Another financial report (like the Konami one we wrote about yesterday), another piece of evidence that the best source of revenue currently is mobile games as console games continue their unimpressive performances. Take Square Enix, for example. In the publisher’s most recent financial report covering the last three months, Square Enix declares that its Digital Entertainment section saw a 29.2% increase in Net Sales and a 81.6% increase in Operating Income when compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. More specifically, Square Enix stated that smartphone games like Dragon Quest Monsters Super Light, Schoolgirl Strikers, Final Fantasy Record Keeper, and Kai-ri-Sei Million Arthur “have continued to ride high on [their] already solid growth." DLCs for Enix’s MMO also had “favorable performances."
However, while mobile games are really helping Square Enix’s bottom line, console game sales of newer titles decreased from the same period last year with only sales of older games gaining “favorable" results. While it’s true that Square Enix didn’t release that many great games these last few months, the financial results once more justify Enix’s recent decision to set course away from the sterile land of console games and continue to sail in the profitable oceans of mobile gaming.
Even the words chosen to describe the performances of each type of game demonstrate how pleased Enix is with its mobile game division: mobile games are riding high on their already solid growth while PC games and older console games are merely having “favorable performances." This report shows once more that even though many gamers detest seeing great publishers like Square Enix setting sail for newer ports, these big companies are simply following the money trail, a trail that undoubtedly consists of mobile game earnings.
