Bandai's Q1 Financial Report: Go-Busters and Fourze Sales Data

BandaiNamco’s Q1 financial report for 2012 gave a first look at toy sales for Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters and Kamen Rider Fourze, drawn from the Toys and Hobby Business / Net Sales by Character (Japan) section of the report, which measures toy sales specifically rather than the broader merchandise-wide Group Total figures.

Go-Busters made 2.9 billion yen in its first three months, down from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger’s 3.6 billion yen over the same period the prior year; Gokaiger went on to earn 13.0 billion yen for its full financial year, a total considered to tie Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger as the most successful Sentai entry of the previous decade. Bandai’s forecast for Go-Busters projected 5.5 billion yen for its second quarter and 11.0 billion yen for the full year, a total that would still rank above every year from 2006 through 2010: Tensou Sentai Goseiger (9.2 billion), Samurai Sentai Shinkenger (10.5 billion), Engine Sentai Go-Onger (12.0 billion), Juken Sentai Gekiranger (7.7 billion), and GoGo Sentai Boukenger (10.1 billion).

For Kamen Rider, every year since Kamen Rider Decade had set a new financial high for the Heisei run, a streak the 2012 forecast broke: the year, covering the first quarter of Kamen Rider Wizard and three quarters of Kamen Rider Fourze, was projected at 22.0 billion yen, down from 2011’s 28.3 billion yen. The figure still placed above every year from 2000 through 2009, including Kamen Rider Ryuki’s 13.9 billion yen in 2002 and Kamen Rider 555’s 12.0 billion yen in 2003, meaning the drop represented a step down from a record year rather than a genuine decline for the franchise.

The report also covered Pretty Cure and Ultraman. Pretty Cure was projected at 11.5 billion yen, up from the prior year’s franchise-low 10.7 billion yen under Suite PreCure. Ultraman ranked twelfth on Bandai’s top-12 character list, forecast to improve to 2.0 billion yen, still the second-lowest total of the previous four years.

Source: Rising Sun Tokusatsu.