Capcom Q1 Sales Rise On Phoenix Wright 4, RE4 Wii

Officials from Capcom have released details of the company’s financial results for its first quarter ended June 30th 2006, which show a 35.1 percent rise in sales over the previous year, driven by releases such as Resident Evil 4 for the Wii and DS courtroom adventure Phoenix Wright 4. Altogether the company's sales for the period amounted to ¥14.3 billion ($121 million), with profits up 40 percent from a year prior to ¥1.1 billion ($9.3 million). Capcom revealed that handheld courtroom drama Phoenix Wright 4 DS has sold through more than 500,000 copies, achieving the highest sales of any game in the series. The Wii edition of Resident Evil 4 was also reported to have experienced 'smooth' sales, while sales of Monster Hunter Freedom 2nd “also continued to grow, backed by its strong popularity.” In light of this growth, Capcom also announced that it has revised its earnings forecast for the 1st half ending September 30, with the firm now expecting net profits of ¥30.35 billion (a 3.6 percent increase) and net income of ¥1.35 billion (a 80 percent increase over the original forecast). However, the company did not revise its outlook for the entire year, due to what it calls “continuous weak performance” of its arcade business.