Capcom still having problems tapping the mobile market

While many companies are finding success on mobile while retail games decline, Capcom is experiencing the opposite, with decent packaged sales, but weak mobile sales. The company noted that, for the nine month period ended December 31, 2013, both Monster Hunter 4 and Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen have seen increased sales, the former driven by "overwhelming popularity," with over 4 million copies sold for 3DS. Meanwhile Dead Rising 3, Resident Evil Revelations and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies all achieved projected sales -- Dead Rising 3 in particular sold over 1 million units. And the company's digital game sales looked good too -- DuckTales: Remastered, for example, sold better than expected, while online games like Monster Hunter Frontier G and Onimusha Soul are performing steadily. Lost Planet 3, on the other hand, sold below expectations, "due in part to intensifying competition in the European and North American markets," said Capcom. However, Capcom's mobile business wasn't so hot. While Smurfs' Village is still maintaining its popularity, the company's mobile content isn't achieving expected sales, due in part to "fierce competition" in the mobile market. To put into perspective, Capcom's packaged goods business saw a 28.3 percent rise in sales year-over-year, while the company's mobile business saw a 39.5 percent decline. As a result, Capcom's Digital Contents business, which houses its game business, saw revenues of 56.1 billion yen ($549.5 million), up 12.8 percent year-over-year, and operating income of 6.9 billion yen ($67.8 million), down 5.5 percent year-over-year. Capcom's other businesses didn't fare so well either. Both its Arcade and Amusements operations saw dips in revenues and profits, due to a lack of high-performing game machines. overall the company recorded revenues 75.2 billion yen ($737.2 million), up 3.5 percent year-over-year, and profits 5,957 million yen ($58.3 million), down 10.3 percent year-over-year.