Square Enix Releases Q3 2004 Fiscal Results

Another gaming publisher has released their financial results for the October-December period, which makes up the third quarter of the fiscal year by Square Enix's accounting. The Japanese publisher posted strong results for its third quarter, with a net profit of 13.3 billion yen ($129.1 million USD), an improvement of 21% over the same period last year, where it took in profits of 10.99 billion yen ($106.68 million USD). The high profits were fueled mainly by the release of the eighth game in the Dragon Quest series, which at this point is not so much "wildly popular" in Japan as much as it is a cultural institution. With roughly one month on the shelves between its November 27th release and the end of the quarter, it shipped 3.59 million copies in Japan alone. Other strong sellers were Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the Game Boy Advance link between the original Kingdom Hearts and its forthcoming sequel, and the English release of Star Ocean: Chain of Memories in the United States and Europe. Kingdom Hearts: CoM sold 940,000 copies worldwide, while Star Ocean sold 470,000. Square Enix's other divisions, such as mobile gaming and its PlayOnline groups, also turned in strong showings. The company has revised its forecast for the 2004-2005 financial year as a result of this quarter's earnings, and now expects to reach 13.5 billion yen ($131 million USD) in net profit.