The games in question are Sonic Origins Plus and Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection, to which we can add the release of Company of Heroes 3 on PlayStation and Xbox. As of June 30, these releases accounted for only 740,000 sales in Sega’s accounts. Moreover, the publisher concedes that game sales in general were quite weak during this quarter. They amount to 4.8 million (including 1.2 million Sonic games) against 5.1 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Sega’s video game sales (consoles, PCs, mobiles) still reached 215 million euros, down slightly from last year (221 million euros). On the other hand, operating profit fell more sharply to 18.5 million euros (against 33.8 million euros a year earlier). This data includes free-to-play, a category whose biggest contributors remain Hatsune Miku Colorful Stage and Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis but which is also weakening overall.
A busy program
If Sega’s start to the year is therefore quite shy, the publisher is calm for the rest of the program. The proof, Sega plans to sell a total of 34.4 million games by March 2024, against 27.8 million in the previous year. It is from the start of the school year that things will start to move with Samba de Amigo: Party Central, Endless Dungeon, Total War: Pharaoh, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Persona 5 Tactica, Football Manager 24 , Sonic Superstars, Hyenas, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 Reload, so many titles that will normally be released before the end of the fiscal year.
A word on the results of the entire Sega Sammy group, which is benefiting handsomely from a strong comeback of the pachinko / pachislot market, previously damaged by several factors (the pandemic of course, but also the modifications imposed by the government Japanese to fight addiction). Profitable again, the slot machine market allows Sega Sammy to generate a quarterly net profit of 110 million euros, against 19.8 million euros a year earlier.
- Also to know → Note that Sega has not yet finalized the acquisition of Rovio and has extended its takeover bid until August 7 to settle the final details with the authorities.