Dip in coin consumption sees Gree's earnings tumble

Much like its rival DeNA, Japanese social games company Gree saw its earnings slide last quarter -- and like its rival, this was mainly down to a decrease in game currency consumption. Gree says that overall consumption of coins (its in-game currency) was down 10 percent quarter-over-quarter, mostly due to continued decline on feature phones and in browser. Coin consumption on smartphones now accounts for around 68 percent of the company's total coin consumption. The company says that its upcoming first-party and partner titles should do the trick, with 10 titles planned for release during the second half of the fiscal year -- although Gree still expects to see reduced profits for the next quarter too. For the second quarter ended December 31, 2013, Gree posted revenues of 32.6 billion yen ($320.1 million), down compared to 39.4 billion yen ($387.1 million) year-over-year, and profits of 7.4 billion yen ($72.7 million), down compared to 9.0 billion yen ($88.4 million) year-over-year. For the first nine months of this fiscal year, Gree forecasts revenues of 99 billion yen ($972.0 million), down 14 percent year-over-year, and profits of 14.5 billion yen ($142.4 million), down 36 percent year-over-year.