Sonic, soccer, and Total War help boost Sega’s earnings

I’m no expert, but I’m thinking that if Sega really wants to make a ton of money this year, it should make a game about Sonic and friends playing soccer to win a war.

At least, that is the kind of game I would make based on the software that made the Japanese publisher money in its fiscal 2014 (which ended March 31). In its financial report this morning, Sega revealed that it made $3.71 billion, which is up 17.6 percent year-over-year. It’s not all good news. While its earnings were in line with its most recent projections, which it updated in February, it was still far short of its original outlook of $4.76 billion for the year. That’s due to slow sales for its pachinko and pachislot gambling machines in Japan.

Sega also reported an operating income of $378 million, which is up 102 percent from fiscal 2013. That was largely due to the increased sales for its consumer products. Sales for games reached $982 million. That’s up 18.6 percent year-over-year.

The publisher sold 1.13 million copies of Total War: Rome II, which was its best-selling game of the year. It also sold well digitally, which was a trend across all of Sega’s releases. The company also sold 790,000 copies of Football Manager 2014. Sonic: Lost World had sales of 710,000, and Company of Heroes 2 sold 680,000.

While those game all sold well digitally, Sega noted that sales of physical retail games were slowing. This has it looking to focus more on digital as well as mobile

On that front, the corporation is continuing to see strong performance from Phantasy Star Online 2, which is its PC and PlayStation Vita online multiplayer role-playing game in Japan. Its iOS and Android games Puyopuyo!! Quest and Chain Chronicle are also seeing significant returns.

Looking forward to fiscal 2015, which ends next March 31, the company warns about uncertainty when it comes to consumer spending. This will likely have a bigger impact on its pachinko-machine business than anything else. When it comes to game products, the company will look at how it can reconcile its business with the slowing spending on packaged goods. Sega wants to keep making physical, but it will have to rethink how it can do so while staying profitable.