Sega Sammy profits down

According to a Sega Sammy financial statement released today, the Tokyo-based publisher's numbers were down across the board for the nine months ending December 31, 2006. Net sales came to 404.3 billion yen (approximately $3.4 billion) compared to 420.8 billion yen ($3.5 billion) the same period the year before, while net income was down to 49.4 billion yen ($411 million) from 63.5 billion yen ($526 million).

The Japanese company blamed a drop in pachinko machine sales, falling sales at its amusement centres, and a downturn in children's card game sales.

Game sales for the Sega Sammy group came to 147 million units, with the majority of sales coming from the US. In Japan, games that performed well included Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS collection, along with Yakuza sequel Ryu Ga Gotoku 2. In overseas markets, Sonic the Hedgehog, along with other Sonic series games, was a strong performer.

Sega Sammy was formed in 2004 by a merger. Sammy Corporation was created in 1975, and its core business was the development and retail of pachinko machines. Sega was founded in 1951 and created games including Frogger, Virtua Fighter, and the Phantasy Star series. The two companies still use their separate brand names on various products.