Investors

Earnings Presentation for the Year Ended March 31, 2015: Question and Answer Session (Summary)

FIELDS CORPORATION held a financial presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 in OTEMACHI 1st SQUARE CONFERENCE (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) on May 1, 2015 (Friday) at 11:30 am.
This page provides an overview of the main question & answer session (summary) at the financial presentation.

Question & Answer Session (Summary)

(May 1, 2015)

Q1. Regarding pachinko and pachislot sales in the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2016), what can you tell us about the number of titles to be sold, the number of machines to be sold and the percentage of machines that will be launched before the standard change and the percentage to be launched after the change?

A1. Including pachislot titles whose release was delayed due to changes in the model certification test method, we expect to release more than twice as many pachislot titles and about twice as many pachinko titles. We expect that the total number of machines to be sold will be about the same as in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, taking into account the market environment around the time the standard will be changed.
The percentage of releases would be higher after the deadline for installation than before the deadline.

Q2. Will there be last-minute sales of machines conforming to the former standard before the sales deadline? Will this have any impact on Fields’ sales schedule?

A2. Judging from previous trends, we do anticipate a last-minute rush to sell around one month to six weeks before the installation deadline. At the same time, we have adjusted our sales schedule strategically when the standard is changed.

Q3. Fields will have 6 titles for social games next fiscal year. How many of these are Fields’ own titles?

A3. We expect all 6 titles to be Fields’ titles. We aim to build a revenue base from IP while partnering on platforms.

Q4. Your IP strategy is based on focusing resources on carefully selected IP, but how exactly will this be developed?

A4. In IP development, we will concentrate on IP for which sales can be expanded in several media and that drive major markets.
We explained that the retail price for NINJA SLAYER would be more than 1.5 billion yen, and our benchmark is IP targeting retail prices of 1 billion yen and over and license fees over 100 million yen.

Q5. The first episode of NINJA SLAYER brought in over 1 million views on niconico (live broadcast and video). What is your initial reaction to this, and what are your expectations for the future, including overseas expansion?

A5. In addition to niconico, this episode was shown on 10 sites, putting the cumulative number of views even higher. Growth is unlikely to double in just one media format, but development in several media formats has a multiplier effect, and the opportunities to generate revenue increase. In addition, we had planned for overseas expansion from the start, and have decided to distribute it worldwide, including North America, South America, Europe and Asia. We have high hopes for expanded merchandising going forward.

Q6. The Ultraman series is being expanded overseas. What is the regional breakdown for the 550 million yen in gross margin expected for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018? And will it be expanded to North America?

A6. At this point, the figures are primarily for Southeast Asia. We have received several offers from English-speaking countries, but we want to take a leadership role with the original works and plans in order to create added value for our IP. For this reason, we will hold off on expanding to North America for a few years.