Square Enix Profit Up 14 Percent Thanks To Dragon Quest V DS

Square Enix says Dragon Quest V sold 1.15 million units in Japan alone since its July launch, helping drive the publisher's fiscal first half profits up 13.9 percent to ¥6 billion ($61.8 million). The improved profitability came even alongside slight revenue decreases; the company saw a 5.9 percent drop year-over-year to 68 billion yen ($693 million) during the April to September term, down from 72.3 billion yen ($737.4 million) in 2007. Square Enix also released sales highlights specific to its key portfolio titles: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for PSP (620,000 units and 1.92 million lifetime sales), Final Fantasy IV for DS (440,000 units and 1.04 million lifetime to date), Infinite Undiscovery for Xbox 360 (410,000 units), Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for DS (320,000 units, and 620,000 lifetime to date), Dragon Quest IV for DS (260,000 units and 1.42 million lifetime to date), and The World Ends With You for DS (160,000 units and 370,000 lifetime sales). Tokyo-based Square Enix's Japan sales rose modestly from 84 to 86 percent, but sales from other regions lessened, demonstrating that the company is challenged in increasing worldwide sales diversity. North America comprised 7 percent of sales, Europe 6 percent, and other regions 1 percent for the first half of the fiscal year. The developer and publisher predicts its profits to jump to 23.4 percent to 12 billion yen ($122.4 million) for the full fiscal year, significantly increased from 9.2 billion yen ($93.8 million) in its previous fiscal year. Revenues are expected to rise 7.8 percent to 160 billion yen ($1.6 billion), up from 147.5 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in 2007 - but software sales for the full year will decrease from 14.4 million to 11.5 million.