Today Sega announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended on March 31, 2018.
As you can see in the table below, all the income figures were in the black. While sales, in general, were higher than in the previous fiscal year, operating income was lower.
The same situation is recorded with the Entertainment content business, which includes the gaming segment (mobile/online/social, home games, and amusement machines).
The forecast for the next fiscal year predicts improvements for both sales and income both in general and for the Entertainment Contents business.
We also get a breakdown of the performance of the Entertainment Contents business, including a breakdown by region and a look at the upcoming titles for the current fiscal year and beyond.
Do keep in kind that the mention of 2020/3 does not mean that the new Yakuza game for PS4 is necessarily coming by March 2020 (even if it’s very likely considering the series’ usual development times). That table includes gaming in the current fiscal year and possibly after its end.
Also, it’s worth noting that this kind of report does not include all games but just examples, so the absence of Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers should not surprise.
Also, don’t get too excited about the three “new titles” listed in the last table, because those are mobile, online, or social games.
We also get a description of the performance of the gaming business in the current fiscal year. While the digital game segment (online, mobile, and social) didn’t do too well, this was offset by package games, in particular, older games from previous years that enjoyed “robust repeat sales.”
“In the field of digital game software, although the Group launched services for multiple new titles, these did not receive expected appraisal while existing titles in operation continued to decline in popularity, resulting in operating results significantly lower than the original estimates.
In the packaged game software field, while delays occurred in the release of some new titles, sales amounted to 23,440 thousand copies (17,330 thousand copies for the previous fiscal year), thanks to robust repeat sales of previously launched titles (catalog titles).”
Then we can read a breakdown of the outlook for gaming for the fiscal year ending in March 2020. Interestingly, talking about packaged games (on consoles and PC excluding online-only games), the goal is to strengthen IP development for multiple platforms in all regions. Multiple new titles that capitalize on Sega’s IP will also be released, while Sega will also focus on increasing profits coming from repeat sales of existing games.
“With regard to the Entertainment Contents Business, the Group will strive to improve profitability in the field of digital game software and to launch new titles in the packaged game software field.
In the field of digital game software, the Group will strive to optimize the number of titles in operation among existing titles for mobile devices and the number of new title launches, while striving to increase the rate of new titles that capitalize on IPs, which are expected to be more profitable. In addition, the Group aims to improve profitability by advancing resource allocation in the packaged game software field, etc.In the packaged game software field, the Group will further strengthen IP development for multiple devices in all regions as well as launching multiple new titles including titles that capitalize on IPs, such as the Official Video Games of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. At the same time, the Group aims to increase profitability through repeat sales of existing titles (catalog titles).”
If you want to read more about Sega’s plans, you can check out the translation of a recent interview with President Haruki Satomi.
