Tomb Raider misses sales targets; Rogers in contention for board election

Square Enix’s big console releases are not performing as desired in the West.

As part of the publisher’s latest financial report, the company described sales of Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution and Sleeping Dogs as weak” in both North America and Europe.

Specifically, Tomb Raider has shifted 3.4m copies in three weeks while 2012 releases Hitman: Absolution and Sleeping Dogs have sold 3.6m and 1.75m units respectively.

All three fell short of internal targets, with Square Enix describing its North American sales force as ineffective”, leaving Europe to account for two thirds of the sales.

As we’ve seen in the UK, the company also acknowledged that it was forced to be very competitive on price not long after each title’s release in an effort to meet what were clearly over-eager targets.

Square Enix has also confirmed that outgoing boss Yoichi Wadais being replaced representative director Yosuke Matsuda. Current European CEO Phil Rogers has also been put forward for possible election to the board.

UPDATE: Square Enix has contacted MCV to clarify that European boss Rogers in in contention for election to the board withYosuke Matsuda becoming global boss. This has been reflected in the body copy.