Dragon Quest V on DS boosts Square Enix profits
Handheld RPG lifts profits by 14 per cent
There's a theory that the entertainment industries actually do quite nicely from economic downturns, as financial gloom supposedly encourages us all to follow more pocket friendly amusement avenues. Going to the cinema and staying in to play games, instead of going spelunking and shopping for Gucci saddles for our new horse riding habit, for instance.
Anyway, listening to the tales of woe and redundancy from the games industry kind of belies that theory, though Square Enix has just announced a 14 per cent increase in profits – all thanks to Dragon Quest V on the DS. The handheld RPG sequel has pushed 1.15 million units in Japan alone, which the developer is rightly chimmin' about.
It also reported that Final Fantasy IV on the DS has now cleared the one million units mark, and PSP title Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is closing in on shifting two million units.
Ultimately, this looks like Square Enix will be seeing a slightly lower overall annual sales figure this year, but it's clear that pocket gaming is leading the way for the Japanese-based games company.
Maybe Microsoft shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the idea of a handheld Xbox?
