Thanks in part to strong sales of Final Fantasy XIII, which has shipped 1.8 million units to date in Japan, publisher Square Enix saw its profits rise 48.2 percent in the nine months ended December 31, 2009.

The company is especially pleased with the market penetration of Final Fantasy XIII since it launched on December 17 against Japan’s PS3 install base of 4 million, Wada notes. The game sold 1.5 million units in its first week alone.