Soft games sales contributed to weaker second quarter profit and revenues for Mattel rival Hasbro, which reported quarterly profits of US$43.4 million (33 cents per share) versus US$58.1 million in the same period last year.

Net revenues came in at US$811.5 million, a decline of 11% compared to US$908.5 million in 2011.

President and CEO Brian Goldner stated that the results were consistent with the company’s business plan for 2012 and the company is expecting a boost in the latter half of the year when consumer demand periods peak.

US and Canadian net revenues sat at US$406.6 million, a drop of 19%, versus US$505.0 million a year ago, reflecting growth in the preschool category that was offset by declines in the boys, girls and games categories.

In the boys category, stronger Marvel product growth partially countered expected declines in sales of  Transformers and Beyblade products, bringing net revenue to US$389.1 million, a drop of 16%.

Revenue for the girls category fell 13%, despite increasing global television sales of My Little Pony, while the preschool category increased 6% to US$103.4 million buoyed by Sesame Street, Playskool Rescue Heroes, Transformers Rescue Bots, Marvel and Koosh brands.

Despite good performances from products including Marvel Bonkazonks, Star Wars Fighter Pods, Duel Masters and Battleship, net revenue in the games category dropped by 8% to US$213.8 million.

Meanwhile, net revenues for the toyco’s entertainment and licensing segment rose 59% to US$43.2 million, compared to US$27.2 million in 2011, helped by US and international television programming sales.