Square Enix profit spikes on Deus Ex sales

Deus Ex: Human Revolution shipped two million units in the two weeks following its release in August, and that's just about where it remained throughout September. As part of its six-month earnings report today, Square Enix provided a brief update on its best-selling title for the April-September window, saying the Eidos Montreal-developed title shipped 2.18 million units during the period.

Though Square Enix seemed pleased with Deus Ex's performance, the company's overall earnings for the first half of its fiscal year were mixed. Revenues continued their slide, with net sales for the April-September period falling 15 percent year-over-year to ¥57.516 billion ($735 million).

Profits, on the other hand, rebounded significantly. Reversing the massive income falloff from the first quarter, Square Enix said six-month profit was up 115 percent to ¥3.704 billion ($47 million). The company attributed these results to Deus Ex, as well as an increased return on Web, smartphone, and social-networking games and services.

Deus Ex wasn't the only title to have a respectable first half. Square Enix also said that the Obsidian Entertainment-developed Dungeon Siege III shipped 820,000 units through September, having launched on major platforms at the end of June. The Japan-only Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary package also shipped 350,000 units during the period.

In a statement, Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada said that the company is approaching this current fiscal period as a "rebuilding" year geared toward a proper recovery in the year ending March 31, 2013. One way Square Enix intends to do that is through a wide-scale creation of new properties. In its earnings report, the publisher indicated that it was "creating 10 major IPs."

Square Enix also prioritized digitizing its expansive back catalog, such as has been seen with the PlayStation Network's just-announced Winter of RPGs campaign.