-tax income of $1.14 billion for the year and $354 million for Q4; a 5.8 and 257 percent year-over-year increase, respectively."Activision Blizzard delivered the best performance in its history," CEO Bobby Kotick said in the financial statement. "In the short-term, we expect to continue delivering strong profitability, but below our record setting 2012 performance, due to a challenged global economy, the ongoing console transition and a difficult year-over-year comparison because of Blizzard's record-shattering Diablo 3 success in 2012."In addition to said Diablo 3 success, Activision Blizzard also lists Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 2 and Skylanders among the many reasons that it had such a successful year, with Skylanders as a series having crested $1 billion in lifetime sales.Looking forward, Activision Blizzard anticipates total net revenues for calendar 2013 to ring up at $4.08 billion, with $1.16 billion of that being generated during the year's first quarter.
Disney Interactive was Disney's least profitable branch in Q1 2013
Despite revenues of $291 million during the three month period ending December 29, 2012, Disney Interactive's remaining $9 million in operating revenue (read: pre-tax profit) made it the entertainment giant's least profitable division during the first quarter of the fiscal 2013.Still, this was a marked increase over Disney Interactive's Q1 2012 performance, where it posted a loss of $28 million. Being back in black is even more impressive when you consider Interactive's reported an operating loss of $42 million just last August, making it Disney's only unprofitable sector at the time. Disney attributes this year's growth to improved performance in its social gaming businesses in the Japanese market, where a new licensing agreement has increased the amount of Disney-branded hardware and software.Of course, Disney's financial report made no mention of Junction Point or its sordid fate, but that's to be expected since the studio's closure technically happened during the second quarter of fiscal 2013. We may gain some new insight into that situation during the next round of quarterlies, but for now, all we've got to go on is Mickey's increasing popularity in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Logitech to phase out production of console gaming accessories
The third quarter of fiscal 2013 wasn't especially awesome for Logitech, despite the fact that I personally spent 30 of my own dollars on a wireless keyboard within that time frame. Whereas the same period last year saw a net profit of $55 million, Logitech posted a net loss of $194.9 million in its most recent earnings report.As a result, some of Logitech's divisions will be scaled back, while others will be discontinued altogether. "We have initiated the process to divest our remote controls and digital video security categories, and we plan to discontinue other non-strategic products, such as speaker docks and console gaming peripherals," said Logitech president/CEO Bracken P. Darrell.While Logitech's console peripheral business will disappear, the company's PC gaming offerings will remain unchanged. We've also been able to confirm that Logitech console accessories that have already been purchased will continue to exist, and will not crumble into piles of dust. These cost reduction measures are expected to take place "by the end of Calendar Year 2013."
Microsoft fiscal 2013, Q2: Xbox still on top, Entertainment revenue down
Microsoft's financial statement for the three month period ending December 31, 2012 (aka Q2 fiscal 2013) has been released, and amid the breakdowns of the Windows Division's revenue increase and the Server & Tool division's year-over-year whatever is some information our readers actually care about.Specifically, the Entertainment and Devices Division, which includes everything Xbox, experienced an 11 percent year-over-year decrease in revenue as compared with 2011; $3.77 billion versus $4.23 billion, respectively. Still, the Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the United States, as it has been for the last 22 months.As a whole, Microsoft's Q2 revenue (read: gross income) rang up at $21.45 billion, up three percent when compared to 2011, but its operating (read: net) income went down by three percent to $7.77 billion, which is only enough to buy about 26.7 billion mechanical pencils.
RIM: QWERTY BlackBerry 10 phone launches in 'close proximity' to its all-touch cousin
RIM hasn't had much good news to offer along with its glum fiscal first quarter, but it has given a reason to mark early 2013 on the calendar if you're a BlackBerry fan. CEO Thorsten Heins revealed during the results call that the first QWERTY BlackBerry 10 phone will arrive in "close proximity" to its touchscreen-only counterpart. What that entails is still very much under wraps, although there were clues. Heins stressed that the early batch would focus on the "premium" space, while BlackBerry 7 would hold down the entry and mid-range markets until their BlackBerry 10 replacements were ready. The tidbits won't provide much comfort to someone who has to decide on a phone by the holidays, but they hint that the truly patient could be rewarded for their calm under pressure.
EA 2012 financials: Q4 revenue and income up year-over-year, 2012 revenue up, income down
Publishing giant Electronic Arts has issued its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2012 and fiscal 2012 as a whole and, wouldn't you know it, a year with a new Mass Effect game results in revenue totals that are much higher than years without Mass Effect games.Looking at just the fourth quarter of 2012, EA's total net revenue stacked up at $1.36 billion, a 24 percent increase over the $1.09 billion reported at the end of this same period last year. Net revenue generated from digital sales nearly doubled year-over-year, $419 million in Q4 2012 as opposed to $211 million in Q4 2011 – a 98 percent increase.Packaged goods still made up the majority of the publisher's revenue, however, at $949 million, up from $879 in Q4 2011. Net income for the period was also up year-over-year, $400 million for the period ending on March 31, 2012 as compared with $151 million for the same period in 2011. Naturally, EA contributes its successful fourth quarter to the release of Mass Effect 3 and the continued popularity of FIFA 12.Fiscal 2012 as a whole presents a slightly different story. While net revenue was up 15 percent year-over-year ($4.14 billion in fiscal 2012 vs. $3.58 billion in fiscal 2011), net income fell 263 percent, from $276 million in fiscal 2011 to just $76 million in fiscal 2012.Looking forward to fiscal 2013, EA expects an approximate net revenue of $4.07 billion, $950 million of which it expects to earn during the first fiscal quarter of 2013, which ends on June 30, 2012.
EA spending $80 million on next-gen development over next year
According to EA's results for fiscal 2012, the period from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012, it's been a good year. The publisher saw growth across many sectors, but perhaps most surprising was talk of investing $80 million in development of games for "Gen4 console systems" over the next 12 months, EA's fiscal 2013.It speaks to not only when we could potentially get our hands on some new hardware, but is potentially indicative of how much cash a major publisher will need in order to produce games for the next generation of AAA blockbusters. $80 million for one "Samaritan" seems like par for the course, right? That's how much we imagine it'll cost to produce one game in Superfuture 2013.
