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Majesco lessens losses

Publisher's casual game strategy trims revenues but brings company closer to profitability.

With the casual gaming trend on the rise, few publishers have embraced the sector as wholeheartedly as Majesco Entertainment. After withdrawing from the premium-game-publishing market in 2006, Majesco shifted its focus to budget and handheld games, where it has found success with titles like Cake Mania and Cooking Mama.

That approach has significantly reshaped Majesco, as evidenced by this week's release of the company's financial results for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year, which ended on October 31, 2007. While Majesco's annual revenues were down nearly 24 percent to $51 million from $66.7 million, the publisher's net losses lessened 11 percent to $4.8 million from $5.4 million. For the fourth quarter on its own, revenues were down 45 percent to $11.9 million from the year before, but net losses were cut by 66 percent to $961,000.

Majesco's revamped approach has also been reflected in the company's product mix. More than three-quarters of the company's revenue for the year came from games for Nintendo systems, with the Wii accounting for 19.6 percent of income and the DS making up 55.5 percent of the company's sales. The company looks to shift even more of its revenues to Nintendo systems for the current fiscal year, estimating that the Wii will account for 39.8 percent of its income, with the DS bringing in 58.9 percent.

Majesco CFO John Gross told GameSpot that the company isn't planning to produce games exclusively for Nintendo platforms, and said the projected revenue mix merely reflects that the audiences and game budgets in which Majesco is most interested are more commonly going to be found on the Wii and DS. Currently, Majesco has only one new release scheduled for a non-Nintendo system in 2008, Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship for the PlayStation Portable. PSP games are expected to make up .8 percent of Majesco's 2008 revenues.

Majesco shares opened the week's trading at $1.29, and have since slipped to $1.13.

25 Comments

  • Azwhtknight

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 5:10 am GMT

    There are way too many companies that are making the switch to casual gaming. I think that instead of just pumping out DS games and quick cheap games, they should concentrate on 1 or 2 really high quality games, either series sequals or develop a cool new title to start another fan base. I think that there is more revenue to be had by doing this (especially with the sequals since people already know and follow them) than by wasting countless man hours developing inferior products that people won't buy.

  • Skuad_Knight

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 4:01 pm GMT

    Psychonauts for the Wii please! Not hard to adapt and it's a game the Nintendo crowd will embrace MUCH better than the Sony and Microsoft ones. Stick it with a Resident Evil 4 Wii price and it would boost Majesco's sales a lot.

  • jamesseda

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 1:25 pm GMT

    Can this so called "CASUAL GAMING" be like a throwback or reminder of why we all loved the games from the 80's and early 90's? Low budget, addictive and REALLY FUN games, something that has just about been forgotten by the BIG gaming execs in their quest for more $$$ ? I for one am all for it, bring back the 2D and side scrollers!!!! "Contra DS anyone??!! PSP just doesnt get it. By the way..I have one,but just bought a DS and fell in love with it!. Im playing cooking momma now when i get tired of GH3 or rockband or WOW.

  • werc96

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 9:24 am GMT

    For one reason or another ive always like majesco.
    Psychonauts, Advent rising, Bloodrayne, Aeon flux wasnt terrible...
    They were just a lesser known company trying to produce high budget games and compete with the big boys....
    Unfortunately they are all into this casual crowd now....
    I just hope they make enough revenues to at least give fans the sequels on current gen theyve been wanting.

  • Tsuihosuro

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 9:12 am GMT

    Budget games are the way to go it seems. Low cost of production, quick releases, and disgustingly addictive games that everyone's grandmother is really into. I just saw a feature about it in the news a few weeks back. Though it's disappointing for us, well done Majesco!

  • KALHETMAN

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 8:30 am GMT

    I don't believe Majesco have "bad" time. Just like in life - down and up. Normal. Strategy every time is selling - for every platforms. And WII really need is.

  • Nxss-effa-sim

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 7:53 am GMT

    Well that is nice to see that Majesco's strategies are working. Hopefully it will be one less company to ask for bankruptcy protection. Though I am not too sure if it is a good time to invest in COOL. Remember, they still are not making a profit, they just lessened the blow a little. Last time a financial analyst recommended the stock it hit over $2 and now its back hovering around the low dollar mark.Lets hope that spitting out game after game wont saturate their consumers with similar video games and worsen their financial situation.

  • bardkieran

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 7:44 am GMT

    Good stuff. Majesco has been known to throw something cool out there once in a while. Cooking Mama helped them bounce back nicely, I'm sure the sequel coming out by Q2 will do well too. Not so much my style of gaming, but there's a market for it, so whatever brings in the money. Its nice to see them getting more successful on the Wii. More and more 3rd party developers are starting to bring in nice profits on the Wii, which will lead to more developers, which leads to more games. Hopefully the devs will take the time to make the controls work great for their titles.

  • Bodboy466

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 7:34 am GMT

    "Less losses"? That's just a different degree of "bad". It doesn't help that they're working as a third party developer on the Wii, which so far haven't fared so well. It's a shame.

  • QualityJeverage

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 6:32 am GMT

    I very much doubt that we'll ever see a continuation to Advent Rising. The only ones who would be interested in it are the hardcore, everyone else either never heard of the game or was completely turned off by the not-so-great gameplay.

    Orson Scott Card has expressed some interest in finishing the story through some other medium, but as I understand right now, he's still hard at work on the next book in the Ender series. If we do see another installment in Advent, it probably won't be for quite some time.

  • Slashgibber

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 5:01 am GMT

    Gief a continuation to the Advent trilogy!

  • GIF

    Posted Jan 17, 2008 12:38 am GMT

    Want to bring Majesco out of the dark? Give us Bloodrayne 3 for the Xbox 360. The developer who worked on part 2 and 3 is at work on a Ghostbusters game which looks amazing.

  • rwbojorquez

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 11:24 pm GMT

    Time for Advent rising I need to continue the story. And for the psp too.

  • jwmakoto

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 10:46 pm GMT

    Ok... now bring me another Phantom Dust, Majesco!

  • Stavr0s

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 8:11 pm GMT

    I think it may be time to buy some Mejesco shares. . .

  • n0s2004

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 7:27 pm GMT

    A sequel for Advent Rising & BloodRayne 3. Even if they remake Advent Rising Im gonna get it.

  • nevi

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 7:13 pm GMT

    I think they might be seeing some profit from Psychonauts soon.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 6:07 pm GMT

    advent rising remake would definitley be a good idea. and maybe with a full game and one without bugs. thats how u go from lessening losses to making money, moula,ching ching, bling on your pinky ring

  • SMGrawks

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 6:06 pm GMT

    Jakob if it weren't for Majesco you would never get to play many games on these shores.

  • Relys

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 5:15 pm GMT

    I WANT PSYCHONAUTS 2!

  • darkshad0w1

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 5:09 pm GMT

    @GMR_mousse21 Advent rising had bugs...played the pc version and loved it though....

    to each their own my friend, but i respect your opinion

  • GMR_mousse21

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 4:21 pm GMT

    @ jakob_187

    Advent rising was terrible

  • mikethemonkey

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 3:54 pm GMT

    Majesco shares opened the week's trading at $1.29, and have since slipped to $1.13. God speed Majesco! Ohh and Thanks but NO thanks for cooking Mama!

  • mdroxnunoit

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 3:45 pm GMT

    ok thats nice. and phyconauts is awesome

  • jakob_187

    Posted Jan 16, 2008 3:44 pm GMT

    And in other news...Majesco still didn't support good games like Psychonauts, as well as even give good resources to an ambitious title like Advent Rising....

    Hope they crash and burn soon. =D

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