Square Enix posts a Q1 loss during release drought

Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest publisher Square Enix had little good news to share this quarter, highlighting a small number of Japan-exclusive titles as its best bets during a very quiet three month start to the year.

The publisher noted net sales of ¥24.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.6% over 2011's ¥24.5 billion. This resulted in a net loss of ¥2 billion, a serious drop on the ¥690 million profit of the same quarter a year ago.

The poor results are likely the result of a weak release schedule; both Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance arrived too late on international markets to make much impact on this quarter's reporting, while Heroes of Ruin and Qunatum Conundrum seem to have slipped under the radar.

In a press release, the Japanese publisher highlighted 3DS game Dragon Quest Monsters Terry no Wonderland 3D, along with mobile titles Sengoku IXA and Final fantasy Brigade as top earners.

"The company is actively making investments in a sizable pipeline of content under development," a press release promised; Square Enix is known to have a large collection of unannounced games in development, and is expected to make Final Fantasy XIII reveals in September.

The publisher remained fast on its strong forecasts for the upcoming year, likely thanks to a strong portfolio of western releases led by Hitman: Absolution in November and Tomb Raider in early 2013.

"We are making every effort to achieve a substantial earnings improvement in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013 and beyond through a range of initiatives to respond to the changes in the business environment," the statement continued.

The rest of Square Enix's FY2013 line up includes Sleeping Dogs later this month and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy in October.