Limited impact of measures to accelerate in-game content consumption and sustain revenue
First written in FY2016-Q2. 6 of 9 entries say "Worsened", first in FY2016-Q3. Latest entry: FY2018.
No other company in this theme has enough history to compare yet.
- FY2018ReframedAnnual report
「This was because the company determined that it would be difficult to continue the content business independently, given that the increasing volume and complexity of game content and increasingly sophisticated graphics in the recent smartphone game market have lengthened development periods and increased development costs, while competition with other companies has also intensified, making the impact of these business risks on the group's performance substantial.」
The theme of weak game profitability shifted to withdrawal from the content business due to longer development periods, higher costs and intensifying competition. - FY2018-Q3ReframedAnnual report
「As noted above, the content business recorded a substantial decline in revenue during the third quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year due to the sale of the content business. As a result, revenue was ¥324.624 million, down 75.2% year on year, and the segment loss was ¥741.920 million, compared with a loss of ¥427.214 million in the same period of the previous year.」
The previous theme of weak profitability in game content has shifted to a reduction in business scale following the partial sale of the content business and a segment loss. - FY2018-Q2WorsenedAnnual report
「The company released the new game title 「療成敗！ジェットナース」 in April, but sales remained weak and trended below plan. Sales of existing game titles were also below plan.」
Sales of both new and existing titles fell below plan, clearly demonstrating the lack of progress in improving content profitability. - FY2018-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「During the first quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year, the company pursued initiatives to improve sales of existing game titles, but revenue was slightly below the initial forecast. In addition, the up-front burden of development costs for new game titles scheduled for release from the second quarter onward and other factors resulted in lower revenue and profit.」
Although initiatives were undertaken to improve sales of existing titles, performance fell short of plan, and the up-front burden of development costs for new titles further contributed to lower revenue and profit in the content business. - FY2017WorsenedAnnual report
「In the content business, performance fell short of plan due to a decline in users across the content portfolio and delays in developing new titles.」
Declining user numbers and delays in developing new titles were explicitly identified as factors behind the failure to meet the full-year plan. - FY2017-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「Titles released in the fiscal year ended November 2016 were discontinued without achieving improved retention, while the release of new titles for the fiscal year ending November 2017 was expected to be delayed until the third quarter or later. These factors were the main reasons for lower revenue and profit.」
The failure to improve retention for existing titles led to service termination and was identified as a major factor behind lower revenue and profit. - FY2016WorsenedAnnual report
「The company provides games for smartphones and feature phones to users in Japan and overseas.」
The full-year results clearly showed a decline in users across the content portfolio and a lack of progress in improving the profitability of existing titles. Failure of new titles to meet retention and payer-rate targets will be recorded separately as a new risk. - FY2016-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「In the content business, the company expanded the platforms through which it provides content, evaluated the cost-effectiveness of advertising and promotional expenses, and allocated such expenses effectively in an effort to expand its domestic and overseas user base and restore performance. Although downloads of existing games for mobile devices increased, the profitability of titles released mainly in the fiscal year ended November 2015 did not improve,」
The disclosure states that, in addition to faster in-game content consumption and the limited effectiveness of initiatives to sustain revenue, profitability of the relevant titles has not improved. - FY2016-Q2First statedAnnual report
「Meanwhile, in-game content for titles released mainly in the fiscal year ended November 2015 was consumed rapidly, limiting the effectiveness of initiatives to sustain revenue.」
The disclosure identifies faster in-game consumption and challenges in sustaining revenue separately from the increase in downloads.