14 DAY TRIAL // Sega has just released its financial report for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2015, offering us a lot of information on the performance of its titles and outlining the direction the company's future efforts will be channeled toward.
Sega has revealed that the Persona series reached over 6 million total copies sold, of which 280k units were of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. The figure is projected to rise even more, with the release of Persona 4: Dancing All Night and Persona 5 scheduled for this fiscal year, coming to both Japan and western markets.
According to the report, Alien: Isolation sold over 2.1 million copies since its release in October 2014, and Sega isn't at all pleased with its performance.
Sega's other big hitters failed to reach the numbers the company had hoped for, with Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal having sold only 620k units across Europe, North America and Japan.
Furthermore, Football Manager 2015 sold 810k units, while Yakuza 0 sold 380k units, bringing the total aggregate software sales figure to over 12 million, which Sega views as disappointing.
The company saw an overall increase in packaged game sales, but Sega called the performance "weak," blaming a harsh market environment for it.
Free-to-play will become Sega's main focus
In view of this, Sega has revealed its plans regarding its entertainment business, stating that the smartphone and PC digital game landscapes are its main focus, with the most potential for growth.
Sega aims to release a number of 47 digital titles in the upcoming fiscal year, almost all of which are going to be free-to-play games. The free-to-play business model will represent Sega's center of growth moving forward.
Sega has unveiled its expectations for the coming fiscal year, projecting a 60 percent growth of its digital software division. The company also expects its packaged games division to register a dip of 8 percent in sales year over year.
It seems that fans of Sega's old properties are going to be let down by the direction the company is taking for the future. People have been complaining that Sega is getting worse and worse already, and with 46 free-to-play games slated for FY2016, it's unlikely that the company will be able to sway critics toward a more favorable outlook.