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Sega Sammy Holdings, the parent company formed by the 2004 merger of developer Sega and amusement company Sammy, posted the public results of the 2020 fiscal year that ended in March 2021. The company’s presentation revealed that more than 4.4 million units of Sonic the Hedgehog series games were sold in that period. There were also 3 million units in sales of Persona games titles. Combined, that brings two of Sega Sammy’s flagship franchises to more than 7.4 million in combined sales.
One major takeaway from the presentation: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It had a clarifying effect on the strengths and weaknesses of different parts of Sega Sammy’s business. Sega’s consumer games business saw a significant uptick, as customers turned to games to pass the time spent at home. By comparison, the pachinko and slot machine sectors, as well as physical amusement facilities, saw big declines over the fiscal year. Restrictions closed some facilities and depressed foot traffic. A major source of loss for the company in the fiscal year came from the expenses needed to restructure its Amusement Center-related business. This included having to furlough or lay off staff.
Major earners for Sega Sammy throughout 2020 included its mainstay franchises. These included Total War, Persona, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic titles broke 4.4 million units sold. Persona games sales broke 3 million units, thanks to the releases of Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5 Strikers, and even the PC version of Persona 4 Golden. Another spotlight franchise was Total War. The series proved its longevity through strong sales of titles released in 2019 like Total War: Three Kingdoms and Total War: Warhammer 2.
Sports fans continued to support Football Manager. Both the mainline Football Manager 2021 title and the mobile editions helping the franchise surmount the 3.8 million unit milestone. The rest were made up by more isolated titles and somewhat less numerous franchises like Yakuza, Two Point Hospital, and Endless Space. In the current fiscal year that began in April 2021, the company expects earnings to recover in its physical sectors. It’s also anticipating further returns from new consumer games, including the releases of announced titles. That includes Total War: Warhammer III, Lost Judgment, and Shin Megami Tensei V.
Sega Sammy’s full public presentation is available online.
