Investor Relations

Q: What is your understanding of how demand for game content is trending in the US market? How are catalog sales trending?

A: While the stay-at-home demand seen during the pandemic has cooled, it is not our view that the US market as a whole has weakened in particular. We also, for the most part, see no pronounced change in catalog sales.

Q: Will we be able to see indications of improved profitability as a result of your divestiture of the overseas studios in the second half of the current fiscal year, or will we not see that until the fiscal year ending March 2024 or later?

A: We do not expect to see the transaction result in better profitability in the short term. Instead, we expect to see profitability improve over the medium to long term as we are able to be more selective and focused in allocating our resources, especially in regards to our Japanese titles.

Q: What is your rationale for focusing on the diversification of your investment strategy for studios?

A: The cost of developing a single title is on the rise. As such, owning studios outright means that while you can expect major returns, your downside risk is also substantial. The result of this is greater-than-expected earnings volatility. Therefore, rather than insisting on full ownership, we want to additionally adopt other approaches such as forming joint ventures and taking minority stakes so that we will be able to hedge our investment risk, thereby controlling our volatility and achieving both growth and the optimal balance sheet profile.

Q: When do you plan on releasing your earnings forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 2023?

A: We are reviewing that at present, so I cannot tell you specifically when it will be.

Q: What are your expectations for “FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST MOBILE,” which launched on August 4? Please also share what other plans you have for the “FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST” IP.

A: “FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST MOBILE,” has gotten off to a good start, but we still need to monitor its performance going forward, so I will refrain from providing any quantitative commentary at present. In regards to our plans for the “FFULLMETAL ALCHEMIST” IP, I will say that we have held a variety of events and the like since last year as part of the 20th anniversary project, we have launched “FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST MOBILE,” and the creator Hiromu Arakawa’s latest title “Daemons of the Shadow Realm” is also out. We believe that all of this will bring increased vitality to the IP.