Today Marvelous Entertainment announced its financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year, between April 1 and December 31, 2022.
Net sales were 18,412 million yen, 97.1% of last year's figure. Operating income was 3,176 million, 79.3% of last year's figure.
Speaking of the Digital Contents business, which includes games, net sales were 10,266 million yen, 90.6% compared to last year, while operating income was only 1,635 million yen less than half compared to the previous year (46.9%).
That being said, there is a silver lining. Dolphin Wave, the new game for iOS, Android, and PC by Honey Parade Games, has achieved a successful launch in October 2022 and has contributed significantly to the company's earnings. You may know the name Honey Parade Games as the studio behind the fan-favorite Senran Kagura series.
The press release mentions that the game has performed above the company's expectations and Marvelous intends to continue to operate and nurture it with the goal of making sure that users can enjoy it for a long time.
On the other hand, the decline of sales and profits was due to a lackluster lineup of games for consoles including both new and catalog titles, both in Japan and overseas, on top of declining demand in North America and Europe due to the relaxing of the relaxation of pandemic restrictions and the deteriorating economy.
The announcement also confirms the delay of the coming-of-age console JRPG Loop8, announced earlier today.
Marvelous also announced a more specific outlook for the full fiscal year (previously, it only announced a range of figures), expecting sales to be 25.9 billion yen, and operating income to be 4.0 billion yen.
If you're unfamiliar with Marvelous Entertainment, they are the developer behind series like Rune Factory, Story of Seasons, Daemon X Machina, and Fate/Extella. They also own the Senran Kagura series, which has been dormant for a few years besides the mobile title Shinobi Master Senran Kagura: New Link.
