Sega has announced that its profits have fallen overall when compared to last year’s figure, despite “strong” performances for releases like Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio and Persona 5 Royal.
In the legendary Japanese company’s latest financial report, Sega reveals that its profit fell by around 17% compared to last year’s number, although it’s worth noting that its “entertainment” division (which comprises video games, but also movies and TV) actually saw profits rise.
Sega puts the increase in entertainment profit down to “strong performance” in various areas, including back catalog sales and revenue for the latest Sonic movie, which helped the movie adaptations of the Blue Blur’s adventures cumulatively cross $1 billion at the box office back in January.
Elsewhere in entertainment, Sega points to the “strong” sales of new IP Metaphor: ReFantazio, developed by ex-Persona staffers, as a motivating factor for increased profits in the sector. High sales for flagship Sonic game Sonic x Shadow Generations were also part of the studio’s strength in this area.
The company also says that “strong repeat sales” for back catalog titles Persona 5 Royal (Remaster) and Unicorn Overlord helped to shore up its numbers in the entertainment department.
It’s worth noting that Sega doesn’t report any figures on this front, so we don’t know exactly where these titles stand in terms of numbers. We do, however, know that Atlus contributed 33 billion yen to its parent’s figures for this year, with Sonic putting 32.5 billion in the pot.
Like a Dragon, another key studio franchise, put 11.5 billion yen in Sega’s coffers, with sales of the most recent entry Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii being “steady”, according to the company. This year also marked the release of a live-action show based on the IP, although Sega doesn’t say how well it did.
All of these games helped somewhat to offset the costs incurred by the cancellation of Football Manager 25, which was announced back in February due to Sega and Sports Interactive’s desire to focus instead on Football Manager 26.
The entertainment sector’s figures also helped somewhat to offset sharp losses in the pachinko and pachislot departments, although not quite to the degree of ensuring a rise in profits for the company, unfortunately.
It’s also worth remembering that Sega’s references to “gaming” throughout its financial report don’t signify video games; rather, they’re referring to casino gaming under the Sammy brand, and profits were actually up slightly under that umbrella as well.
You can check out the full Sega financial presentation for the 2024-25 fiscal year right here if you want to delve into the numbers.
