Peace Walker, Game Biz Drive Konami Profit Spike

Konami's overall profits almost tripled during its first fiscal quarter -- and its video game segment's strength bore much of the credit for driving the boost, even in an environment where sales were slightly down year over year. The success of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which saw both its Japanese and U.S. launches in the three-month quarter ending June 2010, was the biggest factor, Konami said. The company also said strong performance of domestic titles like romance simulator Love Plus+ and Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story helped its games business raise sales from 24.6 billion yen ($285.75 million) to 25.1 billion ($291.56 million) year over year. Konami's overall business, which contains arcades, slot machines, toys and even fitness clubs, saw total sales decline from 56 billion yen ($650.4 million) to 53.1 billion ($616.8) yen year over year, but the games business drove an operating profit spike from 367 million yen ($4.2 million yen) to 1.27 billion yen ($14.8 million). The company's goal in the year ahead is to "continue to focus on the expanding overseas video game software market" with upcoming titles like Karaoke Revolution Glee, Def Jam Rapstar and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. "Furthermore, we will also devote our efforts to the online marketing of titles for the increasing number of game consoles with network connectivity as well as mobile phones and mobile terminals," said the company.