Square Enix Lowers Profit Forecast by Nearly 63%, Delays Dragon Quest 9 in Japan

Japanese publisher Square Enix today updated its financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, cutting profit expectations by 62.5%.

The company now expects to see a net profit of $49.6 million, instead of the previously anticipated $132.4 million. Last year, the company posted a $101.4 million profit.

Net sales expectations were only slashed by 16.9%, to $1.5 billion.

In addition, Square confirmed that the Japanese debut of Dragon Quest IX (DS) has been delayed until July 11. The oft-delayed role-playing game was previously expected on March 28, with the push stemming from the discovery of several major bugs.

Square cited the delay of Dragon Quest IX and "the severe business environment" afflicting its offline games and Taito divisions as the impetus behind the cuts. Fellow Japanese publishers Capcom and Sega recently cut expectations due to lower software sales and the exchange rate of the weak dollar to the stronger yen.

No North American release date for Dragon Quest IX has been announced.