Today Bandai Namco announced its financial results for the second quarter of the current fiscal year, related to the period beteen July 1st and September 30th. As you can see in the table below, all results are in the black, and show sizable improvement since last year.

On top of the results, the publisher also increased its outlook for the full fiscal year both in net sales and income.

The press releases included a breakdown of the reasons for the change, boasting, among other things, favorable sales for Dark Souls III in Europe and North America.

"In the second quarter (six months) of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, all businesses have exceeded the profit plan set out at the beginning of the fiscal year. The Toys and Hobby Business performed steadily, generally in line with the plan. In addition, the Network Entertainment Business and Visual and Music Production Business outperformed the plan as their highly profitable products and services gained popularity.

On the business front, for home video game software in the Network Entertainment Business, sales were favorable for the new title DARK SOULS III in North America and Europe. In network content such as game applications for smartphones and PC online games, key titles already existing in Japan such as The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage retained stable popularity, and titles marketed overseas, including in the Asian region, such as DRAGON BALL Z DOKKAN BATTLE continued to attract popularity.

In the Visual and Music Production Business, sales were favorable in the GIRLS und PANZER series for visual and music package software, and related products amid escalated popularity, especially for products themed around a movie release. Also, the LoveLive! series, which is IP for which visual content was developed in conjunction with music content and live events, retained popularity. Moreover, visual package software of the Mobile Suit Gundam series sold favorably.

In light of the actual results for the second quarter (six months) and recent business trends of each business segment described above, the consolidated projections for the full fiscal year are expected to exceed the consolidated projections announced on May 11, 2016. As such, the consolidated projections have been revised as stated in the table."

Dark Souls III launched on April 12th in the west for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The first DLC Ashes of Ariandel released ecently on October 24th, while a second DLC is scheduled for a launch in early 2017.