Capcom Profits Drop Amidst Delays And Underperforming Titles

Amidst slow console game sales fueled by the delay of several prominent titles and underperforming games like Dark Void, Capcom net income fell 73.1% in the fiscal year gone by, the company revealed in its latest financial review.

While the games business expanded toward the end of 2009 due to price-reductions across major consoles, total net sales across Capcom were down 27.3% to 66,837 million yen (approximately $723 million).

Sales activity in the West was weak as it relied primarily on the continued sales of Resident Evil 5, while flagship titles such as Lost Planet 2 and Super Street Fighter IV were delayed into the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, new releases such as Dark Void and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles failed to perform in line with expectations. As a result, net sales in North America dropped 49.6%, while the same figure in Europe dropped 44%. Sales in Asia, too, suffered from a 42.2% drop.

However, the Japanese market came through in 2009 for Capcom. Although net sales dropped 14.9% to 53,960 million yen, strong sales of Monster Hunter Tri, Resident Evil 5, Sengoku Basara Battle Heroes and Ace Attorney Investigations all contributed to profits, along with the continued success of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (known overseas as Freedom Unite) and its budget re-release.