Sega reports 18.7 percent drop in sales, plans to focus more on digital

Sega reported total sales of 321 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, an 18.7 percent drop over sales of 395 billion yen last year, according the company's recent financial report.

The company reported a 53.3 percent increase in net income to 33.4 billion yen, which the company attributed to changes in employee pension funds, the liquidation of some U.S. subsidiaries and sales on investment securities. However, operating income dipped 67.3 percent since last year to 19 billion yen.

Net sales in the company's consumer business section, which includes Sega's video game division, were 84.740 billion yen, a two percent decrease from last fiscal year. Operating income loss was 732 million yen, far below the 15.2 billion yen loss the company reported last fiscal year. Digital software sales for mobile devices and PC made up 46 percent of the company's software sales.

Sega's decision to reduce the number of video game titles published during this fiscal year, part of the company's structural reform policies, were cited as contributing factors for the decline in sales. 10.7 million physical copies of games were sold: 4.2 million in the U.S, 4.4 million in Europe and 2.14 million in Japan.

Sega's best-selling title during the last quarter was Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed, which sold 1.36 million copies across the U.S. and Europe. Aliens: Colonial Marines was the second most-sold title, selling 1.31 million.

As part of its forecast for the 2014 fiscal year, Sega reported its video game software sector will "undergo rationalization, in an effort to establish a structure that can consistently generate profit." According to the report, Sega plans to make video games for the next generation of consoles and will shift its business structure to focus more on developing downloadable software for mobile devices and PCs.