Capcom's game business stagnant despite strong Monster Hunter 4 sales

Capcom's revenues and profits were up in the first half of this fiscal year, thanks mainly to the company's Amusement machines business -- while its video game business remained flat. Despite the fact that Monster Hunter 4 for Nintendo 3DS shipped more than 2.8 million units -- the highest ever for a third-party title on 3DS, claims Capcom -- the company's Digital Contents business was essentially flat year-over-year. It blamed this on "sluggish growth in package software in anticipation of the full-scale launch of next-generation home video game consoles by the end of the fiscal year." Lost Planet 3 sales were also disappointing, the company admitted, while titles like Resident Evil Revelations and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies achieved their expected sales. Notably, Resident Evil 5 is now Capcom's best selling console game ever. It has sold 6.5 million units, knocking Street Fighter II on the SNES down into second place (the title has sold 6.3 million, in comparison.) Note that this does not take into account the various different versions of Street Fighter II that are available on other platforms. Capcom's social games business isn't looking so hot either. Browser game Onimusha Soul is selling well in Taiman, and Smurfs' Village continued to provide stable income for the company -- however, Capcom admitted that its mobile business is not achieving expected sales levels. It blamed this in part on a lack of major titles for mobile, and "the fierce competitive environment." Fortunately, Capcom's Amusements business was on hand to counter its stagnant games division. The company's Devil May Cry 4 Pachinko range achieved better-than-expected sales, helping to double the divisions profits year-over-year. For the six months ended September 30, 2013, Capcom's Digital Content division posted revenues of 37.5 billion yen ($381.7 million), up from 35.0 billion yen ($356.2 million), and profits of 5.4 billion yen ($54.9 million), down from 5.8 billion ($59.0 million) year-over-year. Overall, the company posted revenues of 53.2 billion yen ($541.0 million), up from 45.5 billion yen ($462.7 million) year-over-year, and profits of 5.0 billion yen ($50.9 million), up from 4.1 billion yen ($41.7 million) year-over-year.