Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes sales "solid," as total Konami game sales slide

Japanese game publisher Konami today reported earnings for its fiscal year ended March 31, stating Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes sales were "solid," but this strong performance couldn't keep total game sales from sliding year-over-year.

The publisher's earnings report today did not provide a new sales figure beyond the 1 million shipped number for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zero announced last month. Sales for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 game are described only as "solid."

Konami also noted that reviews for the game, its first release for Xbox One and PS4, were "favorable." Indeed they were, as the game's Metacritic score is currently a 75.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was released in February of this year, but Konami did not say anything about the game's performance in its financial report today.

Revenue for Konami's Digital Entertainment business unit, its game division, was ¥104.3 billion yen ($1 billion), compared to ¥116.4 billion ($1.14 billion) last year. Operating profit was also trending downward, coming in at ¥11.7 billion ($114.9 million), down significantly from the ¥21.2 billion ($208.3 million) posted last year.

Overall, Konami--which has multiple non-gaming divisions like Health & Fitness and Slot Machines--posted revenue of ¥217.6 billion ($2.14 billion), down from the ¥225.9 billion ($2.22 billion) last year. Total include slid more than 50 percent, falling from ¥13.17 billion ($129.4 million) to ¥6.2 billion ($61 million).

In prepared comments, Konami explained that going forward, the company plans to "enhance local production systems in order to develop localized content tailored to the needs of our overseas game users as quickly as possible."

As for the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Konami said it plans to "develop promotional activities" for 10 upcoming expos, including E3 2014, which comes to Los Angeles next month. The company didn't say anything more, but with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes already out the door, the company is likely referring to its sequel, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. There's no word yet on when that game will be released.

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