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Print
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Next, I turn to the Amusement segment. Same-store arcade sales were brisk, with a YoY figure exceeding 100%. We intend to bolster our operations in FY2018/3, in part by opening new arcades in premium locations. In terms of amusement machine sales, we had originally planned to launch “DENSHA DE GO!!” in FY2017/3, but due to a slight delay in the development effort, we now intend to launch it in FY2018/3.
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Other launches planned for FY2018/3 include “Million Arthur Arcana Blood,” an offshoot of our Million Arthur mobile game series, and “LORD of VERMILLION IV”. FY2018/3 also marks the 20th anniversary of “DENSHA DE GO!!” We will work to revive and revitalize these powerful pieces of IP.
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Let’s next look at the Publication segment. Our sales here are solid, but we are challenged by sluggish print sales. As such, we intend to apply the same approach that we have to our games, namely to step up digital sales, including via our “MANGA UP!” comics distribution app. We see our Publication segment as a fertile field for developing contents and intend to bolster our efforts at leveraging it to generate new contents going forward.
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Lastly is our Merchandising segment. We have been holding a variety of events to commemorate the respective 30th anniversaries of DRAGON QUEST in FY2017/3 and FINAL FANTASY in FY2018/3. The Square Enix Cafe that we opened in FY2017/3 was originally conceived as a marketing platform for our products, but it contributed to earnings more than we had expected, so we intend to step up such initiatives going forward.
