The gaming business is now at a stage where its post-<i>Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket</i> earnings level can be assessed

In FY2027-Q1, consolidated revenue was ¥37,166 million and operating profit was ¥7,411 million, down 10.9% and 46.3%, respectively, year on year. The main factor was the gaming business, where revenue fell to ¥12,120 million and segment profit to ¥3,826 million. The 33.2% decline in gaming revenue was accompanied by a much larger 62.0% decline in profit, indicating that profitability fell alongside the contraction in revenue.

The comparable prior period benefited substantially from <i>Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket</i>, which began distribution on 30 October 2024. The gaming business reported revenue of ¥78,099 million and segment profit of ¥38,577 million in FY2025, but these declined to ¥64,356 million and ¥29,656 million, respectively, in FY2026, representing full-year declines of 17.6% and 23.1%. In FY2027-Q1, revenue was ¥12,120 million and segment profit was ¥3,826 million, suggesting that the initial impact of the major title may continue to unwind into the next first half.

The gaming business also looks challenging compared with FY2026-Q1. Consolidated operating profit fell from ¥13,800 million in FY2026-Q1 to ¥7,411 million in FY2027-Q1, a decline of ¥6,389 million for the company as a whole. The FY2027-Q1 earnings summary does not provide a sufficient breakdown of user spending by title, advertising expenses, sales promotion expenses, or development and amortisation costs by title, making it difficult to distinguish the contributions of lower revenue and cost factors to the decline in profit.

In FY2027-H1, the comparable figures are gaming revenue of ¥33,574 million and segment profit of ¥17,039 million in the year-earlier period. The focus is therefore not whether the company can clear the high hurdles of 48.9% year-on-year revenue growth and 615.8% profit growth, but how far it can reverse the downward trend in revenue and profit shown in Q1. The timing of new title launches, the long-term contribution of existing titles, trends in user spending, and the presence or absence of impairment and asset retirement losses by title should be assessed together with the first-half figures.