Last year, Nippon Ichi Software’s posted a massive decrease in operating profit from their consumer good’s division in the company’s third quarter financial report. This division, which handles video game development, reported 4,806,000 yen ($53,000*) in operating profit.
Fast forward to three quarters into this fiscal year (April 2010 – December 31, 2010) and Nippon Ichi Software looks like they are in better shape. The publisher reported 187,325,000 yen ($2.2 million) in operating profit for their consumer goods division.
Fewer titles were released in Japan during this period and their domestic lineup was PSP heavy. Blue Roses: The Fairy and the Blue-Eyed Warriors, Second Novel: Summer Girlfriend 15 Minutes of Memory, Phantom Brave Portable, and Criminal Girls were key domestic games. Overseas releases included: Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Vs. Darkdeath Evilman, ClaDun: This is an RPG!, Viral Survival, Trinity Universe, and Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland. Disgaea 4, one of the company’s major titles, will be released in Japan during the company’s fourth fiscal quarter.
Overall, Nippon Ichi Software still posted a net loss of 8,730,000 yen ($105,000). Losses were filed for their amusement/arcade division and a response to stock devaluations. While that sounds like bad news, compared to last year it’s actually a positive note. In 2010, Nippon Ichi Software posted a net loss of 231,213,000 yen ($2.5 million*). That’s a 96.2% decrease in net losses.
*These figures were calculated using the average yen to dollar exchange rate for February 2010.
