Disney's games segment sales dive 17 percent

Disney Interactive Studios has been relatively quiet since the beginning of the year, having released no major games during the January-March period. As such, it comes as no real surprise that The Walt Disney Company segment's earnings for the period saw a significant dip compared to the same period last year, when it released the tepidly received dinosaur-hunting action adventure Turok on multiple platforms.

Reporting on its second-quarter earnings this week, The Walt Disney Company said that its games division saw revenues decline 17 percent to $129 million. Disney attributed the decline in revenues to decreased sales for its self-published games, which faced a tough comparison against Turok, released in February 2008.

Operating loss held comparatively steady at $61 million, the company said, given that the double-digit dip in revenues was offset by a strengthening in its Japanese mobile-phone service, decreased marketing spending, and lower administrative costs at its Disney Online label.

On the whole, The Walt Disney Company saw revenues slide 7 percent to $8.09 billion during the January-March period. Net profit was also significantly off from the same period a year ago, skidding 46 percent to $613 million, while operating income fell 29 percent to $1.53 billion. Disney's Interactive Media segment was the company's only division to post an operating loss for the period.