Capcom Sees Record Quarterly Growth In Q1 2009

Demonstrating solid performance during a period that has been difficult for the game industry as a whole, Japanese developer and publisher Capcom has posted a 23.0 percent growth in profits on a 19.2 percent revenue increase for the fiscal quarter that ended June 30, 2009. According to the company, this marks the company's best profit and revenue performance since it began tracking quarterly results. Revenues rose to 19,497 million yen (US $203.9 million), and profits rose to 3,664 million yen (US $38.3 million). In particular, Resident Evil 5 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for PSP were called out as particularly strong performers, with the latter having achieved 3.5 million sales in Japan. Resident Evil 5 has become Capcom's second best selling game of all time at 5 million units, edging out predecessor Resident Evil 2 and just over a million units shy of company champ Street Fighter II. Other cited games include Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth for Nintendo DS and Sengoku Basara Battle Heroes for PSP. Despite the record-breaking results for the publisher, Capcom has not raised its overall forecast for the fiscal year, citing expected strong competition in the game segment during the second half of the year. The company did, however, delay Airtight Games' Dark Void for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. Originally scheduled for release this year, the title is now expected in the first quarter of 2010. Capcom projects sales of 2 million for the game, which would put it within the company's top 15 sellers of all time.