Atlus JP reports poor financial performance

[Pibbman]

This is pretty bad news.


Quality RPG producer Atlus, best known for the blockbuster Megami Tensei series, is in dire financial straits, and has forecast huge losses as a result of worsening financial performance and the disposal of one of its failing lines of business.
For the accounting period ending in July, 2009, the company has revised its forecast performance from a profit of ¥100 million ($1 million) to a loss of ¥2.400 billion ($24 million). Their last reported results were a profit of ¥500 million.
Their stock has been falling precipitously as a result.

Looking at their financial reports, much of the loss appears to be of an extraordinary nature, stemming from their withdrawal from arcade-type games, where by their own admission things had not been going well.
Overall sales forecasts are also down however, with a reduction to ¥20 billion, an 11% reduction. Their estimate of pre-tax operating profit has been slashed 72%, to a mere ¥400 million.

The extreme nature of their projected loss appears to stem from their withdrawal from certain markets, so it may be that their core business of video games is not in mortal danger, although the reduction in ordinary profits and sales seems to suggest that they may be in even deeper trouble.

Fans will doubtless be hoping that they stabilise matters quickly…
Link (http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/03/12/atlus-in-dire-straits-huge-loss-forecast/) < (somewhat NSFW site, here just for source, however everything on this page is quoted above already for you.)
japanese source (http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/4056265/)
report here (http://www.atlus.co.jp/ir/news/pdf/1236667658.pdf)

If something happens to Atlus, and I dont get anymore Megaten games anymore, I think I'll be launched into a depression that I'll never be able to come out of.

Financial* Sorry for topic error.

[jeffx]

what the hell???

[Zephyr]

####. That really bites.

[Kakizaki]

Is that Babelfished or something? If not, that article is written horribly.

[DamageCity]

I don't really think this is such surprising news. I remember reading years ago that ATLUS JP was in the red.

[BaizDaza]

what the hell???

After I clicked the link I was thinking the same thing.

[Yet Another Tim]

I've become somewhat paranoid upon reading this, seeing how mergers/takeovers are commonplace nowadays.

[Pibbman]

Is that Babelfished or something? If not, that article is written horribly.


No it's not babelfish, the guy who runs the site speaks in japanese, and lives in Tokyo. He only writes the highlights from articles he reads in Japan that may be of interest to the site visitors. It's not meant to be a full translation of the japanese source.

[superbeast1370]

Ok, now I'm worried.

[Pibbman]

I've become somewhat paranoid upon reading this, seeing how mergers/takeovers are commonplace nowadays.

Imagine SE buying them out. Quite horrifying I bet.

[superbeast1370]

I've become somewhat paranoid upon reading this, seeing how mergers/takeovers are commonplace nowadays.

Imagine SE buying them out. Quite horrifying I bet.

that thought just sent a shiver down my spine.

[Fuyukaze]

I'll wait for a more reliable source before I get all excited and start to panic. It wouldnt surprise me if Atlus Japan was facing some kind of money issues as many companies are these days but untill someone like kotaku or AtlusUSA talks, I'll take it as rumor for now.

[cj iwakura]

I'd like to think that Atlus USA operating as a separate company won't leave them very affected by the affairs of Atlus JP, though I could be wrong(I just hope I'm not).

[Sseklebeast]

Poor Chie

[Kakizaki]

I don't really think this is such surprising news. I remember reading years ago that ATLUS JP was in the red.

Ditto. I remember the same thing.

[Hamel]

I'd like to think that Atlus USA operating as a separate company won't leave them very affected by the affairs of Atlus JP, though I could be wrong(I just hope I'm not).

I think Atlus USA is not affected by it
Seeing as they announce a game once a week or so

still I hope Atlus JP would get better soon as I will hate seeing less SMT

[Ark]

I've become somewhat paranoid upon reading this, seeing how mergers/takeovers are commonplace nowadays.

Imagine SE buying them out. Quite horrifying I bet.

SE already bought Eidos, so I really can't see them taking on another company anytime soon. I'm more worried about a console company, or Microsoft buying them out (Especially since Microsoft has been buying a lot of game exclusiveness lately) .

[Pibbman]

I'll wait for a more reliable source before I get all excited and start to panic. It wouldnt surprise me if Atlus Japan was facing some kind of money issues as many companies are these days but untill someone like kotaku or AtlusUSA talks, I'll take it as rumor for now.

What Atlus's PDF finance report isn't good enough for you as a source? Even if you can't read japanese, you'll see the numbers being reported are the same being given in the articles.

[AdrianMorales]

All companies are going through hard times nowadays.

[Crabman]

Quick, buy more P4!

This is worrying news. Although I'm not entirely sure what Atlus JP does aside from games, so I'm not sure how much this could affect the company in the long run.

Also, my workplace is blocking the PDF report. Apparently Atlus likes to inject some sexy in their financials.

[dungeon_man]

Sounds like a temporary situation. I don't think the SMT series or Atlus is in any danger.

[psychoneko]

I've become somewhat paranoid upon reading this, seeing how mergers/takeovers are commonplace nowadays.

Imagine SE buying them out. Quite horrifying I bet.

You are hereby FORBIDDEN to utter that accursed name. -_-

[DamageCity]

I would think Konami would be first in line to buy them out IF it came down to it.

[Decept]

Truth or not, I hope they pull through. It is just a depressing time in general.

[cj iwakura]

I'd like to think that Atlus USA operating as a separate company won't leave them very affected by the affairs of Atlus JP, though I could be wrong(I just hope I'm not).

I think Atlus USA is not affected by it
Seeing as they announce a game once a week or so

still I hope Atlus JP would get better soon as I will hate seeing less SMT

Well, nothing could boost sales more than a new core SMT.

[freakcan]

Doesn't bother me too much. I don't play many games made by Atlus. To my knowledge, I haven't really played one yet.

[jeffx]

^ cool beans bro

[LiquidPhire]

so i actually spent some time reading through the japanese business documentation and the investment documents.

this is all what my only so-so japanese can gleam, so take it with a grain of salt, but:

turns out, the losses are, as previously stated, due to some business plans in sectors outside the home game market (specifically, their card game and amusement oriented markets) not panning out, so they are having to spend money to remove themselves from those sectors. on top of that, the stocks and other investments have tanked due to the worldwide economic crisis, which would also be reported as losses. i think their stock has been halved in the past year.

whether this will affect our beloved Atlus USA, its hard to say, but according to the Atlus Japan homepage, Atlus apparently perceives international markets to have a lot of growth potential. maybe more games coming to us?

[slayn]

A large number of responses in this thread are ridiculous. Some of you guys need a little perspective or something.

[four_black_hearts]

:agree: Or a F'n job!

[Kenji]

The Japanese economy shrank at an annual rate of 12%, so I really can't say I'm surprised...

[Jaxx-Leviathan]

It had me worried for a moment at first but I guess the source aren't very reliable and clear on the subject(notice the abundance of hentai-ish content on the homepage of the link). A few more announcements concerning this subject and I will be listening.

[kelvinc]

Just read the PDF, which is linked from the Atlus JP site. The numbers on the table on page 3, in millions of yen 百万円.
Using my knowledge of Chinese to decipher the Kanji:
Columns are sales revenue 売上高, gross profit 営業利益, operating profit 経常利益, and net profit 当期純利益.
First row (A) is for the previously released forecast 前回発表予想.
Second row (B) is for the revised forecast 今回修正予想.
Third row (B-A) is the change in forecast 増減額.
Fourth row is the rate of change 増減率, or (B-A)/A
Fifth row is the actual figures for the previous reporting period 前期実績 for reference.

First table is for August 2008 to January 2009. Second table is for August 2008 to July 2009.

As mentioned, most of the losses (1,504 million yen) are in the extraordinary business decision to exit certain industry sectors 事業撤退損, which won't be repeated (you can't exit the same place twice).

It's somewhat insulting to suggest that "hentai-ish" content makes a source less than reliable without any reference to the primary source itself.

[Hamel]

Doesn't bother me too much. I don't play many games made by Atlus. To my knowledge, I haven't really played one yet.

Then GTFO as this is an Atlus board

[Kakizaki]

^I can understand being frustrated by that person's comment, I have to wonder why freakcan even bothered posting that, but please chill out.

[Jinkies]

I think freakcan meant Atlus JP DEVELOPED games. For me, I play tons of Atlus USA published games, not the developed ones. So I can see why this wouldn't bother freakcan or me much if it doesn't affect Atlus USA.

[Sei]

I hope they do okay. Atlus developed ones are my favorite ones.

[dungeon_man]

I hope they do okay. Atlus developed ones are my favorite ones.

Definitely! All of the non-Atlus games Atlus USA publishes are worth checking out for one reason or another and some are absolutely fantastic, but the Atlus developed games are consistently well-done and have an extra layer of polish that many of the non-Atlus games lack.

Some people are seriously missing out or don't own the right consoles (and are seriously missing out) if they haven't tried an Atlus developed game.

Anyway, Atlus has lost money before, and this loss is much smaller than some of their earlier profits. They will be okay unless this trend continues for several quarters.

[Ratix]

As others have stated, a lot of businesses are suffering in general right now. Let's just hope that Altus' problems really are from outside the home video game market. I like their unique brand of games and do not want to see them go anywhere.