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08 SQUARE ENIX 2004
Review of Operations
Overview by Business Segment
The Year in Review
Since the merger on April 1, 2003, Square Enix Co., Ltd. (“the Company”) has made determined efforts to strengthen the foundation and
profitability of its business segments, which comprise Games (Offline), Games (Online), Mobilephone Content, Publication, and Others.
As a result, Square Enix secured earnings and expanded operations in all business segments in fiscal year ended March 31, 2004 (this
“Fiscal Year”), its first fiscal year since the merger.
>
FINAL FANTASY XI
©2001-2003 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Title Design by Yoshitaka Amano Image Illustration:©2003 Yoshitaka Amano
Games (Offline)
In the Games (Offline) segment in this Fiscal Year, the Company shipped
many best-selling titles worldwide. More than two million copies of
FINAL FANTASY X-2 for the PlayStation 2, and more than one million
copies of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS ADVANCE for the Game Boy
Advance were shipped in North America and Europe. In Japan, the
Company released a new PlayStation 2 version of DRAGON QUEST V
TENKU NO HANAYOME-originally released for the Super Famicom in
1992-which shipped 1.3 million copies in only two days after its release.
The Company also shipped more than half a million copies of KENSHIN
DRAGON QUEST - YOMIGAERISHI DENSETSU NO TSURUGI in
Japan, a new type of game that is independent of game platforms.
Sales in the Games (Offline) segment were ¥37,988 million, and oper-
ating income was ¥16,404 million.
>Games (Online)
Since the May 2002 launch of our PlayOnline service and the Company’s
flagship online title, FINAL FANTASY XI-a massively multiplayer online
role-playing game (MMORPG)-the number of PlayOnline subscribers has
continued to grow at a steady pace. During this Fiscal Year, our subscriber
base became one of the largest in Japan, spurred on by the release of the
FINAL FANTASY XI: Rise of the Zilart expansion pack in April 2003.
Overseas, the Company made its debut in the North American online
gaming market with the launch of PlayOnline services and the PC version
of FINAL FANTASY XI in October 2003. In addition, the Company
released a PlayStation 2 version of the same game in March 2004, signifi-
cantly increasing the number of subscribers to PlayOnline. As of March 31,
2004, there were approximately half a million FINAL FANTASY XI
players around the world. In addition, sales are steadily growing for
Crossgate, a MMORPG developed specifically for the Asian market, and
the title has acquired a leading position in terms of membership in the
Chinese online gaming market.
In this way, the Company achieved stable growth and established an
earnings foundation in Japan and overseas, marking this Fiscal Year as the
first year for online games.
Sales in the Games (Online) segment totaled ¥8,924 million, and oper-
ating income was ¥2,348 million.
Business Segment Information (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2004) Millions of Yen
Games (Offline) Games (Online) Mobilephone Publication Others Elimination Consolidated
Content or corporate total
Net sales 37,988 8,924 2,793 9,671 3,824 — 63,202
Operating income 16,404 2,348 1,159 3,180 1,027 (4,722) 19,398
Operating income 43.2% 26.3% 41.5% 32.9% 26.9% — 30.7%
DRAGON QUEST V
©2004 ARMOR PROJECT/BIRD STUDIO/ARTEPIAZZA/
SQUARE ENIX All Rights Reserved.