Metal Gear Solid 4 Drives Konami's First-Half Profits Up 90%

November 06, 2008 | By: James Brightman

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MGS4's sales have continued to rise, and global shipments are now more than 4 million copies. Solid Snake has helped boost Konami's first half significantly.

After predicting that its profits would be up 88 percent for the first-half ending September 30, Japanese publisher Konami revealed today that its market performance was even better than expected. Net income rose to 11.964 billion yen, representing an increase of more than 90 percent, while sales rose 9.8 percent to 146.9 billion yen.

As expected, Metal Gear Solid 4 was the primary driver of sales. "Truly overwhelming in scale, this is the first PlayStation 3 title to use the full capacity of a Blu-Ray Disc. It received accolades even before its release and was honored with the prize of excellence in the Entertainment Division of the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival sponsored by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. The total number of the copies shipped has already passed the four million mark and the sales are still steadily increasing — testimony to the prowess of the Metal Gear Solid brand," the publisher commented.

Konami also cited "solid sales" of sports, music and quiz games, as well as "continued solid sales" of the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game series.

Konami's sales and operating income have been steadily rising over the last three years. The Digital Entertainment Segment, which houses Konami's home video game business, has seen the biggest gains compared to the other divisions.

Konami expects net revenues for the full fiscal year ending next March to total 330 billion yen (up 11 percent) and net income to rise nearly 42 percent to 26 billion yen.

MetaL Gear Solid 4

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 1 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 2 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 3 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 4 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 5 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 6 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 7 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 8 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 9 of 123)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination. (Screenshot 10 of 123)