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Nikkei: Bandai Namco Halts New Arcade Games Due to Arcade Slump
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Bandai Namco Holdings released its third quarter financial report last Tuesday, revealing that the company and its subsidiaries report a projected estimate net sales of 560 billion yen (about US$4.91 billion) for the fiscal year that will end on March 31, which would be a 1% decrease compared to the 2015 fiscal year. The company predicts fiscal year 2016's operating income at 43 billion yen (about US$377 million), which is a 23.7% decrease compared to 2015, and a recurring income of 45 billion yen (about US$395 million), which is a 24.2% decrease compared to 2015.
Nikkei reports a slump in arcade game profits as a primary factor in the decrease. During the nine months from April 1 to December 31, Bandai Namco Holdings reports that its arcade games category earned total sales of 34.5 billion yen (US$303 million), a marked decrease from the 42.5 billion yen (US$373 million) in the same nine months in fiscal year 2015. Bandai Namco Holdings is projecting that the category will earn total sales of 52 billion yen (US$456 million) in fiscal year 2016, which would again be a decrease from 2015's 63.8 billion yen (US$560 million) total sales and 2014's 70.9 billion yen (US$622 million) total sales.
Nikkei reports that the company has purportedly halted the release and development of new arcade machines.
The Yo-kai Watch property is the company's highest selling property in its toy and hobby business, but the company expects Yo-kai Watch toy and hobby sales to go down, with a forecast of a 30 billion yen (US$263 million) total sales for the property in fiscal year 2016, which would trend significantly lower than its fiscal year 2015 total sales of 55.2 billion yen (US$484).
In contrast, the company predicts growth for its Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, both in toys and hobbies, as well as in groupwide consolidated categories. The company is projecting 78.5 billion yen (US$689 million) in Mobile Suit Gundam-related sales for the 2016 fiscal year, which is trending higher than the property's fiscal year 2015 sales of 76.7 billion yen (US$673 million).
Sources: Bandai Namco Holidings (Link 2) via Hachima Kikō
