Capcom's Tough 2008 Met With Early 09 Optimism News

Capcom counted the cost of not waging into the Christmas chaos with net sales down to 47.22 billion yen (£360.37 million) for the nine-month period ended December 31st 2008, a reduction of 8.6% compared to the same period in the previous year.  Operating income fell by 57.2% to 2.61 billion yen (£19.92 million) largely as a result of the strong yen, while net income plunged by 95% year-on-year to 179 million yen (£1.37 million).

Beyond the issues surrounding the exchange rate and the lack of high profile releases, Capcom attributed the drop to "slacking performance" of its arcade operations and contents expansion business, but remained optimistic that Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, and Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop will ensure Capcom meets the full year expectations that were posted in May 2008.  As a result Capcom's forecast for the full year ending March 31st 2009 remains at net sales of 95.30 billion yen (£727.30 million), an operating income of 14.60 billion yen (£112.32 million) and net income of 8.6 billion yen (£65.63 million).

Having continued the relationship with Rockstar Games to distribute titles in Japan, Capcom claimed GTA IV had met its sales goal with 280,000 units.  Monster Hunter Freedom 2G on the PSP's 'The Best' label continued to sell well, while MotoGp 08 achieved sales of 580,000 units.

Looking ahead into the fourth quarter, Capcom expects Resident Evil 5 to shift 3.25 million units between its March 5th release to the end of the quarter on March 31st.  The return of Street Fighter IV is expected to shift a slightly more conservative 1.7 million units, while Frank West's return in the as-of-yet poorly received Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop is expected to achieve a modest 500,000 sales on Wii. 

Capcom also confirmed that GRIN's Bionic Commando has been pushed back into an unspecified point during the next financial year.  The return of an iconic Capcom brand was originally planned for autumn 2008, before slipping to "early" 2009; however, it seems that the ambiguous rescheduling could hint towards a little longer to wait then originally intended.