Building IP

TOMY develops toys and creates opportunities for people to discover, try and compete with them. In the year ended March 2026, group advertising expenses were ¥19.133bn and R&D was ¥6.723bn. BEYBLADE provides a concrete example through interchangeable top parts, store events, tournaments and online play. Brand-level costs and returns for individual activities are not disclosed, so audience reach cannot be translated into a profit contribution.

Toho earns through combinations of production investment, distribution, cinema operations, rights and merchandise that vary by title. Kokuho and Demon Slayer have overlapping roles as well as different revenue routes. To understand the business, follow who performs each job and holds each right, alongside the genre and box-office gross.

Sony participates in producing works, reaching audiences and supplying equipment and imaging components. Games, Music and Pictures together generated ¥8.31tn in FY2025 segment sales before intersegment eliminations; ET&S generated ¥2.26tn and I&SS ¥2.15tn. Anime production and distribution illustrate one connection within the group, rather than a single production chain shared by every business.

Bandai Namco’s IP axis strategy coordinates products and services, regions and timing around a property. Gundam sales reached ¥254.3bn in FY2026; the company attributes its expansion to a new visual work, the Expo pavilion and initiatives across businesses. IP sales and segment sales are different views and cannot be added together. Reading the size and profit differences between Toys and Hobby and Digital alongside that example reveals how one IP can involve businesses with different economics.

Capcom develops new games while continuing to sell earlier titles. Its 83.7% catalog share in FY2026 measures units sold, rather than revenue or profit. Its stated approach combines digital distribution and pricing with media, esports and other IP uses to expand purchase opportunities and awareness of its series.

Sanrio earns revenue by selling its own products and licensing characters to other businesses. Its merchandising and licensing gross profit in Japan and overseas is disclosed in separate Hello Kitty, multi-character and other-character categories. Planned games and animation would add more ways for people to encounter its characters.

Nintendo expands hardware ownership and sells games for those systems. Original Switch and Switch 2 software sales overlapped in FY2026, while a game released in 2017 kept selling. As development takes longer, existing titles remain on sale alongside work on the next releases.