Sega Sammy, the major Japanese amusement company, described the market in the 12 months to March 31 as “sluggish.”
This, it said, was due to the absence of “major market-driving titles” and the growing popularity of playing games on smartphones and other devices.
“In the future, however, development and supply of innovative new game machines in line with diversifying customer needs is expected to revitalise the market,” it said.
The company’s net sales of amusement machines increased 3.7 per cent to ¥45.4bn (£243m) during the year, although it reported an operating loss of ¥2.5bn.
The group opened six amusement centres and closed six locations in the domestic market in the fiscal year. Consequently, it operated a total of 198 amusement centres in Japan at the end of the period. Net sales in this segment were ¥41.4bn, a decrease of 4.2 per cent from the previous year, and it recorded an operating loss of ¥946m.
