Konami Sees 117 Percent Sales Boost, MGS4 Ships 3 Million

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots shipped 3 million units worldwide on its release date, Konami said as it released its financial results for the fiscal first quarter of 2008. Konami's sales in the quarter came to ¥70,805 million ($656.14 million), the company announced , a 116.7 percent increase over the same period last year. Sales of MGS 4 are still "steadily increasing," the publisher said. At the same time, Konami's profits were also greatly up, totaling ¥11,611 million ($107.60 million), a 165.6 percent increase year-over-year. Konami also said that MGS 4, which it called "the first software for PlayStation 3 that uses the full capacity of the Blu-Ray Disc," also earned the Excellence Prize at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival organized by the government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party, Karaoke Revolution and American Idol: Encore also "continue to sell well" in North America, Konami said, while Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is "highly popular and continues to do well" in Europe. Also in North America, Konami plans to develop the multiplatform MLB Power Pros and focus on music games -- for example, the publisher is aiming Rock Revolution as a companion to DDR. The publisher also said its online business will focus on Metal Gear Online and the upcoming RPG Chaotic Eden, which will be released in South Korea. "We also intend to introduce new titles and new Konami original content for game consoles that have network functions as part of their standard equipment to encourage download marketing," said Konami.