Capcom Makes Bank...

Profits are way up for the Japanese company in spite of disappointing western sales.
by Daemon Hatfield IGN

May 23, 2006 - Capcom has released its worldwide financial results for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, demonstrating a 91.6% profit increase over its results for the same period in 2005; approximately $62 million, up from $32 million.

"The video game industry experienced a favorable growth in general while it was going through the period of 'generational shift'…" said Capcom's financial report, contradicting many other companies that are seeing less rosy results in the transition. "One of the major contributors for the growth was the new portable game consoles which generated a buzz in the market and played a central role in the diversification of the customer base by attracting female and novice game players."

Examples cited of strong-selling Capcom titles on portable systems include Mega Man Battle Network 6 for the Game Boy Advance and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS. On the home console front, Capcom cited both Resident Evil 4 and Monster Hunter 2 as its key sellers, while admitting that Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Without Warning and Beatdown did not reach projected sales figures, with the Western market being particularly stubborn for the company.

Capcom's financial success comes in spite of profits falling a profound 87.9% percent in the U.S. market, with sales down 18.3%. And profit was down 89.6% in the European market, even though sales were up 9.3% over the pond. The company confirmed that its Bay Area-based Capcom Studio 8 developer has closed its doors, and that it is in the process of closing Capcom Eurosoft, which was responsible for distributing games in Europe.

The company noted that the current lines of market share have the potential to be completely redrawn during this transition into next-generation gaming.