Here's Final Fantasy XIV's influence on Square Enix's earnings

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Square Enix's rebooted MMO which launched last August, has sold 1.5 million copies, boosting the company's financial results remarkably. Square Enix said earlier this week that sales of the rebooted MMO had taken it completely by surprise. The company's latest financial results, as released today, paint the full picture, showing the extent as to how A Realm Reborn has saved Square Enix's first fiscal half. The game sold 1.1 million retail copies, and 350,000 digital copies. The company noted that 600,000 players have already chosen to pay for a subscription -- a figure that has already exceeded the peak number of players who paid for additional content in Final Fantasy XI Online. As a result, the company's Digital Entertainment division recorded a swing to profits. It saw revenues of 30.6 billion yen ($310.5 million), down 0.4 percent year-over-year, and operating income of 3.5 billion yen ($35.5 million), compared to operating losses of 2.1 billion yen ($21.3 million) year-over-year. But it was also the company's Amusement machines business that helped the company to boosted profits, thanks in part to notable sales for the Lord of Vermilion III machine. For the six months ended September 30, 2013, Square Enix recorded revenues of 61.6 billion yen ($625.1 million), up 1 percent year-over-year, and profits of 2.6 billion yen ($26.4 million), a swing to profits compared to losses of 5.5 billion yen ($55.8 million). Looking to the rest of the fiscal year, the company says that it will continue to focus on shifting to the production of online-based titles, and expanding its influence in territories like Asia.