Tough console market sees Square Enix report loss

Square Enix has reported a net loss for the nine months ending December 31st.

It blamed the result on what it described as the increasingly difficult condition of the world-wide console game market, under which the Group is struggling to achieve a fair expected return on its investment”.

Net loss for the period reached 5,745m with operating losses hitting 4,853m. Net sales reached 102,795m, up from the 95,738m posted in the same period the year before.

Square Enix’s digital entertainment division saw net sales increase 7.7 per cent to 57,827m while last year’s operating income of 12,451m has slipped to a 392m loss.

On a better note, browser game Sengoku IXA and social game Final Fantasy Brigade are generating acceptable profit”, while MMORPG Dragon Quest X has been showing steady progress”

The company now predicts net sales for the financial year ending March 31st of 150,000m, up from 2012’s 127,896m. However, it forecasts a 30 per cent drop in operating income and a 42 per cent drop in net income at 3,500m.