No wonder they're pulling out of E3 in their droves - videogame publishers have started to announce their first quarter figures for 2006 and they're not pretty. With profits like these, it's a wonder most companies can afford the airfare to LA, let along a gazillion dollar stand filled with booth babes and 500" plasma screens.
Last thursday, THQ meekly reported first quarter losses of USD 12.1 million with sales at USD 138.8 million, down from USD 158 million for the same period last year. However, the company was quick to point out that these figures were actually better than expected thanks to the strong retail performance of its Cars tie-in. So that's okay then - it's good to see that movie conversions are still winning the hearts of gullible gamers everywhere.
Later Sega Sammy announced that it's net profit had nose-dived by 93%, with earnings falling from 10.7 billion yen this time last year to 779 million yen. The company has blamed a downturn in sales of its pachinko slot machines, but expects things to pick up for Christmas.
Meanwhile, there was mixed news for Sony. The company revealed a net income of 32.3 billion Yen for the first quarter, but this was mostly down to the resurgent consumer electronics division and the success of the Da Vinci Code movie. In the videogame sector, sales are down 29%, "as a result of a decrease in hardware unit sales of PlayStation2 and PSP, as well as a decrease in PS2 software sales," the company explains in its press release. PSP sales down? Oh dear...
Not everyone has fared so badly. Vivendi has proudly drawn attention to a 5.8% increase in revenues for the first half of the year - thanks in no small part to the incredible success of World of Warcraft. The company also claims to have done well out of Ice Age 2 and back catalogue titles like (surely not) Bulletproof: 50 Cent and Crash Tag Team Racing.
Finally, Ubisoft has a big smile on its corporate face this week after filing a first quarter revenue figure of 70 million euros, an increase of 62% on the first quarter of 2005-2006. key titles in this impressive showing have been Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter and Heroes of Might and Magic V. The company is expecting it's good fortune to continue through the rest of the year with the likes of Splinter Cell Double Agent, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Red Steel and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas on the way.
So the message for the industry is this: keep making movie tie-ins, fantasy RPGs and stealth shooters.
Oh crap.
