FFXIII sells 5.5m units for Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest IX have driven Square Enix sales through the roof.

The Japanese company today revealed a 42 per cent rise in revenue and a 50 per cent rise net income for the financial year ended 31st March 2010. Accountants were so pleased they used colour in the annual report.

Final Fantasy XIII - released early March 2010 - was the company's best performer. The role-playing game sold 5.55m units worldwide.

But Dragon Quest IX recorded the most individual sales, amassing a whopping total of 4.26m in Japan alone. DQIX will be released in Europe this summer.

Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos in March 2009 also paid dividends. Batman: Arkham Asylum sold 3.24m units globally and Just Cause 2 sold 1.19m.

Other games of note were Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (1.49m), Dragon Quest VI (1.29m) Dissidia: Final Fantasy (1.81m) and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (760,000).

Square Enix highlighted calendar 2010 big-hitters as Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (27th August), Final Fantasy XIV Online (2010) and Front Mission Evolved (2010).

The company also plans to "strengthen own IPs" as well as "create new AAA brands". Among those mentioned in colourful circles were Deus Ex, Tomb Raider and Hitman.

But it's not all smiles, as Square Enix revealed that around 400 staff were laid off during the year [This sentence has been edited -Ed].