14 DAY TRIAL // Sega has revealed to its investors that its profits fell steeply over the course of the last financial quarter, following last year's optimistic performance.
The corporation has revealed that its revenue for the April-June trading period more than halved, and the company's video game business recorded a swing to operating losses.
Although Sega's revenue came in only slightly below the sum it made during the same period last year, the corporation's expenses pulled its profits down significantly.
Sega blames uncertainty in the Japanese economy for its drop in profits, saying that interest in packaged retail products continues to drop, and that demand for mobile games is increasing, which is why the company continues to accommodate the trend.
Sega now has 73 pay-to-play games on the market and 61 free-to-play ones, with the latter figure poised to see an increase in the near future.
It has been revealed that it sold 1.7 million retail games over the quarter, 640k in Europe, 640k in the United States and 420k in Japan, and has mentioned that its digital game sales for PC and mobile were very good.
The company did not release any big PC or console titles during the April-June period, which is also a factor to take in when comparing its performance with previous quarters, where it had Football Manager 2014 and Total War: Rome 2 to drive up income.
The company's next big release is Alien: Isolation, a first-person survival horror video game that is heavy on the atmosphere, being developed by The Creative Assembly.
The only title released in the quarter was Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, a Nintendo 3DS exclusive title that has only hit the Japanese market so far, selling over 250k units.
However, the company is still doing good in the arcade sector, with the bulk of its income coming from its Japanese Pachinko and Pachislot businesses.
The year ahead will see the release of Sonic Boom and Alien: Isolation, both of them potential haymakers for Sega. While Sonic Boom is hard-pressed to evoke enthusiasm in the ever-waning audience that Sega's mascot has, Alien: Isolation might prove to be a hit if it manages to deliver what fans of the Alien brand actually want.
Unfortunately, Aliens: Colonial Marines tarnished the Aliens brand to the point where even if The Creative Assembly manages to make a good game, the association might end up hurting them.
In addition to this, the company will also get royalties from the upcoming Nintendo Wii U exclusive Bayonetta 2.
Sega's overall revenue was down 2.6 percent year over year, and its profits were down 57.4 percent year over year, according to its financial report, which is not bad at all, considering the lack of recent releases.