The following extractions are some highlights from Konami's fiscal report for the year which ended on March 31st. Their outlook for the future seems very positive, however, some details within the report ae worthy of note.

For starters, take a look at their goals for the next fiscal year:

• "We will further strengthen collaboration in product research and development at our three hubs in North America, Australia and Japan, and by reinforcing our partnerships, we intend to boost management efficiency, develop new products that respond to social changes and people’s preferences, and add value to existing products, while promoting an increase of production and sales. With entertainment, which is Konami’s main business area, as the foundation, we will continue to introduce new products that will be enjoyed to an even greater extent by our customers."

Some keys there are that the plan to "develop new products" in response to "social changes". Within the report, they highlighted that the rapid decline in the economy as a problem they may have to wrestle with looking to the future. With that in mind, they also are seeking to add more "value to existing products" and properties. They hope these these will cause cutsomers to enjoy their existing properties "to an even greater extent", possibly by adding new features and USP's.

Next highlight in the report: they acknowledge the rapid success of the DDR series, particularly in North America. This is mostly related to the home releases and it's obvious that DDR Hottest Party and Hottest Party 2 have much to do with this success (as evidence by the fact that HP2 was first released in NA, then Japan under a different monacre with slightly different songs). They also acknowledge the success of the Karaoke Revolution series:

• "In North America, DanceDanceRevolution has gained popularity and continued to enjoy favorable sales, with the standard favorite and KARAOKE REVOLUTION American Idol ENCORE 2, which were sold under multiple platforms, sold well... Repeat sales of DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA 2, DanceDanceRevolution HOTTEST PARTY and KARAOKE REVOLUTION American Idol ENCORE, all of which went on sale previous fiscal year, were all strong."

Hottest Party is still selling really well, so that's great to hear! Something in particular, though, is interesting. Notice that they plan on capitalizing on the success of Karaoke Revolution as it continued to see good sales. Soon after this fiscal report was issued, Konami announced a new entry in the Karaoke Revolution series. Could this be a hint that more DDR games are coming very soon? Particularly ones in North America (i.e., concerning the Hottest Party series)? It's interesting to think about!

The last extraction from their fiscal report has to do with their outlook for the next fiscal year (which has since already started for them). What they have to say is very interesting and could have added meaning for certain properties in the near future (especially with E3 right around the corner)! Here's the statement:

• "In addition to efforts made in Japan where the digital entertainment is a mature market, we will focus on the North American and European video game markets which are growing steadily.... In North America, we will focus on music games, which maintain a deep-rooted popularity, and continue to roll out the DanceDanceRevolution series on multiple platforms. We intend to enrich the lineup of titles distributed online, including Chaotic Eden, a dungeon exploration-type RPG scheduled to begin distribution in South Korea. We will also proactively respond to the online marketing of titles for game consoles with network connectivity, introducing new titles and content original to Konami. In the arcade video games, we will strive to further enrich and expand the product lineup that uses the e-AMUSEMENT service... As for popular content, we will pursue high synergy through multifaceted development that is not restricted to video game software, arcade video games and card games."

First off, they acknowledge that in North America, their games under their Digital Entertainment segment (which would include the DDR series) have a "deep-rooted popularity". Their plans for the future? They plan to continue with the DDR series on "multiple platforms". That statement alone can mean a lot. Certainly, that could indicate taht a new DDR is coming for PS2, 360 and Wii platforms, or since X was released not too long ago and the AC version is still in development, it could mean the 360 and Wii versions will get updates only. Either way, it's looking very likely that they'll be announcing something very soon! Secondly, notice that they acknowledge the need for online distribution! "We intend to enrich the lineup of titles distributed online", so this could indirectly refer to their WiiWare efforts, and we can see that they are taking the time to have a look at how things are being done there since they announced Driift for the service shortly after this fiscal report was compiled. Also notice that they plan to respond to the "online marketing of titles for game consoles with network connectivity". PS2, 360 and Wii all have network connectivity. They all have room for improvement as far as Konami's properties are concerned. For example, despite being on the "mainstream" DDR platform, DDRX did not feature any sort of online connectivity. It's quite possible that they'll capitalize on that with a new PS2 entry that will feature online play since SuperNova's servers have gone down since it was released years back. For 360, we have the Universe series which is growing strong with DLC and good online play so they are doing well in that regard. As for Wii, it's completely undeniable that Konami must capitalize on the Wii's online capabilities! Many have expressed interest in online play being supported in the next entry in the Hottest Party series. That's not only coming from fans of the series, but even critics alike. Since the first HP, the lack of online play was criticized, however, it was more excusable since it was their very first entry on the Wii. But once Hottest Party 2 came along, they had more experience and naturally, if they wanted to, they could've pursued the idea of adding online play but they didn't. Instead, they decided to focus on strengthening the overall experience, especially as far as the Hand Marker system is concerned - and boy am I ever happy they worked on it! What better time to add online play than with the next HP entry? After all, the core gameplay is very solid, what other improvements could they possibly add that wouldn't make the next entry seem more like the same old thing just with new songs? Online play is the most glaring improvement that they could make, as would be DLC (possibly of titles in the first HP that didn't make it in the North american release and even the new and revived KO's in Furu Furu Party over in Japan), and a strong Edit Mode. Given the fact that they have expressed interest in looking into the avenues surrounding online further with this fiscal year, it's quite possible that online play will be included. We'll have to wait a bit longer before we hear something, though.

After all this information contained within this fiscal report, one could certainly see that Konami is still growing strong but they see the need to continue to strengthen their existing properties and come out with new products despite the economic situation they are faced with. Could we hear something soon with regards to upcoming DDR games? Why certainly! It's very likely, particularly, that a new entry in the Hottest Party series and the mainstream DDR series on the PS2 will be revealed, as excerpts from the fiscal report hint at. A new entry in the Hottest Party series seems especially likely, though because, as was touched on earlier, the Karaoke Revolution series was credited for having good success this past fiscal year, and soon thereafter, Konami announced a new entry in the series. After acknowledging the strong sales of the Hottest Party series, and given a combination of other variables touched on within the report, a new announcement looks very likely. Keep your eyes and ears open for an announcement especially with E3 right around the corner. Anytime between now and June 2nd is fair game for an announcement with regards to the DDR series. (Could they be announcing one for the PS3? What other surprises do they have in store?) Given Konami's track record with previous announcements of new DDR games (even last year), evidence would point to an announcement a week or two before E3.

There is more information contained within the report as far as their personal assets, their investments in R&D and other minute details so by all means, check it out if you're interested.