Atlus shows first-quarter losses

TOKYO--Japanese publisher and developer Atlus reported losses during its first fiscal quarter, but it expects to put away the red pens over the next few months. During the three-month period ending June 30, the company marked an operating loss of 274 million yen ($2.46 million) due to poor sales and stiff competition in the console game sector. Atlus expects to harness the sales of several upcoming home console games and ride them back to a midterm profit of 80 million yen ($720,000), and up to 250 million yen ($2.3 million) by the end of the fiscal year.

This month, the company shipped its latest Megami Tensei role-playing game in Japan, Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner for the PlayStation 2, which ranked second place in the weekly sales chart. Along with the recently announced Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, Atlus will be releasing an anticipated fantasy-style simulation RPG named StellaDeus for the PS2 within the fiscal year. StellaDeus will feature Record of Lodoss War writer Ryo Mizuno as its scenario director.

Atlus also mentioned some other upcoming projects. The company is planning the release of an RPG named Kowloon Youma Gakuen-ki for the PS2, and an action/adventure game for the Game Boy Advance titled B-Densetsu! Battle B-da Man, which is based on a TV anime series of the same name by Takara.