Sega swings to profit despite weak game sales
Sales low in US and Europe, but Bayonetta shifts 1.35m units worldwide, Aliens Vs Predator 1.69m units
Sega Sammy's consumer games business has swung to a profit for the year ended March 31, 2010, despite what it called "weak" videogames sales in the US and Europe.
Sales for the consumer division were down 7.5 per cent to ¥121.8 billion ($1.3bn / £916.9m), but profits up to ¥ 6.3 billion ($68.7m / £47.6m), compared to a loss last year of ¥ 941 million ($10.2m / £7m).
"In the home video game software industry, the demand was generally weak in the US and European markets," said the Sonic publisher.
The company revealed that is sold 1.35 million units of new IP Bayonetta in the US, Europe and Japan during the period, and 1.69 million copies of Aliens Vs Predator in the US and Europe.
However, the big seller for the period was Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, which in the US and Europe has sold 6.5 million units on the Wii and DS.
Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing sold 1 million units in the US and Europe across four formats. In Japan, Phantasy Star Portable 2 sold 600,000 units on PSP and Ryu Ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu wo Tsugumono (known as Yakuza 4 in the West) 560,000 units on PlayStation 3.
The company sold 26.75 million videogames during the full year.
For the entire group, Sega Sammy reported profits of ¥20.2 billion ($220m / £152.8m), with sales of ¥ 384.7 billion ($4.2bn / £2.9bn), down 10.4 per cent compared to the previous year.