Game revenues down at Disney
First quarter flat but Interactive Media down 29%
Disney's Interactive Media division has reported a 29 per cent decrease in revenues, to $221 million, for the three months to January 2, 2010.
The division, which includes both retail publisher Disney Interactive Studios and Disney Online, did see an improvement in operating profit though, with losses narrowing from $45 million the previous year to $10 million this year.
Although further figures were not provided unit sales at Disney Interactive Studios were described as lower than 2008, due to a smaller number of new releases. However this was "more than offset" by an associated decrease in marketing expenses, inventory costs and bad debt.
The continued success of Club Penguin and an increase in subscription revenues saw Disney Online perform more strongly during the same period.
Recent comments by CEO Bob Iger suggest that the company is planning to alter its approach to the games market, focusing its Disney titles on the Wii and Nintendo DS and Marvel related tie-ins on "high-end systems".
Overall The Walt Disney Company saw a flat first quarter, with revenues up 1 per cent to $9.74 billion and net income almost unchanged at $844 million. The results beat investor forecasts and the company's share price has remained largely unchanged.