John-ShepardWhen you have a game like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , your financial results are bound to look good, despite a lagging economy.
According to GameSpot, Konami has reported their financials for the April-December period, and total revenues rose 5.1% to 234 billion yen ($2.56 billion), and net income grew 17.3% to 17.8 billion yen ($195 million). MGS4 was one of the driving forces behind these numbers, as it continues to be a top performer for the publisher. The best game of the generation so far (yeah, we said it) sold 4.5 million copies worldwide in 2008, and in the first nine months of its fiscal year (April 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009), Konami has sold 22.35 million software units so far. MGS4 was big, of course, but it can't hold a candle to the likes of the latest Pro Evolution Soccer title, which has sold 7.41 million copies in that nine-month period. So in general, Konami is rolling along nicely…we won't mention the next Metal Gear just because we know you're expecting us to. Well, we're not. Oh, wait…
Despite the rosy numbers, though, Konami did warn investors that the global recession will hurt the overall numbers for the full year. Due to "slower consumer spending and a strengthening of the yen," Konami has been forced to lower their full-year expectations. They're now predicting a rise of 3.2% to about 307 billion yen ($3.36 billion) in revenue, but only a small 0.3% increase in overall profit to 18.5 billion yen ($203 million). Oh well…a gain is a gain, right?
