Japan’s Square Enix, best known as the publisher and developer of the Final Fantasy video game series, reported that it slipped into a loss for the three-month period ending June 30.
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The losses show that few companies — even one of the biggest in Japan — are immune to the cyclical downturn hitting the core video game business. While it’s a small loss, Square Enix says it is actively making investments in a sizable pipeline of new titles in development.
For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, Square Enix is forecasting sales of $2.1 billion, up 29 percent from $1.63 billion a year earlier. Net income is expected to be $114 million, compared with $77 million a year earlier. The budget outlooks are unchanged from a prediction made on May 14.