Disney Interactive losses narrow as social game transition continues

The Walt Disney Company's Interactive Media division, which covers its console and social games, was the only sector in the company to record losses during the first half of the current fiscal year. Disney Interactive's losses narrowed compared to the same period year-over-year, however, thanks to lower company acquisition costs related to social games, and better social game and console game performance compared to a year ago, the firm said. The company added that it released fewer console games during the fiscal half due to the decline in console game sales, although it noted that its console game results were slightly improved due to lower product development costs. Disney's ongoing shift from console games to social and other interactive platforms has improved the company's results, it said, with more improvement expected in the second half of the fiscal year. For the six months ended March 31, 2012, Disney Interactive posted revenues of $458 million, down 10 percent compared to $508 million year-over-year, and operating losses of $98 million, an improvement of 23 percent compared to last year's losses of $128 million. Overall, the Walt Disney Company recorded revenue of 20.4 billion, up 3 percent year-over-year, and profits of $2.6 billion, up 16 percent year-over-year.