In a strategy meeting held today in Tokyo, Koei not only gave investors and media representatives a glimpse of the future, but also talked about past achievements. For the first time in company history, Koei managed to post sales exceeding 10 billion yen ($91.83 million US), by recording sales of 10.8 billion yen ($99.17 million US) and a profit of 2.2 billion ($20.2 million US). These figures are mainly a result of the popularity of Shin Sangoku Musou 3 (Dynasty Warrior 4), which achieved worldwide sales of 1.75 million units. Looking ahead, Koei executives revealed plans for three PlayStation Portable (PSP) launch titles as well as a continued focus on the development of online games. At today's meeting the company laid out three key strategies for the future: 1. become a provider of a synthesis of entertainment and content, 2. strategy to organize (different) systems (thereby targetting a female audience and focusing on a mix of different media) and 3. an expansion of the company's de-centralization efforts in order to establish sales and development divisions in various territories to meet the needs of the respective market.

Koei's first PlayStation 2 MMORPG Nobunaga's Ambition Online currently boasts of 52,000 users, among them 35,000 subscribers. Development on the game's PC version is going ahead as planned, with the beta test commencing next month and the final product heading for a late January or February 2004 release. Currently the game's operation is producing red numbers, but Koei is optimistic to get a return on the investment and start making profits off the title in two years.

• Dengeki Online