Sega’s net sales slide down 8% year-over-year as Football Manager 25 skips release

Sega Sammy Holdings generated ¥322.3 billion ($2.1bn) in net sales during the first nine months of its fiscal year, down 8.1% year-over-year.

Operating income also declined, down 20.8% Y/Y to ¥43.7bn ($288 million). Ordinary income, meanwhile, fell 13.9% to ¥49.4bn ($323.9m).

The company acknowledged its "extraordinary loss" of approximately ¥6.1 billion in Q2 as one factor in its decline, attributed to the sale of Amplitude Studios, which once again became an independent studio after parting "on good terms".

Building the brand

While Sega noted the "favourable" performance of multiplatform games like Unicorn Overlord and Persona 5 Royal (Remaster), the cancellation of Football Manager 25 caused "a loss in the third quarter by work-in-process assets write-downs".

"Whilst many areas of the game have hit our targets, the overarching player experience and interface is not where we need it to be," the Football Manager team shared in a separate statement.

Sega’s entertainment segment as a whole, spanning games, animations, amusements and toys, generated ¥239 billion ($1.6 billion) of the company’s total ¥322.3 billion ($2.1 billion) so far this year.

This marked an 8.2% increase from the ¥220.9 billion ($1.5 billion) earned from entertainment across last year’s Q1 to Q3.

Running ahead

Sega also teased future plans in animation and consumer ambitions, having shown a "strong performance" this fiscal year with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The film’s success has led to confirmation of a fourth entry in the franchise, with the latest movie earning a series record of $460 million worldwide.

The company forecasted that over the full fiscal year, with one quarter to go, it will achieve net sales of ¥425 billion across all segments, marketing a 9.4% decline Y/Y.

Its plan over the next two years is to expand the scale of its IPs, with the possibility of a subscription service even considered at the end of 2024.