If it seems like Konami is imploding, that’s because it is. But it’s only the game division that is imploding, and strangely enough that’s not what is making Konami money. Believe it or not, their profits are actually up. They reported a revenue increase of .3 percent over the last year, and a massive increase of operating income of 87.8 percent. All of this happened while Konami Digital Entertainment, the branch responsible for video games, experienced a decrease in net revenue of 7.1
So Konami’s game division is failing while Konami is succeeding? What else does Konami do? The answer, much to the chagrin of many hardcore gamers, is mobile gaming.
Konami has shifted its focus from console gaming to the mobile sphere. Many of Konami’s mobile titles produced a stable income for the company, and they released far more mobile titles than they did console titles. In fact, scaling back their console title production was part of what allowed them to turn a profit.
Outside of the mobile sphere, alternative forms of income have also earned Konami quite a bit of money. Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and its myClub online payment system produced a steady stream of revenue for the company.
So yeah, the key to Konami’s profits was releasing fewer games and milking their mobile titles and microtransactions.
Something tells me that making good games just doesn’t turn a profit in the games industry anymore.
Source: Gamespot