INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-Square Enix enjoys robust year-end sales

* Year-end demand healthy despite economy

* On track to hit annual operating profit forecast

* Likely to miss 2010/11 recurring profit target (Adds president's comments, details, closing share price)

TOKYO, Jan 15 - Japan's Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd said it enjoyed robust holiday sales despite a slowing economy, and the videogame maker expects its operating profit to be roughly in line with its forecast for the year to March.

"Demand has been generally brisk," Square Enix President Yoichi Wada told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

"The sluggish economy has not hurt us that much yet."

While the global downturn prompted some consumers to give up purchases of big-ticket items such as cars and TVs, the game industry is relatively well shielded as people tend to stay home and turn to low-budget entertainment, analysts have said.

Square Enix, known for such blockbuster role-playing games as "Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy", said last November its operating profit is likely to dip 2.4 percent to 21 billion yen ($236 million) this business year compared with the previous year.

The Tokyo-based company plans to launch the latest installment of its "Dragon Quest" game series on March 28 in Japan for Nintendo Co Ltd's wildly popular DS handheld game gear, giving itself a major sales and profitability boost.

Square Enix also plans to launch the next version of "Final Fantasy" in 2009 in Japan, further strengthening its product lineup.

Wada said the company now appears likely to miss its recurring profit target of 50 billion yen for the year ending in March 2011, given the global downturn and a firmer yen, which eats into exporters' revenues when converted into the Japanese currency.

"It's going to be tough ... Just when we are trying to boost our overseas sales, the yen is getting firmer," Wada said.

He said, however, the company will continue working towards that goal through various steps including business alliances with other software makers.

Shortly after Wada's comments, shares in Square Enix closed down 1.4 percent at 2,540 yen, outperforming the Nikkei average, which fell 4.9 percent. ($1=88.94 Yen)