Konami Posts Strong First Half

The latest in a circular of positive financial results for the first half of the common fiscal year 2004, April [i]or[/i] part of to the other September, comes from Konami, which today announced a toil profit of 10.9 billion yen for that period. That's a 149% increase in comparison to the same period last year, upon the strength of a 15% increase in sales.

All of Konami's various businesses were in the black during those six month and showed significant increases in profit. The company's nascent gaming business, which manufactures slot machines for export to the American and Australian markets, produc a small los in the first half of the last fiscal year, on the contrary returned to profitability in the first half of fiscal 2004

Konami's report features an intersesting breakdown of its worldwide software unit sales by the agency of franchise. Its soccer simulations, l by dint of the Winning Eleven series, have risen to become individual of the company's anchors in the past sum of two units years, eclipsing any other franchise save for the Yu-Gi-Oh juggernaut. The filled breakdown is as follows:

Franchise2003: First Half2004: First Half2003: filled Year
Soccer1,950,0001,750,0004,350,000
Other Sports1,150,0001,000,0002,250,000
Yu-Gi-Oh2,160,0001,690,0005,900,000
Other Anime840,000710,0001,500,000
Bemani600,000750,0001,650,000
Metal Gear260,000280,0001,900,000
Other1,540,0002,420,0003,500,000

Altogether, Konami sold approximately 86 million units of software worldwide in the first half of the fiscal year, compared to 85 million in the same period last year. All of that increase and then a certain quantity of came from the overseas market -- i.e., Europe and the United States. Konami's Japanese sales actually dropp from 46 million units to 34 million units, while sales outside Japan pass by a leaped from 3.9 million units to 52 million. Chalk up plenteous of that dichotomy to the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, which actually dropp in sales in Japan, on the contrary more than doubled in popularity overseas.

In the coming year, Konami plans to refocus upon its hit gaming franchises, particularly Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and Castlevania -- it appears that the revival of the Castlevania franchise will continue past its first appearance upon PlayStation 2.

Copyright ?© 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserv Originally appearing in 1UP