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Impressive Earnings For Square Enix



While last year may have been hard on some publishers, Square Enix came out of 2009 looking pretty good. According to the financial statement released by the company today, Square Enix's 2009 earnings were greatly helped by a handful of key titles.

According to the report (which you can read for yourself on Square Enix's investor relations page), the company saw a net income of over $86 million over the nine-month period ending December 31, 2009. However, it's hard to imagine a year with more heavy hitters in the Square Enix line-up; Dragon Quest IX and Final Fantasy XIII both released during the timeframe (in Japan), and thousands of Final Fantasy fans also picked up the Advent Children: Complete Blu-ray.  Additionally, the company began to reap the benefits of its acquisition of Eidos thanks to the success of Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Will this kind of momentum carry over into 2010? This year Square Enix will release FF XIII and DQ IX in the United States, so that should provide a fresh boost to those titles' sales. The MMO Final Fantasy XIV is also slated for release later this year, so Square Enix's immediate future is looking bright.

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Comments
  • I imagine with FF XIII they will see an even bigger profit. Glad to see some companies doing well after reading numerous articles of developers closing shop.

  • Well with FFXXVIIXV coming out this year im thinking theyll probably only make about $876,952,390,453.72, but thats just me.

  • I'm 99% sure they're going to make a killing on the new Final Fantasy.  Dragon Quest, I'm not sure about, but either way that one swings, they're going to be reaping in a lot of cash.

    The question is: how long till Square Enix has to lay some workers off? :-/

  • Don't forget the great success last year of Kingdom Hearts: 356/2 Days.  Also last month they released Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep in Japan... So we can probably expect it in NA later this year... and that will certainly also be a sales booster.

    Also Nier looks pretty good, but I don't know that it will get the sales it may deserve...

    But anyway, this is great news.  I've always been a fan of Square Enix.  It's good to hear they're doing well.  =D

  • come march 9, they're going to get 60 of my dollars.

  • Square makes quality titles and has high standards.  That reflects on their sales and earnings.  So long as they keep it up, they will be one of very few publishers keeping their heads out of the water.

  • Also another thought, aren't they suppose to be making a large Kingdom Hearts related announcement at E3?  I'm expecting Kingdom Hearts 3.  With the release of Birth By Sleep, it's finally time for it.

  • I really wish they don't make a KH announcement at E3 that franchise is ridiculously stupid...I got behind the first game but the 2nd was utter rubbish...and could they possibly have turned Sephiroth into a bigger sissy

  • Square always gos in there ups and downs there ups show up when a Final Fantasy hits the stores.  

  • Don't forget about the Kingdom Hearts series.  Even that crap filler (okay maybe Days wasn't completely crap) game that came out last year sold well.  Birth by Sleep sold about 700k in four weeks, and will probably sell even more copies when it gets to the U.S.  

    But yeah, Square has been doing a good job, and with Versus XIII, another Dragon Quest remake, and possibly Kingdom Hearts 3 on the way the future looks bright.  I don't think NIER will sell that well though, nor do I think it should.

  • Um, of course it will continue. They are releasing the next two FF games, one of which is the next MMO in the genre. XI already has a heaping helping of followers, and it's reputation will only allow XIV to become even bigger. This is awesome considering that this time last year they were talking about bankruptcy.

  • @ Nick:  That's just a matter of opinion.  I love the games.

  • This isn't a surprise. I mean, they had Dragon Quest IX and FFXIII as the heavy hitters of last year, and sold millions of copies. Plus two Kingdom Hearts titles and couple of Eidos games like Arkham Asylum, Square is picking up.

    I don't think they'll be stopping there either. Since FFXIII is going to be released here soon, no doubt it'll sell millions in each console. Plus KH: BBS is coming out here soon, Nier, oh and don't forget Just Cause 2.

  • Well, this is no shock at all. 'Enix is a powerhouse in the gaming world, they know what we all want to see and want to play. I can't wait for Final Fantasy 13, it's going to be awesome!

  • @Nick - Way to be a hater. Comments are meant for intelligent things, not nonsensical slander. You don't have to like a game for it to be good. For example: I hate BioShock, I would never pay money to play it. On the other hand, the vast majority loved it. But instead of running around and saying it sucks because I don't like it, I have simply come to terms with the fact that it doesn't fall into the mold of other games I enjoy playing. It isn't for me. It's not a bad game, it's just not a game I would want to play.

  • @sam

    ok let's look at the facts...the first game was remarkable in the exploration aspect of it and from the UNIQUE blending of square and disney characters...what did we get with the second game...the same levels without the same exploration oh and they took away some of the best features from the first one...they also turned Sephiroth into a pansy by having him being beaten by a kid with a Keyblade...who was voiced by Haley Joel Osmont and than Sephiroth voiced by the gay N'Sync member Lance Bass Sephiroth in KH=total sissy

  • I don't feel like a hater on KH it's just a rehash of the first and for some reason all these fanboys love it...why I don't know but it's probably the same reason they keep pestering and whining about not having a VII remake...

    Kingdom Hearts 2 was a good game in terms of mechanics but terrible on overall presentation I'm sorry but save for the Steamboat Willie level everything was the same and not in a good way...

    I will be excited for KH 3 if and only if they present new levels or get rid of the Disney name attached to it...Disney is the root of all capitalist evil and I'm not going to sit here and enjoy a decently made game that is made horrible by a stupid children's licensce

  • Yes, yes it is.

    I don't like JRPGs or MMOs, so I won't be helping the "cause".

  • BTW, 71st

  • FF XIII is going to get them millions

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