Square Enix has dropped its revenue forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31 2009, making cuts through its net sales, operating income and net income estimates.
Net income was previously forecast at 12 billion, though the publisher has chopped this figure by 7.5 billion. Square Enix's net income for the previous fiscal year sat over 9.1 billion, yet today the publisher announced it expected this fiscal year to yield half that; 4.5 billion.
A higher cut was made to expected operating income. Square Enix revised its forecast from 21 billion (the figure it attained in the last fiscal) to 12 billion; a 42 percent cut.
Net Sales fell too, sliding around 17 percent from 160 billion to 133 billion. The revision pulls expectations down by 27 billion, and 14.5 billion below its results for the fiscal year ending March 08.
"While results for games (online), mobile phone content, publishing and other segments have been progressing at a rate exceeding the figures previously planned," Square Enix said in a statement, "Amusement (Taito Corporation) and games (offline segments) are projected to underperform figures previously planned."
The company said this was due to a "severe business environment for Amusement, and the adjourned release of a major game software , which was originally announced to be released March 2009."
That delayed release will be Dragon Quest IX, the publisher's highly lucrative title which was originally planned for a March release in Japan, but now is set to arrive at Japanese retail outlets on July 11.
May be it will lead to a strange situation when DQX may be released before DQIX hits the UK.
It is unfortunate too, I'm really looking forward to this game and I hope that the bug is sorted out fully because with the DS they can't release a buggy game and then patch it later(well not with the regular DS).
