Final Fantasy sells 5.5 million, Arkham Asylum commits 3.24 million

Ever since it was first teased at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Final Fantasy XIII was expected to be a best seller. Those expectations were met earlier this year when Square Enix announced the role-playing game had shipped 5 million units worldwide and sold 1 million units in the US and Canada.

Today, the Japanese publisher revealed Final Fantasy XIII has sold 5.5 million worldwide to date, helping the company post record profits. For the 12 months ended March 31, the Tokyo-based company reported net income of ¥9.51 billion ($102.7 million) on revenues of ¥192.26 billion ($2.09 billion).

Final Fantasy XIII wasn't the only game that swelled Square Enix's coffers during its last financial year. After dominating the Japanese sales charts for weeks, Dragon Quest IX more than earned a place of distinction, selling 4.26 million units on the DS worldwide as of the end of March. The award-winning Batman: Arkham Asylum also proved popular, selling 3.24 million units--1.82 million in North America and 1.39 million in Europe...but just 30,000 in Japan.

Other hits included Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, which sold 1.49 million units, and the DS remake of Dragon Quest VI, which sold 1.29 million in Japan alone. The island nation also saw Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep sell 760,000 units on the PSP, which remains a popular format in Japan while hardware sales lag in the US.

Outside of Square Enix's fiscal year, Just Cause 2 sold 1.19 million units as of the end of April. The open-world actioner was developed by Square Enix's British subdivision Eidos Interactive, which the Japanese publisher bought in March 2009. That segment's Quebecois studio Eidos Montreal is currently working on a third installment of the Deus Ex action role-playing series.

Square Enix's bullish earnings report was tempered somewhat by the revelation Square Enix's payroll has shrunk by 467 employees in the last year. Since March 2009, the company's headcount has gone from 3,805 to 3,338.