Square Enix has announced its consolidated results for the nine months ended December 31, 2009.

The publisher and developer reported that its operating income increased 68 per cent year-on-year to 21.4 billion yen and that net sales for the period were up 30 per cent to 135 billion yen.

Games that were released during the period include Final Fantasy XIII (in Japan), Dragon Quest IX, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Kingdom Hearts 358/2. Final Fantasy XIII sold over one million copies in Japan during its first 24 hours of availability.

Yoichi Wada, president and representative director, explained, “Aimed at mid- and long-term growth for the Square Enix Group, we have made solid progress in our business plan set out at the beginning of the fiscal year.

“We are pleased with the success of our Final Fantasy XIII launch in Japan on December 17, where we successfully shipped 1.8 million units in this market with a PlayStation 3 installed base of 4 million. And, through our improved localization systems, we were able to set a March launch date in North America and Europe.

“Further, our integration activities since the acquisition of U.K.-based Eidos in April are progressing rapidly and allowing us to strengthen our global business framework."

Final Fantasy XIII is due to release in North America and Europe at the end of March.