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Koei Tecmo FY2014/15 Annual Report by ZhugeEX

ZhugeEX

Banned
So for those of you that don’t know me, I am Koei Tecmo’s biggest fan (yes that’s a self-proclaimed title) and have been following them for over 15 years now. Today I’d like to share with you their annual report which shows their financial performance over the past year as well as what we should expect in the future. I hope that you enjoy reading this

You can click images to enlarge.

Untitled-2_zps4bbb74f3.png


This report covers the period from April 1st 2014 through March 31st 2015.

Ok, let’s start with some game shipments for FY2014/15-

  • Hyrule Warriors sales exceeded 1 million units worldwide on Wii U
  • Dragon Quest Heroes is approaching 1 million units in Japan across PS3/PS4. The overseas release is scheduled for later this year.
  • Dead or Alive 5 free to play editions have been downloaded over 3 million times whilst the latest version of Dead or Alive 5: Last Round has sold 330,000 units across PS3/PS4/One/360 & PC.
  • Samurai Warriors 4-II has sold a cumulative 180,000 units in Asia across PS3/PS4/PSV.
  • Nobunaga’s Ambition: Creation has reached 300,000 units in Asia.
  • Hit mobile smartphone game, Nobunyaga GuruGuru Dungeon has seen cumulative 333,000 downloads across iOS and Android.
  • Toukiden Kiwami has been a hit in Japan and Asia with cumulative sales of over 200,000 units in the two regions across PSV/PSP. Overseas sales have been in line with expectations.
  • Koei Tecmo’s My Gamecity platform has reached over 700,000 members.
  • Koei Tecmo’s Musou series in Japan have exceeded 22 million units across all “Musou” series.

1_zps9hz7z6ye.jpg


Hyrule Warriors was a huge success worldwide for Koei and Nintendo allowing the musou series to expand across to a different genre and platform, only 130,000 units were sold in Japan meaning that the overwhelming majority of game sales came from the USA and Europe. Koei noted that the game as well as its download contents is still selling at a good rate. Samurai Warriors has seen repeat sales thanks to Samurai Warriors 4-II launching in Japan and the original Samurai Warriors 4 title launching overseas. Toukiden Extreme saw good sales on PS Vita version but failed to replicate success of the original. Download contents profit has grown year on year and so has sales on next gen consoles.


Financial

Koei Tecmo saw revenue increase for the second consecutive year and operating profit increase for the 5th consecutive year, up 35.2% YOY. Total sales revenue reached 37,799m yen which was up 0.6% YOY. Game Software still remained the biggest segment for Koei Tecmo with Online and Mobile in a comfortable second place. Combined, these two segments account for more than 31,600m yen in revenue.

Total sales revenue in Japan decreased 4.6% YOY but still accounted for 79% of total revenues, 29,876m yen. Sales revenue overseas was up 26.4% YOY and accounted for 7,922m yen. North America and Europe saw the biggest increases (42.8% and 40.8%) whilst Asia was down 8.6% YOY only accounting for 1,763m yen compared to 2,431m yen in Europe and 3,728m yen in North America.

The total operating profit ratio was up 6.5 points to 25.5%.


Game Software

The Game Software segment saw revenues decrease by 2.3% to 24,863m yen, however operating income was up by 29.6% to 7,795m yen. Total software shipments exceeded 7 million units worldwide up from 8.0% the year prior. Shipments in Japan totalled 3.79m units whilst overseas shipments exceeded 3.25m with 1.68m in North America, 1.05m in Europe and 0.52m in Asia. Japan, North America and Europe saw healthy increases YOY whilst Asia saw a decline in unit shipments, 0.52m compared to 0.75m in the prior year.


Online and Mobile

The Online and Mobile division saw revenues increase 4.8% to 6,733m yen, operating income also increased 5.2% YOY to 1,128m yen. Koei Tecmo has huge ambitions in the Online and Mobile space and will be developing native applications for Android and iOS in order to create hit smartphone games based on their current IP’s as well as new IP’s. Koei Tecmo’s title, “Nobunyaga guruguru dungeon” has exceeded 333,000 downloads across iOS and Android. Koei will shortly be releasing Nobunaga’s Ambition 201X for the Japanese smartphone market.


Looking ahead – IP Creation and Expansion

Koei Tecmo CEO, Yoichi Erikawa stated that fiscal 2014/15 was a successful year for Koei Tecmo thanks to the games they created across console, PC and Mobile. Erikawa stated that the collaboration title, Hyrule Warriors for Wii U has sold over 1 million units worldwide and is still selling at retail and DLC is still popular. He is proud of how far the title has come since 3 years ago when they first started working on the project. The other collaborations with Square Enix for Dragon Quest Heroes and Namco Bandai for One Piece Pirate Warriors have contributed to the success seen this fiscal year.

However, whilst it looks like Koei Tecmo are now only known for collaboration titles, Erikawa stated that this fiscal year (2015/16) has a slogan of “IP Creation and Expansion”. Erikawa explained that IP Creation and Expansion is the creating of brand new titles for multiple platforms as well as expanding traditional Koei games to multiple platforms as well. Koei Tecmo this year are using their own development tools to adhere to multi-platform solutions and continue maximising the profitability of each current and new IP. Koei Tecmo’s aim is to develop games for Console, Smartphone, Online browser, Online platforms such as Mobage (Japan) and even for Sony Computer Entertainments new Project Morpheus. Next Generation development is already underway.

IP Creation and Expansion
-To create new IP with new genre
-To expand on current IP
-To introduce new and existing IP on new multi platform such as Smartphone, online, Next Generation console and other new platforms such as project Morpheus
-To create new collaboration titles
-Create games with global appeal
-Create more tie ups with Games and other company (such as Anime, Toy or Music company to promote games. E.g Samurai Warriors Anime).

Koei, Tecmo and Gust are all working on new titles to introduce this year. Games for smartphones are being developed as well. There will be active and intense promotion on Koei’s smartphone titles this year. Koei Tecmo will be promoting new and existing IP across various hardware, software and internal platforms. The hardware platforms announced for upcoming titles are PS4, PS3, PS Vita, WiiU, 3DS, Xbox One and other new platforms. The software platforms announced for upcoming titles are DeNA, GREE, dGAME, Mobage, as well as Android, iOS and traditional internet browsers. The internal platform announced is myGAMECITY which has over 700,000 users and 26 titles.

Koei Tecmo also talked about game tie-ups after the success with the Samurai Warriors Anime. Koei Tecmo expressed that they would like to continue working with other organisations to build the brand of their IP’s. Koei is aiming for their IP’s to have additional support via Anime, Toys, Movies, Food, Books, Apparel, TV, Music, Events, CD, Performances and other areas.


Collaboration In Japan and Abroad

Two new collaboration titles have already been announced within Japan, Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Monster (Yokai Sangokushi) which is a collaboration title between Koei Tecmo’s “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” strategy series and Level 5’s “Yokai Watch” title. This title was introduced as part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms 30th anniversary and because Level 5 CEO and President is a fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms history and game series. The second collaboration title is between Team Ninja and Square Enix, it is Dissidia Final Fantasy, a 6 player arcade game.

Koei Tecmo confirmed that more collaborations are on the way. One title in particular is being developed with the Western market in mind and is currently being prepared. Whilst no details are being given yet, Koei have told us to look forward to a collaboration with a huge western IP. Negations are still on-going and final development plan has not been decided yet. Koei Tecmo see growth opportunity in the western market after the success of Hyrule Warriors, Dead or Alive 5 and even Uncharted Waters Online.

This major collaboration title may not be announced until next year. Please look forward to it.


Expanding to Asia

Koei Tecmo plan to release a number of console, online and smartphone games in Asia this year. Asia have always been a good market for Koei’s online titles with Uncharted Waters seeing success in China, Taiwan and Korea. Koei Tecmo have expressed a desire to work closely with the Asian market to develop new titles for the region. With the launch of PS4 and Xbox One in China Koei Tecmo will release new titles such as Toukiden Kiwami, Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate and smartphone titles such as Dynasty Warriors Blast.


30 years of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

This year is the 30th anniversary of Romance of the Three Kingdoms series in Japan. Last year the 30th anniversary series of Nobunaga’s Ambition saw a new title “Nobunaga Ambition Creation” sell 50% more copies than the previous game.

A new Romance of the Three Kingdoms titled has been announced in the numbered series and more details will follow. As well as this we will see additional games and content to increase the value of the IP. This year we will see new light novels, manga and other media to promote the 30th anniversary. As well as this there are brand new titles such as Level 5’s collaboration, Romance of the Three Kingdoms Monsters. There are also other titles such as ROTK: Legion and ROTK: Cao Cao’s Legend that will be releasing. There will also be a special anthology of Romance of the Three Kingdoms titles from the past 30 years titled “Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Feudal Warlord” in Japan.


Business Development

Sales of Dead or Alive 5 free to play have exceeded 3 million units and helped expand download contents sales for Koei Tecmo. Download sales for packaged titles have increased and the distribution of periodically released DLC has led to a long term increase in profits. This year almost 3,500m yen was bought in through download contents alone. Packaged titles (full game downloads) accounted for 2/3rds with the other third accounting for standard DLC. Digital sales for online and mobile titles exceeded 6,500m yen.

Koei Tecmo stated that the distribution of titles is key and to long term success and so Koei will be developing a number of titles on multi-platform mobile titles to ensure long term success and high profit.

Koei Tecmo plan to continue developing the downloadable contents business.


Looking ahead FY2015/16

Koei Tecmo are planning for revenue to increase for a third consecutive year by 5.8% to 40,000m yen and operating profit to increase for a sixth consecutive year by 3.6% to 10,000m yen. This will once again be fuelled by the game software and online and mobile divisions which will see both revenue and profit increase. Koei Tecmo are expecting total revenue to increase in Japan to 80.2% share whilst overseas revenue decreases 0.3% thanks to falling sales in North America and Europe. However sales in Asia will make up the difference.

Koei expect to ship 7 million units worldwide in FY2015/16 which would be the same as this year. Japan is expected to see 4 million units sold, up 210,000 whilst North America and Europe are expected to see shipments drop 280,000 to 1.4m and 55,00 to 1.0m. Asia once again is expected to see 80,000 additional shipments next year to reach 0.6m total.

Summary

As you can see, Koei Tecmo have announced that they will be introducing new IP’s and a large collaboration in the future. We can also expect to see existing series titles such as Dynasty Warriors 9 and Ninja Gaiden 4 to be announced within the next 2 years as these have already confirmed to have started development.

I hope this was an interesting read and I am more than happy to clarify any points made here.

I will shortly be posting summary notes from Koei Tecmo’s COO, Hisashi Koinuma’s interview with Famitsu. Koinuma is an icon with Koei Tecmo and has worked with Omega Force on a huge number of titles. He is most famous for being the produce of the Samurai Warriors series. Please look forward to this summary.
EDIT: Interview now posted- http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=162693100&postcount=76

DW8_zps040prldr.gif
 
Koei Tecmo confirmed that more collaborations are on the way. One title in particular is being developed with the Western market in mind and is currently being prepared. Whilst no details are being given yet, Koei have told us to look forward to a collaboration with a huge western IP. Negations are still on-going and final development plan has not been decided yet. Koei Tecmo see growth opportunity in the western market after the success of Hyrule Warriors, Dead or Alive 5 and even Uncharted Waters Online.

This major collaboration title may not be announced until next year. Please look forward to it.

Star Warriors.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
So, among everything else...this means they have an unannounced title for Wii U coming, right?
 

Adachi

Banned
Operating profit margin of over 25%, most western game publisher can only dream of something like that.
 

rhandino

Banned
Another flawless thread from ZhugeEX, Always glad to see that Tecmo continues to get success with the Musou brand because it means that I will get more of those games =D

Oh! and it seems that Hyrule Warriors managed to sell that 1M units! Congrats to them tbh, It's one of the best Musou I played and the amount of things to do in it is amazing...

5JXAzPs.gif


I want a sequel with more maps and music Nintendo/Tecmo, It's all I need T_T
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
I hope they are releasing a new RoTK in the States.

Me too!

I wonder what are Toukiden sales in the West and what is the platform split.

The original title sold 470,000 units in Asia.
Last update for the west was 80,000 units on PS Vita.

However for Kiwami we have no numbers in the west.

"Ctrl+F: PC"
Nothing ? :mad:

There will still be Steam releases for titles. It's part of their multi-platform strategy. Sorry If this wasn't clear!

What an awesome OP, cheers ZhugeEX.

Thank you :)

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Monsters?

Yokai Sangokushi. It's a collaboration between Level 5 and Koei.

Yokai Watch x Romance of the three kingdoms.

http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/...ealed-yokai-warriors-and-yokai-watch-busters/

So, among everything else...this means they have an unannounced title for Wii U coming, right?

I guess so. But wouldn't be surprised if it was a nice title that only came out in Japan or something. Like how ROTK came out on Wii U there.

Operating profit margin of over 25%, most western game publisher can only dream of something like that.

Excellent thread ZhugeEX. Loved reading every bit of it.

Is there any info/hint about Dragon Quest Heroes 2 for Vita/PS3/PS4?

No info on DQH2 yet. That will most likely come from Square I guess.
 

Skilletor

Member
3500m means million, right?

Lol. 2/3 of the dlc bought in packages. Jesus Christ.

Doaxvb is going to make them so much money.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Now that I think about it, do we have the current announced Koei published/developed games per platform?
 

random25

Member
ZhugeEX, you live up to your self-proclaimed title. Job well done!

KT has been doing pretty well the last couple of years. Not surprised considering the amount of projects coming through them as well as the constant influx of sales from their published titles.
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
3500m means million, right?

Lol. 2/3 of the dlc bought in packages. Jesus Christ.

Doaxvb is going to make them so much money.

Yes, means million.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

When it says Packaged titles it means they download a full game. Such as Dynasty Warriors 8.

When it says Download contents it means a costume pack or something.

So 2/3rds of revenue from downloads were full games, 1/3rd were actual DLC.

I hope this clears this up.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Thanks for making this thread. Temco Koei have been on the way up for years now
 

Skilletor

Member
Yes, means million.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

When it says Packaged titles it means they download a full game. Such as Dynasty Warriors 8.

When it says Download contents it means a costume pack or something.

So 2/3rds of revenue from downloads were full games, 1/3rd were actual DLC.

I hope this clears this up.

Thanks! That makes more sense. :)

Edit: My confusion isn't your fault, I don't look at these reports often.


Glad tk is doing well, though.
 
Operating profit margin of over 25%, most western game publisher can only dream of something like that.

I can imagine a KT Finance guy running into his boss's office and yelling: "I've Defeated An Enemy Officer!"

Thanks for making this thread. Temco Koei have been on the way up for years now

Securing collaborative projects on hugely popular franchises was a smart, smart move.
 
Dragon Quest Heroes is approaching 1 million units in Japan across PS3/PS4

Wasn't it at 810k in Japan. Is the rest from other parts of Asia?

Toukiden Kiwami has been a hit in Japan and Asia with cumulative sales of over 200,000 units in the two regions across PSV/PSP. Overseas sales have been in line with expectations.

Dammit I was hoping for actual sales info lol. At least it met expectations.
 

Jabba

Banned
Great thread ZhugeEX

I know there's no Toukiden Kiwami west numbers, do you think the west will continue getting localizations of the series, as long as it meets expectations?
 

Dinda

Member
Ok Koei for the new IP i want a real JRPG with the battle system and character designs of Toukiden. Thank you very much.
 

salromano

Member
Yokai Sangokushi. It's a collaboration between Level 5 and Koei.

Yokai Watch x Romance of the three kingdoms.

http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/...ealed-yokai-warriors-and-yokai-watch-busters/

Oh, I know what it is. I covered it. I think it's just a weird localization. It's obviously translating "youkai" to "monsters," but given that it's called "Yo-Kai Watch" in the west, it would make more sense to call it "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Yo-Kai" or something. Otherwise the title looks as if it's completely ignoring the second brand.
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
I can imagine a KT Finance guy running into his boss's office and yelling: "I've Defeated An Enemy Officer!

Securing collaborative projects on hugely popular franchises was a smart, smart move.

Haha! They are a true financial analyst of the three kingdoms!

Dammit I was hoping for actual sales info lol. At least it met expectations.
Great thread ZhugeEX

I know there's no Toukiden Kiwami west numbers, do you think the west will continue getting localizations of the series, as long as it meets expectations?

Thanks.

I wasn't expecting to get sales figures on Kiwami but they're not going to be amazing. Just like how the first game wasn't, and this is a spin off. But the fact that Koei developed a PS4 version shows that was with the west in mind and I have no doubt that future Toukiden titles will also come to the West using the same portable/home console platforms.

Oh, I know what it is. I covered it. I think it's just a weird localization. It's obviously translating "youkai" to "monsters," but given that it's called "Yo-Kai Watch" in the west, it would make more sense to call it "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Yo-Kai" or something. Otherwise the title looks as if it's completely ignoring the second brand.

This isn't Koei's translation. It's just what my friend translated it as when I said to translate to literal English titles.
 

Takao

Banned
Great thread ZhugeEX

I know there's no Toukiden Kiwami west numbers, do you think the west will continue getting localizations of the series, as long as it meets expectations?

Toukiden 2 will probably end up on Nintendo's next handheld eventually (if not from the start), so yeah, probably.
 
A new Romance of the Three Kingdoms titled has been announced in the numbered series and more details will follow. As well as this we will see additional games and content to increase the value of the IP. This year we will see new light novels, manga and other media to promote the 30th anniversary. As well as this there are brand new titles such as Level 5’s collaboration, Romance of the Three Kingdoms Monsters. There are also other titles such as ROTK: Legion and ROTK: Cao Cao’s Legend that will be releasing. There will also be a special anthology of Romance of the Three Kingdoms titles from the past 30 years titled “Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Feudal Warlord” in Japan.

Remake of the Fire Emblem-esque Legend of Cao Cao?
 
Not sure. Here is the full title. Seems to be an online game.

三國志曹操伝 Online

It's mentioned to be a working title.

The title looks the same except for the online part. The prequels had remakes on the GBA.
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
The title looks the same except for the online part. The prequels had remakes on the GBA.

See my edit.

It could be the same as the 1998 title. So yeh, same as the one you're describing.

As it's an online title I doubt it'll be localised. Probably just Japan/Asia.
 

Producer

Member
I'm interested to see what Gust is going to do this year. Whether they will do a Shallie Plus port and/or actually release Chronus Materia, or if they will they make a new Atelier series for PS3/4
 
So, among everything else...this means they have an unannounced title for Wii U coming, right?

Is this just assuming based on HW's success?

Also, fingers crossed for Ni-Oh being another "surprise" pick-up by Nintendo. I still believe in this as it's very fitting based on various aspects this gen with Nintendo, such as earlier pick-ups, and their relationship with KT.

For Gust, I just want Rorona 3DS to come over to both NA and EU (via retail please!).
 

maxcriden

Member
- Hyrule Warriors sales exceeded 1 million units worldwide
- Koei Tecmo’s Musou series in Japan have exceeded 22 million units across all “Musou” series
- DLC for Hyrule Warriors is selling at a good pace
- Koei Tecmo will be announcing two new IPs and another big collaboration

This info might be worthy of its own thread. I think a lot of peeps interested in HW sales will not necessarily think to check in here. :)
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
Is this just assuming based on HW's success?

Also, fingers crossed for Ni-Oh being another "surprise" pick-up by Nintendo. I still believe in this as it's very fitting based on various aspects this gen with Nintendo, such as earlier pick-ups, and their relationship with KT.

It's based on the fact that Koei said they are developing titles for Wii U as well as PS4 etc...

So it can be inferred that they will have a future release on Wii U. Whether it's a new game or just a port of a niche title is unknown though.

Oh and Ni-Oh was announced back in 2004. Maybe it's time to give up on there ever being a game for that haha.

Mario Mosue anyone?

mario_zpse3a4d6a0.jpg
 

takoyaki

Member
Great post ZhugeEX. Any mention of Fatal Frame 5/Project Zero 5 or would that be part of Nintendo's annual report?
 
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