Sega Sammy Shows Increased Profits, Consumer Boost

Japanese-headquartered amusement center, pachinko, and video game company Sega Sammy has announced its results for the first nine months of its fiscal year, and has revealed revenues of 420.8 billion yen ($3.56 billion), up 5.4% from the previous year, and a profit of 63.5 billion yen ($537 million), having made 46.2 billion yen ($391 million) in the year before, an impressive increase. As part of these results, Sega's console and handheld game division actually moved from a loss into a small profit of 2.2 billion yen ($18 million) for the year, including total game software sales of around 11.5 million units. This figure comprises 3.19 million units in Japan and in Asia, 3.95 million units in the U.S., and 4.33 million units in Europe. According to Sega Sammy, this was attributable to favorable sales of titles such as arcade conversion The King of Beetle Mushiking: Road to Greatest Champion, adult-oriented yakuza title Ryu Ga Gotoku, and Noryoku Trainer Portable in Japan. Overseas sales of Shadow the Hedgehog, which totaled 1.45 million copies sold worldwide despite a lackluster critical reception, according to an AFX News report. and other Sonic series during the Christmas season also contributed to the results. However, it's clear that Sega Sammy's main revenue and profits still comes from Japanese arcade and pachinko operations, and the arcade trading card titles The King of Beetle Mushiking, which apparently boasts great popularity mainly among elementary school children, and Oshare Majo Love and Berry are both significant hits in Japan, where the firm has a total of 472 amusement centers in operation.