Thanks in part to strong sales of Final Fantasy XIII, which has shipped 1.8 million units to date in Japan, publisher Square Enix saw its profits rise 48.2 percent in the nine months ended December 31, 2009. The performance of Dragon Quest IX, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Eidos' Batman: Arkham Asylum also helped boost the company's net income to ¥7.7 billion ($86.3 million), on sales that increased nearly 31 percent to ¥135.4 billion ($1.5 billion). Strictly in the company's game segment -- separate from its Taito arcade business and other divisions like mobile and merchandising -- the company saw sales of ¥72.9 billion, an increase of 97 percent over the same period last year. "Aimed at mid- and long-term growth for the Square Enix group, we have made solid progress in our business plan set out at the beginning of the fiscal year," says president Yoichi Wada. The company is especially pleased with the market penetration of Final Fantasy XIII since it launched on December 17 against Japan's PS3 install base of 4 million, Wada notes. The game sold 1.5 million units in its first week alone. "Our integration activities since the acquisition of the UK-based Eidos in April are progressing rapidly and allowing us to strengthen our global business framework," Wada adds.