Sega released its financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2024, with sales across the wider company down year-on-year, but games delivering strong H1 FY25 results for its entertainment segment.
Numbers
- Pure sale: 211.6 billion yen ($1.39 billion), down 4.5% year-on-year
- Net sales of entertainment content (including games): ¥141.7 billion (US$931 million), up 16.4% year-on-year
- Sale of the gaming segment: ¥95.6 billion ($628 million), up 22% year-on-year
The most important
Game sales brought positive half-year results for the Sega Entertainment Contents segment. Revenue in that vertical grew 16.4%, and gaming revenue (which Sega calls the “consumer” business) grew 22% year-over-year.
This was due to DLC sales beating expectations, the report pointed out, and repeat sales were “strong”, with Unicorn Overlord in particular highlighted. Sega also noted that “Rovio's sales record contributed.” [to] increase in sales.”
He added that exchange rate fluctuations had a positive impact and that “cost improvements, mainly in Europe, exceeded expectations.”
However, the Japanese company said that “sales of new titles released in the 1st quarter fell.”
Looking at the numbers, new title sales accounted for ¥5.6 billion ($36.8 million) for the first half of the financial year, compared to ¥6.2 billion ($40.7 million) for the same period a year earlier. On the other hand, repeat sales accounted for ¥22.1 billion ($145 million) in H1 FY25, compared to just ¥17.1 billion ($112 million) in FY24.
Total sales for full games for the period were 27.7 billion yen ($182 million), compared to 23.4 billion yen ($154 million) last year.
Looking at its free-to-play portfolio, the firm simply said that its titles “performed as expected”. F2P revenue was ¥23.1 billion ($152 million), up from ¥26.9 billion ($177 million) in FY24.
Looking ahead, Sega expects full-year net sales of ¥445 billion (just under $3 billion), which would represent a 5% decline compared to FY24.
For the gaming segment specifically, sales are expected to reach 235 billion yen ($1.5 billion), which would be roughly a 5% year-over-year increase. The release of Metaphor: ReFantazio, Sonic x Shadow Generations, and Football Manager 25 (which was pushed back to March 2025) are expected to have an impact. The company also noted the upcoming release of Sonic Rumble, stating that it expects to “increase revenue from character licensing from Sonic-centric transmedia development.”
As part of its financial report, Sega announced that Amplitude Studios is regaining its independence, a move that completes “structural reforms” taking place at Sega Europe, resulting in the cancellation of Creative Assembly's Hyenas, the sale of Relic, and several hundred layoffs at Sega-owned studios .
We spoke with Rovio's Vice President of Strategy Timo Rahkonene earlier this year, a year after Sega's €706 million acquisition.