Capcom Feels Crunch Amidst Rising Yen and Lack of Major Releases

So, this may prove to be interesting to some of you.

GameSpot reports that Capcom’s latest financial results reveal a 24 percent decline in sales over the period of April 1st to June 30th, 2016, versus the same period in 2015. While sales are cited at $104 million, they’ve reported a $6.9 million loss thanks to a fall in operating income, which itself came about due to the rising yen causing foreign exchange losses — an issue Nintendo has also reportedly faced recently.

The main issue they claim for the decline is a lack of major titles released over this period, with minor titles doing the heavy lifting while sales of previously-released titles “did not grow substantially.” That lack of “major titles” seems to be a temporary one, however, as they note that a reason for the decline in profits is due to “increased development.”

The second half of the year should be a different story, as they tell it, and early 2017 will also no doubt be bolstered by the release of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, which has received quite a bit of attention following its reveal at June Electronic Entertainment Expo and subsequent demo release.

Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking: “If they hadn’t stopped releasing Mega Man games, that would have helped!” Maybe. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice sold as planned, but is considered among the “minor titles” in question, and one has to consider that a Mega Man release might fall among what’s seen as “minor” releases when even the best-selling of the series, Mega Man 2, doesn’t even rank on the company’s million-sellers list until #42.

On the other hand, depending on how much Capcom invests in a Mega Man title versus what they make from it, it may also be worth noting that the franchise has the most releases of any Capcom property, putting it only behind Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Resident Evil, which have managed to surpass the Blue Bomber’s collective sales with fewer releases.

More information can be found on the company’s English press release here.

Thanks to Terry Bogard for the tip!

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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