Sega Kicks Off Fiscal Year With Strong Sales Thanks To Total War: Warhammer

It might not be a hit in Japan, but the rest of the world is fawning over Creative Assembly’s blend of Total War and Games Worskhop’s Warhammer. The May release of Total War: Warhammer helped push a 55 percent increase in video game sales over the same quarter last year.

Total company sales climbed to ¥70.6 billion ($693.9 million) for the quarter, up 33 percent year-over-year. Operating income was in the positive ¥3 billion ($29.5 million) against a loss of ¥9.4 billion ($92.4 million) in the same quarter last year.

The results of those improvements brought net profits into the black ¥4.1 billion (440.3 million). Last year saw a net loss of ¥7.9 billion ($77.6 million).

With the recent acquisition of Amplitude, developer of the Endless franchise, Sega is looking to establish itself as a strategy powerhouse. The publisher adds that studio to its existing duo of Relic and Creative Assembly.

The remainder of Sega’s year includes Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, and Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. In addition to its video game business, Sega saw gains in its pachislot/pachinko business and its resorts.

[Source: Sega]

Our Take
Sega is smart to build itself a firm foothold in strategy gaming. It’s assembled a trio of smart studios that approach the genre in different ways that complement without cannibalizing sales. With Atlus, the publisher also has a smart, stable RPG house that continues to successfully deliver titles that many other companies would avoid.