Koei Tecmo Talks Nioh Sales, How Switch And PS4 Are Revitalizing The Industry

Koei Tecmo has been keeping pretty busy as of late, with sales of Nioh continuing to do quite well and the expansion of titles coming out for Nintendo Switch this year. But it had plenty of time to talk about both of those things as it posted its financial results for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The company has reported net sales of around 7.7 billion yen, which is about a 15 percent drop from the previous year, and a 1.23 billion yen operating income, also down, but around 16 percent. That said, it expects sales to rise up to 13.4 percent, and operating income to 31 percent by the next year – and it believes the Nintendo Switch will help that.

The company believes that, between the Switch and the PlayStation 4, the market is seeing a bit of revitalization, and the release of games for both platforms will help the company's bottom line.

In addition, its Samurai Warriors franchise continues to be a big money-maker, with the latest release, Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed, selling seven million downloads across target markets. This trend will likely continue with more games to come in the franchise, like the upcoming Dynasty Warriors 9.

But it's Nioh that has proven to be a big hit with fans. Following the release of the game's latest DLC, Dragon of the North, Koei Tecmo has noted that the game continues to see strong recurring sales, no doubt from an audience that appreciates "tough" games such as Dark Souls and Bloodborne. (Nioh definitely fits in that category, as you can tell by our review.)

Finally, the company reported that Dead Or Alive 5: Last Round has proven to be a big hit with fans, with nine million downloads. The company has an extravagant amount of DLC available for the game, namely with outfits that range from bikinis to schoolgirl outfits, so those are no doubt helping sales.

We'll see what the company has lined up in the months ahead in terms of releases, but there's no doubt it's gunning for a big year ahead, especially with new titles for the Switch and PS4.

Nioh is available now for PlayStation 4.