Sega Sammy has published its latest financial report celebrating not just the company’s financial success but the sales figures of various franchises within the company.
In the year so far, the company has earned $2.2 billion in net sales, up 15.6 percent from $1.9 billion in 2021.The company credits part of this uptick to the decline of COVID-19 and the relevant restrictions, which badly hit the company’s pachinko and amusement businesses.
Operating income also saw a sharp increase in 2022, reaching $218 million with an operating income margin of 10 percent. This is a sharp increase from 2021, where the company saw operating income of $44 million with an operating income margin of 6.5 percent. Again, Sega Sammy credits part of this turnaround to the increased profitability of the pachinko and amusement machine businesses.
Zooming to a new record
Sonic the Hedgehog is identified as the most successful franchise within the company’s portfolio with more than 1.51 billion units sold or downloaded on applicable devices, including mobile. Other franchises such as Total War, Shin Megami Tensei, and Virtua Fighter, all of which have entries available on mobile phones, also saw great success.
Sega Sammy anticipates strong ongoing growth, forecasting the global games market to reach $197 billion by 2025.
In the medium-term, Sega Sammy plans to focus on its core titles, including Total War and Sonic the Hedgehog. This includes not just games and remasters but licensed goods and crossovers with other franchises and games.
In addition to this, Sega Sammy will create what it calls a “Super Game” by the end of March 2026. At present, no information about what this game could entail have been announced, but it’s possible that Sega Sammy could follow in the steps of Nintendo or Sony and create a game involving characters from numerous IPs within its portfolio.
What are the mobile implications of this statement? Although mobile isn’t the company’s core focus, the fact that most of the company’s top selling franchises have mobile entries should give the company room for pause. The statement also confirms that the company will continue to strengthen its mobile and global gaming interests worldwide.
Sega Sammy’s previous financial report showed an 11 percent sales growth, and this latest report reiterates that the company has avoided the industry trend of decline as markets normalise following the pandemic. Additionally, we recently reported that Japanese consumers have been slow to adapt to mobile gaming.
