Capcom Reveals FY2005 Financial Results

Capcom has released both overall results for fiscal year 2005, a period ending March 31st, 2005. The company's fortunes increased during the year, as net sales went up to 65.895 billion yen ($612.2 million USD), increasing 25.1 percent over FY 2004. General profit went up to 7.399 billion yen ($68 million USD), an increase of over 800 percent, and net profit was 3.622 billion yen ($33.6 million USD), compared to 2004's net loss of 9.158 billion yen ($85.1 million USD). Capcom broke down the strengths and weaknesses of each of its divisions in the annual report. Home video game sales, a category which included both console and portable games in Japan and overseas, was the major one for the company, and most of Capcom's big titles found success in at least one territory. Devil May Cry 3, for example, flagged in Japan but sold well in the U.S., while Monster Hunter G, an expansion for the online-focused Monster Hunter series, sold strongly in Japan. Other games, especially Resident Evil 4, performed well in all territories. Other areas, such the arcade and pachislot divisions, were mostly focused on the Japanese market. Capcom opened a new Plaza Capcom center while closing down three other unprofitable arcades, and family-oriented "medal games" such as Nihonzenzoku-katochan-no-kurukuru-ressya-de-Pe! increased sales in the business division. In discussing the upcoming financial year, Capcom noted that the industry may see "a transition period of business environments," due to the upcoming next-generation consoles, and expected "the competitive environment […] to be even more intensified." Capcom intends to combat both those trends as well as Western games becoming more popular in the Japanese market by concentrating on other markets.