fy-2012
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Nintendo downloadable game sales more than double this year
Wii U sales may be struggling but Nintendo's download business is booming. As part of its financial briefing today, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that the company's downloadable game sales surpassed ¥16 billion ($160.9 million), more than doubling sales of the previous year. Download sales also handily eclipsed the banner year of 2010, when "both the Wii and Nintendo DSi systems were actively used."Iwata noted that the majority of Nintendo customers have taken their 3DS online. That includes 87 percent of users in Japan and 83 percent in America. Europe's connection rate is significantly lower at 57 percent. The Wii U, meanwhile, has an 80 percent connection rate worldwide.Iwata also mentioned the surprising viewing habits for the company's Nintendo Direct presentations. For recent presentations, he said, "it became common to see total views for a single video reach five hundred to six hundred thousand in a matter of about 10 days on the Nintendo eShop while they did not show apparent growth on YouTube." In fact, it seems that the eShop is now the most popular source for Nintendo Direct, accounting for "approximately 60 to 70 percent" of total views. That might sound like a surprising statistic, especially given the immense presence of YouTube, but Iwata noted that the eShop appeals to viewers "who do not own their own PCs or smart devices."
GameStop concludes fiscal year with net loss, CEO calls 2012 a 'challenging year'
GameStop announced the results of it 2012 fiscal year (ending Feb. 2, 2013) today, with revenues of $403 million, which is slightly down from the $405.1 million in fiscal 2011. Due to "restructuring, impairment and debt retirement expenses of $680.7 million primarily related to goodwill impairment," the company saw a net loss of $269.7 million (2011: net earning of $339.9)."While 2012 was a challenging year for console gaming, we focused on factors within our control. We expanded our market leadership position, maintained our financial strength and controlled our spending," said CEO Paul Raines in a company statement. "Perhaps most importantly, we invested in our mobile and digital businesses to position the company for future success. These channels delivered as planned and significantly contributed to our highest ever gross margin and profitability."Short version: Gamestop spent to prepare for the future. The company expects a return to growth with the launch of "at least one next generation console by holiday." There's also the launch of Grand Theft Auto, which was specifically called out as a highlight of this holiday.
Capcom sales, income up in 2012
Capcom continued its recent financial boon with a net income of 6.6 billion yen ($72 million), up 104.9 percent, for the first nine months of its fiscal year, which will end on March 31, 2013. Capcom attributed the success to launches of major games, the growing popularity of its social games in Japan, and its newly introduced Resident Evil 5 slot machine. Sales were up 44 percent during the same period from last year.While both Resident Evil 6 and DmC: Devil May Cry saw significant reductions to their end-of-fiscal-year projections, Capcom is pleased by the performances of Dragon's Dogma, which exceeded expectations to become a million-seller last year, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, which racked up over 600,000 sales during its first month in Japan.
Disney's mobile, social push improves its bottom line
Disney Interactive, the arm of Walt's empire that handles video games, saw an operating loss of $216 million for the fiscal year 2012, which ended on September 29. Loss for the quarter came to $76 million, an improvement of $18 million from Q4 2011.Revenue for the year decreased 14 percent from 2011's $982 million, bringing 2012 to $845 million – the $216 million loss, however, improved from 2011's $308 million. Disney attributed the loss improvement to a focus on social games and decreased production of console games:"Improved segment operating results for the year reflected an increase at our social games business.... The reduction in console games product development reflected an ongoing shift from console game releases to mobile and social game releases."In 2011, Disney Interactive shut down all core studios except for Junction Point, the house responsible for the Epic Mickey series. Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion on October 30, and the deal included LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, the Star Wars games and effects studios. During the acquisition, Disney said it was likely to develop social and mobile games in the Star Wars universe, leaving console games to licensed third parties.
Disney Interactive is only division running at a loss
The Walt Disney Company saw the largest earnings in the company's history for the quarter ending June 30, which is all sunshine and lollipops until you get down to the interactive (games) division. A year after gutting nearly all its core projects – and shuttering all core studios except Epic Mickey studio Junction Point (under the protection of Warren Spector) – the interactive division is the only part of the conglomerate operating at a loss.Sales during the quarter were down 22 percent from the same period last year to $196 million, with an operating loss of $42 million, which is better than the $86 million loss last year. The improvement is thanks to social games. The company is still in an "ongoing shift from console games to social and other interactive platforms."There is one exception to that: Junction Point's Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, which will be available this November. Hopefully, sales of the sequel will let the House of Mouse continue to show leniency toward Junction Point.
Namco Bandai game business up 32% in fiscal quarter, Soulcalibur 5 leads sales
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.
Activision brings in $1.08 billion in Q2: more than expected, but less than last year
Activision Blizzard beat its outlook for its fiscal Q2 (ending June 30), bringing in $1.08 billion in revenue – the outlook as of May predicted $950 million. This still falls short of the same period last year.It's no mystery as to where Activision's money came from. "For the first six months, we had the top three best-selling games in North America and Europe with Activision Publishing's Skylanders Spyro's Adventures and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Blizzard Entertainment's record setting Diablo III," reported Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. In addition, Activision reported $343 million in revenue from its digital channels (WoW subscriptions and Call of Duty maps), representing an impressive 32% of total revenue.
Barnes & Noble's Q4 and FY 2012: revenue up, losses up, hopes Microsoft hurries up
Barnes & Noble has released its financial results for both the final quarter and full financial year of 2012. It's a picture of a company that's holding steady in the face of continued onslaught from its rivals, albeit with some hope on the horizon. In preparation for its as-yet-unnamed venture with Microsoft, the company has begun the process of spinning off its Nook and College businesses -- while sales from stores and BN.com now come under the umbrella term of "retail." On that front, it sold $1.1 billion worth of books in the quarter and $4.85 billion for the year -- down from $4.92 billion in 2011. Nook-wise, the company had turnover of $933 million, with device sales increasing 1 percent for the quarter and 45 percent of the year -- but had to eat a loss on taking back unsold Simple Touch readers. Content sales on its various devices increased 65 percent in the quarter and 119 percent in the year -- clearly showing where the market is headed.
Take-Two ends fiscal '12 with loss, high '13 projection raises eyebrows
Take-Two Interactive's revenues for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, were $825.8 million, short of last year's $1.14 billion, because it didn't have Red Dead Redemption in it. Last year's breakout star, L.A. Noire, did well with 5 million units shipped, but that doesn't compare to the more than 13 million units (8.5 million at that time) done by Red Dead Redemption.Overall, the publisher had a net loss of $108.8 million for the year, compared to the $48 million profit in the previous year.Here's where things get interesting: During this afternoon's investor call, CEO Strauss Zelnick reiterated a point from earlier in the call that there are "titles yet to be announced for fiscal 2013." This is significant because the company expects revenues of $1.75 - $1.85 billion for the fiscal year ending next March. Look back at that blockbuster Red Dead Redemption year, and note that revenues reached $1.14 billion. So, what's the deal?Officially, at this time, Take-Two plans to launch Borderlands 2 in September, NBA 2K13 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown in October and, finally, BioShock: Infinite in February. Although any one of those could be a runaway hit, there's still $600-$700 million missing over that impressive Red Dead year to hit the projection. Either Grand Theft Auto 5 is secretly on the docket for this year or Take-Two is expecting blockbusters from more than one of the announced games.
NBA 2K13 slotted for October 2
NBA 2K13 is set to launch on October 2 for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP and PC, Take-Two Interactive announced today. This is in line with the October precedence set by previous NBA 2K titles. Developer 2K Sports has yet to reveal any details about the game, but our best guess is that it will feature an orange ball and some tall dudes.2K13's direct predecessor, NBA 2K12, shipped 5 million units, Take-Two said.
Max Payne 3 ships 3 million units, PC launch pushed worldwide June 1
Max Payne 3 has shipped 3 million units since hitting shelves last week, publisher Take-Two Interactive revealed in its FY 2012 financial report.Take-Two also announced Max Payne 3 is now scheduled with an international PC release date of June 1. Rockstar initially planned to launch Max Payne 3 for North American PCs on Tuesday, May 29, but has pushed that back to meet the standard European launch day of Friday that week. All's fair in love and gritty, noir-style war.
THQ sees net loss of $239.9 million, still in business
THQ saw a net loss of $239.9 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, $100 million more than the previous fiscal year's loss of $136.1 million."We have made significant changes to our business, and are on track to execute our strategy of delivering quality connected core gaming experiences, beginning with the sequel to the award-winning Darksiders in August," president and CEO Brian Farrell said in a THQ earnings statement.THQ has seen a rough year, with plummeting revenue despite the success of Saints Row: The Third and WWE '12. THQ laid off 240 employees, slashed the salaries of its head honchos and cut its "kids' licensed video games" department earlier this fiscal year, following quarter losses of nearly triple the previous period.THQ has sold through 84 percent of its shipped uDraw tablets and expects to sell its remaining inventory in fiscal 2013. The company's "future kids' license commitments" have been reduced by $30 million, THQ reports.THQ describes its emergency layoffs, salary cuts and company rehashing as follows: "The company exited the traditional kids' licensed games business, and streamlined its product line, organization and cost structure to support a smaller company positioned for sustained profitability."
South Park: The Game delayed to early 2013
South Park: The Game was originally announced with a launch in the second half of 2012, but it has been pushed to Q4 of FY2013, THQ's financial statement reveals. THQ's financial years run April through March, putting the new launch window in early 2013 territory.Developer Obsidian Entertainment was hit with layoffs in March, with a few losses coming from the South Park: The Game development team.
Ubisoft profits in 2012, 'core gamers' drive rise in sales
Ubisoft ended the 2012 financial year on the up, reporting a gross profit of €718 million ($917 million) and sales up 2.1 percent to €1 billion ($1.4 billion) year-over-year, according to its financial results for 2011-2012.Ubisoft ended fiscal 2011-12 with net income of €37.3 million ($47.6 million), up from a net loss of €52.1 million ($66.5 million) in the 2011 fiscal year.Sales from "core gamers" in Assassin's Creed Revelations, Rayman Origins, Driver San Francisco and free-to-play title The Settlers Online generated €578 million ($738.1 million) in revenue, Ubisoft reported. Casual games brought in €483 million ($616.8 million) in revenue, mainly from Just Dance, Rocksmith and free-to-play title Howrse.Core and casual titles contributed to a 110.8 percent jump in online and digital sales, bringing that figure to €80 million ($102.1 million), Ubisoft reported.Ubisoft's net cash position is down from €99.2 million ($126.6 million) in 2011 to €84.6 million ($108 million) in 2012, while current operating income rose 90 percent to €56 million ($71.5 million) year-over-year.
Sony shares drop to 31-year low in Japan, 19-year low in US
Shares of Sony stock have dipped to their lowest number in 31 years in Japan and to a 19-year low in the US, following a dismal earnings report for the previous fiscal year. Sony shares dropped 7 percent in Japan, to 1,135 Yen ($14), and 2 percent in the US, closing at $15.37.Sony CEO Kaz Hirai plans to lose 10,000 employees in a company-wide reorganization effort. Sony reported a net revenue loss of 9.6 percent for fiscal year 2012, dropping from $89 billion to $79.1 billion year-over-year.
Namco Bandai has solid fiscal year thanks to Dark Souls, arcade sales
Namco Bandai saw a net income of 1.9 billion yen ($24 million) in its fiscal year 2012, with help from strong US sales of Dark Souls and Ace Combat Assault Horizon. Dark Souls sold 1.19 million units across the US and Europe, while Ace Combat Assault Horizon sold 1.07 million units in Japan, the US and Europe.Across all platforms, Namco sold 23.3 million software units, led by 8.5 million for PS3, 4.2 million for PSP and 3.2 million for Xbox 360. Revenue from Namco's mobile sector increased, although number of paid subscribers dropped from 3.34 million to 2.15 million year-over-year. Sales of Namco's arcade game machines grew from 56 billion yen ($701.3 million) in FY 2011 to 73.4 billion yen ($919.2 million) in FY 2012.
EA has 11 million strong on Origin, made $150 million in ten months
EA's Origin service has a registered 11 million members and has generated $150 million in non-GAAP revenue during the fiscal year from March 31, 2011 to April 1 this year, EA reports.EA's Nucleus, its cross-platform community network, now has 220 million members, EA says.EA recently allowed all 11 million members to provide feedback on Origin, its digital distribution service.
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.
Nintendo aims to flog 18 million 3DS, up to 10.5 million home consoles this fiscal year
All eyes are on Nintendo, now that it has revealed losses of $460 million. Buried in all of the financial paperwork were the revelations that it sells the 3DS at a loss, its plans for digital distribution and its projected sales figures for this year. It aims to flog 18.5 million 3DS handhelds and 10.5 million Wii consoles by March 31st 2013. But wait, what about the Wii U? That figure actually encompasses both old and new hardware, so it is either hoping for a sharp fall in Wii sales or a tough opening for the new baby. It's a bold pair of figures that relies upon how well New Super Mario Bros 2, Animal Crossing and the new hardware capture the public's imagination in a time when people are tightening their belts (especially if they've been using Wii Fit).
Sharp posts $1.4 billion extraordinary loss, refocuses on mobile displays
Sharp has reported an extraordinary loss of 117.1 billion yen ($1.4 billion) for the financial year ending March 2012. The company has cited restructuring costs and inventory losses as the causes for the write-down, but also projected that its TV business would lose a further 18.7 percent of its projected sales in the current year. The company has decided to convert some of its big-screen LCD production lines into mobile LCDs as it tries to reassert its dwindling display business. It's yet more bad news after the company sold part of its LCD manufacturing business to Hon Hai, Sony withdrew from a joint venture and refused to deal with Sharp in the future, plus an 86 percent collapse in profits.
