Despite economic complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sonic the Hedgehog series performed stronger than the previous quarter, according to SEGASammy’s second quarter results for the fiscal year of 2021.
The Sonic game series reportedly sold 2.3 million units this quarter, up by 1.5 million units from last quarter. Among the games that helped the series get to these numbers were Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020. The quarterly numbers were tabulated between July to September of 2020, or roughly the third quarter of the calendar year.
| Series | Approx. Unit Sales | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Total War | 2.5 million | Total War: SHOGUN 2 (March 2011) Total War: ROME II (September 2013) Total War: Three Kingdoms (May 2019),etc. |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | 2.3 million | Sonic Generations (November 2011) Sonic Mania (August 2017) Team Sonic Racing (May 2019), etc. |
| Football Manager | 1.5 million | Football Manager 2020 (November 2019), etc. |
| Persona | 1.5 million | Persona 4 The Golden (June 2020) Persona 5 Royal (October 2019) Persona 5 (September 2016), etc. |
| Other | – | Alien: Isolation (October 2014) Yakuza 0 (March 2015) Two Point Hospital (August 2018), etc. |
Just like the previous financial report, most of SEGASammy’s profit came through repeat sales of video game titles during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that Sonic Generations returned to the charts is not surprising, given that a massive sale involving Sonic titles on Steam recently occurred, where the game was worth one dollar.
There are many uncertainties over the impact from the spread of COVID-19, which could affect the Group’s financial position and operating results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
SEGASammy
The pandemic continues to impact SEGASammy hard. After offloading their amusement operations division, the corporation – who will continue to produce arcade titles – also reported that their executives took a pay cut, and 8% of their total workforce were called to voluntarily retire.
The report raised concerns of SEGASammy becoming an acquisition target, or speculation of SEGA “leaving the arcade business”. This has not been indicated by the corporation’s earnings.
