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Sony's final 2011 report shows a record net loss, optimism for 2012
After a slew of bad news and drastically restated projections, Sony has reported the numbers for its full 2011 financial year and as expected, they're not good. The company experienced a record net loss of 456.7 billion yen ($5.73 billion) and an operating loss of 67.3 billion yen. The good news to look forward to however, is that it currently expects an operating profit of 180 billion yen for next year. For the year, it also noted sales of 13.9 million units for the PlayStation 3, 6.8 million PSPs/PS Vitas, 19.6 million LCD TVs and 21 million cameras. Next year, Sony is looking to move 16 million PS3s and 33 million smartphones. New CEO Kaz Hirai has detailed the "One Sony" strategy he hopes will bring the company back to financial health but with its current worth standing at just a fraction of competitors like Samsung and Apple (Reuters pegs it at 10 percent and 3 percent, respectively), the electronics giant has a long, long way to go. Hit the source link below for more dirty financial details, slideshows and spreadsheets.
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).
NEC will cut 10,000 jobs after forecasting $1.3 billion annual loss, mostly in mobile phone biz
After releasing a revised financial forecast for FY 2011 that predicts an annual $1.3 billion loss, its third in the last four years, NEC announced it will cut around 10,000 jobs. Bloomberg Businessweek reports President Nobuhiro Endo announced the cuts, revealing most of the cuts will come from the company's mobile-phone handset business, with 7,000 of them expected to be in Japan. The company reportedly had 115,840 employees as of March so there should be a few folks left around to keep the lights on and maintain ventures like its new JV with NTT Docomo, Panasonic, Samsung and Fujitsu, the NEC Lenovo PC alliance, and its recently announced work on the Hayabusa 2 asteroid explorer. Still, we'll have to wait and see how the cuts affect upcoming cellphones, like any potential successors to its super-slim MEDIAS N-04C seen above.
Sony loses $3.2B, spends $170M in response to hacker attacks
Sony's bad year is getting a smidge worse. The company, which had previously predicted a healthy profit for the past fiscal year, is now expecting a loss of $3.2 billion for the period of April 2010 through March 2011. The reverse in fortunes is mostly due to writing off a $4.4 billion tax credit, although the company has been struggling with both the recent earthquake and hacker attack that disrupted operations of both its physical operations and online services. Sony CFO Masaru Kato doesn't beat around the bush: "In the first quarter, we saw quite a major impact on our manufacturing activities." Sony also has spent over $170 million in response to the hacking intrusion last month. These funds went to rebuilding the network, providing identity protection coverage, investigating the attacks, free game time, and customer support. This is the second straight year that Sony has operated at a loss, although last year's $439 million wasn't nearly as severe as this promises to be.
Sony estimates $3.2b loss this year, $171 million cost for PSN breach
It has not been a good year for Sony, which was affected both by the massive earthquake in March and the PSN outage that spanned from April into May. There couldn't be any doubt that those things would have a drastic impact on the company's bottom-line, and it's now taking the time to give investors an idea of just how big an impact that could be -- even though the financial issues lie largely elsewhere. Sony is set to announce its full financial report for its fiscal year this Thursday and, to soften the blow, estimates have been revised steeply downward. Previously Sony predicted a ¥70 billion ($855 million) profit, but now thinks a ¥260 billion ($3.14 billion) loss is rather more accurate -- a ¥360 billion non-cash charge taking the wind out of ¥200 billion in operating income. The earthquake was directly blamed for a loss of ¥22 billion, but that figure could certainly grow as this estimate is only through the end of March. Additionally, Sony has provided a early guess of a ¥14 billion (about $172 million) total cost for the PSN breach. That's less than two bucks per exposed account, but again we wouldn't be surprised if it's a figure that increases through the year. You know, once the lawyers start having their fun.
Nintendo profits fall 66% in fiscal year, 3DS sells 3.61 million
Nintendo's net income dropped to ¥77.6 billion ($946 million) for its fiscal year ending in March, marking the company's third year of profit declines. The figure is also well below the ¥200 billion ($2.13 billion) Nintendo estimated it would make at the conclusion of its previous fiscal year. If only Nintendo had some kind of distraction so investors wouldn't notice ... OMG, guyz, "Wii's successor" in 2012. Looking forward, Nintendo expects to have net sales of ¥1.1 trillion over the next year, a slight increase from the ¥1.01 trillion reported this year, but still below the ¥1.4 trillion in 2010 -- they may just be post-decimal figures when talking trillions, but those are hundreds of billions. The company is planning on a net income of ¥110 billion yen ($1.3 billion) by next March, through "vigorously" marketing the 3DS, releasing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii and selling software from its "long-selling 'evergreen' titles." Nintendo noted in its financial report that it has not suffered any direct damage of the recent "Great East Japan Earthquake," but that an indirect impact is predicted regarding "individual consumption patterns or economic conditions in the future." Global unit sales life-to-date (March) of the Nintendo DS, 3DS and Wii hardware were 146.4 million units, 3.61 million units and 86.01 million units, respectively. Nintendo is expected to reveal a playable model of the "Wii's successor" at E3.
Nintendo sells 3.61 million 3DS handhelds, but sees 2010 net profit decline by 66 percent
It's a "good news, bad news" kind of a day in Super Mario land, as Nintendo's announcement of a Wii successor has been followed up with the delivery of the company's financial results for fiscal year 2010, which don't make for happy reading. Nintendo's net sales of $12.4 billion for the period ending on March 31st 2011 was 29 percent less than it tallied during the previous year, while its $825 million of net profit was also a staggering 66 percent lower than it earned last year. The 3DS has sold well so far, reaching 3.61 million transactions worldwide, but the Wii is down to 15 million global sales, which marks a 25 percent contraction from its FY2009 total of 20 million. So the impetus for a hardware refresh of the Wii is clearly there, now it's just a matter of waiting for E3 to find out exactly how Nintendo plans to go about it.
NCsoft's Lineage enjoys record year, Aion growth boosts total revenue
It's been an up and down year for NCsoft, literally. GamesIndustry.biz writes that the Korean MMO titan has reported increases in both its sales and operating profits but a drop in net income in the recently concluded fiscal 2010 period. Surprisingly, the company's total revenue was up two percent due to unprecedented sales of the 12-year-old Lineage MMORPG. Much to the chagrin of fail-trolls across the internet, NCsoft has also publicized the fact that Aion continues to be a financial success after "recording consecutive growth for the last three years." Taken together, NCsoft's big three (Lineage, Lineage 2, and Aion) have now accounted for $2.7 billion in lifetime sales. NCsoft's largest success came courtesy of the booming Korean market (which represented a $370 million cut of its $576 million total revenue). Next up was the Japanese market at $70 million, followed by North America at $43.4 million and Europe at $30.1 million.
Star Wars: The Old Republic not planned for fiscal year 2011
If you're eagerly awaiting the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, even with the release window of April 2011 being thrown around, you could be forgiven for holding out hope that the game might get a slightly earlier release. (If you're sick of hearing about it, you might be hoping for an early release too, just so everyone will shut up.) But your hopes will not be borne out, it seems -- and the game might even come a bit later than we'd expected. John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, has stated again that the game is not expected to ship during fiscal year '11. Although he didn't reference Star Wars: The Old Republic by name, Riccitiello referred to a new MMO currently under development -- and CFO Eric Brown later referred specifically to the game as not being part of the '11 fiscal year forecast. The period under discussion ends on March 31st, 2011, which means that we can still look for the game early next year, but it's not getting pushed any faster. Still, it's only a year away, and that year could go quickly. [ via Joystiq ]
GameStop enjoys $9.08 billion in sales in FY2009, $377 million profit
GameStop made bank even in the bad economy. Reporting its fourth quarter and fiscal 2009 (ending January 20, 2010) results today, the retail juggernaut revealed it had $3.52 billion and $9.08 billion in sales during the quarter and full year, respectively. As for profits -- after taxes, depreciation, amortization, et al. -- the company earned $215.9 million for the quarter and $377.3 million for the year. CEO Daniel DeMatteo noted it was the company's second highest earnings year, "in spite of the weak worldwide economic environment" -- no kidding. New software sales accounted for 41.1 percent ($3.7 billion) of the company's total sales, while the sweet recycled nectar of used games came in second with 26.4 percent ($2.4 billion) -- the rest was new hardware and "other." GameStop expects its earnings to grow 14 to 18 percent in the coming year.
Konami income declines as expected in first half of fiscal 2010
Konami courteously warned its investors last week that the first half of this fiscal year had been ... unfavorable to the company. It forecasted a year-over-year decline in net income of 82%, falling from ¥12 billion ($132 million) in the first half of FY 2009 to ¥2 billion ($24 million) in the first half of FY 2010. This forecast now seems incredibly pessimistic in light of the recently released financial report, which reveals a net income decrease of 81%, down to ¥2.2 billion ($24.4 million) in the first half of FY 2010. See, Konami? Shake off that melancholy. That's one whole percent less than you expected to lose! Hey, you know what they say: When life takes one less lemon away from you than you expect it to take, then you can make lemonade with that lemon. Sure, it'll be fairly weak lemonade with just the one lemon, but it'll still be crisp and refreshing.
Capcom expects Lost Planet 2 to sell 3.7 million units in second half of fiscal year
Capcom's recently published financial report for the first half of the current fiscal year contains some fairly gutsy estimates for sales expectations of the developer's upcoming titles -- for instance, the report anticipates selling 300,000 copies of Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition by March 31, 2010. However, the company expects one game to be its biggest blockbuster by a fairly enormous sales margin: Lost Planet 2, which, according to the report, will sell 3.7 million copies in the second half of FY 2010. That's a fairly monumental increase compared to the sales statistics for the original Lost Planet, which has sold 2.28 million units life-to-date according to VGChartz. Don't get us wrong -- we've enjoyed what we've seen from the game thus far. However, if Capcom's hoping to approach that target, it may want to consider tossing some Pokémon in there. Perhaps a cameo by Master Chief, too, for good measure. Read: Capcom Results of Operations and Strategies report (.PDF)
Japanese gaming market continues to decline
We got our first indication that the Japanese gaming industry wasn't doing too hot in July, when gaming hardware and software sales from the first half of 2009 had dropped 24 percent from the same period last year. The recently released sales figures from the first half of fiscal 2009 (which runs from March 31 through September 28) are equally downtrodden: According to the industry analysts at Enterbrain, the Japanese games market fell 10.5 percent during this six-month period. That figure represents a 15.1 percent drop in hardware sales and a 7.5 percent decline in software sales. The various models of the Nintendo DS were the biggest sellers during this period, moving nearly 1.7 million units combined. Appropriately, the top two selling titles during the half-year were Dragon Quest IX, which sold nearly 4 million copies, and the recently released Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver editions, which sold a little over 2 million combined. Not faring quite as well are the PSP (813k units sold), Wii (594k units sold), PS3 (581k units sold) and Xbox 360, which moved a paltry 137k units in the first half of the fiscal year. No use crying over spilled milk, we suppose. Things can only go up from here! Unless, of course, they continue to go down. That's also an option. [Via Kotaku]
Ubisoft's net profit declined 37 percent in past fiscal year
It's time for another installment of "Sales Go Up, Profit Goes Down," the completely perplexing economic phenomenon that's been taking the gaming industry by storm as of late. Today's contestant is Ubisoft, who in April reported a 14 percent annual sales increase over the past fiscal year, from €928.3 million to €1.06 billion, yet recently revealed it had experienced a 37 percent (or €31 million) decrease in net profit during FY 2008.This might sound bad, but Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during a recent investor conference call he was pleased his company could, "offer superior quality games, while maintaining a high level of profitability." Oh, let's not forget the company's projected €1.1 billion sales target for the next fiscal year. With the amount of stuff the developer is working on, figures that huge wouldn't surprise us.
Konami posts record sales for previous fiscal year
Never, ever doubt the interminable power of a long-running football franchise or the appeal of mustachioed super spies. Konami just posted its sales figures for this past fiscal year (ending March 31, 2009), and it certainly seems it'll have an achievement worthy of hanging on mom's fridge. The company's total sales for the year reached a record sum of 309,771 million yen (or $3.25 billion, £2.15 billion), a year-over-year increase of 4.2 percent.Konami's net income actually fell 40.7 percent from last year, though its Digital Entertainment division (you know, the one that makes games) actually did quite well on its own -- it's operating revenue increased 123.4 percent for a total of 3,447 million yen last year. Allow us to convert that for you: It's a freaking ton of $s and £s.
Nintendo consoles had 62 new million-selling titles in past fiscal year
A recent Nintendo financial statement/press release was chock full of goodies for those patient enough to dig through all the Bob-ombast. First was a mighty impressive sales figure -- over the past fiscal year, 62 games (first and third-party) which have been released on the Wii and DS reached one million copies sold life-to-date. This brings the total number of million-sellers on Nintendo's current batch of systems to 145. That's a large enough number, even when you don't multiply it by one million.Other interesting tidbits came in the release's solemn reflection over the past fiscal year, where Nintendo claims credit for the "Gaming Population Expansion." Also, the company lays out its plans for the future, explaining that it will continue "capitalizing on being the only hardware platform producer with powerful in-house software development teams." Oh, snap! Massive flame war imminent! Joystiq Thermo-Shield, engage!
Square Enix might be squashing creativity
Gamers like innovation when it's implemented well and creatively. Take a look, for example, at the positive critical reception (from gamers, bloggers, and journalists alike) for Square Enix's The World Ends With You. Such a refreshing break from Square's usual sequels and remakes might be a thing of the past, though, after the company's profits for fiscal year 2007 dropped 21% from the previous year's earnings.According to Kotaku rumor, Square Enix higher ups were lashing out at developers in a meeting last month, claiming that the company's games are falling away from the mainstream crowd. Employees who continue to steer the company in this direction are apparently in danger of being fired.As this is a rumor based on hearsay, don't take it as fact just yet. Still, if it's true, then we can't help but worry that this might scare developers from coming up with original ideas like TWEWY and Sigma Harmonics. After all, we like seeing things other than sequels and remakes from the company.
Nintendo says 14 million Wii sold by March '08
It's no secret that the Nintendo DS and Wii have been printing money for the company, while Microsoft's Xbox profits and PS3's traction haven't kept pace. Sales continue to rise at Nintendo along with the stock price. Today Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said they're developing 45 games for the Wii and 79 new DS titles. Now, before anybody gets excited, the key word there is "developing," not "producing." The next batch of games according to Iwata will be introduced this "summer." There is no word yet when Nintendo will release their Q3 games list or what's on it. Iwata, in probably the boldest statement, said that Nintendo plans to sell 14 million Wii during this fiscal year, that's three times the number sold in the last five months. Guess they really are planning to ramp up production. The Wii hardware drought better end soon if Nintendo expects to make their ambitious mark.
Sun rises in the east, and the DS rakes in the money
Nintendo posted the final numbers for fiscal year 2006, and as expected, between the DS and the Wii, Nintendo's raking in piles of money that would make Scrooge McDuck's eyes pop. Is it the Wii? Alas, no; while Nintendo's latest has certainly been a powerhouse, the big N tells it like it is: 2006's major profits are due in large part to the DS. Last year, Nintendo sold more than 23 million DS units, raising the handheld's lifetime sales to over 40 million. Nintendo predicts similar numbers for the 2007 fiscal year, and triple the number of Wiis sold from release through March 31, 2006, for a total of 15 million units. That means that by this time next year, Nintendo's 226 billion yen profit will seem like small potatoes.It's good to be Nintendo right now.
