Capcom reaches record high profits thanks to Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5 and Monster Hunter, redoubling their eSports efforts for Street Fighter
Reached almost $1 billion in sales
Capcom had a meteoric hit on their hands in 2018 with Monster Hunter World, which quickly became the company's best-selling title ever, so it's not too surprising to learn that it would become a record-breaking year as a whole for the makers of Street Fighter.
The video game publisher / developer released their financial report for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2019 where Capcom managed to bring in over 100 billion yen in net sales — $904 million USD — thanks in large part to the aforementioned Monster Hunter plus strong launches of Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry 5.
This is the sixth consecutive year Capcom has posted operating growth in income and the second consecutive years their profits have reached record highs. That figure isn't surprising given the fact that the company had its most profitable first quarter ever last year in part thanks to the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary and Mega Man Legacy Collections.
While Street Fighter 5 is not directly referenced as part of their increased sales, Capcom states that they plan to redouble their eSports initiative for Street Fighter after creating their own division for it and began running official Street Fighter Leagues. It's also interesting to note that they refer to SF by its series name and do not specifically say Street Fighter 5.
"In response to the worldwide excitement surrounding eSports, and the increased attention paid to them within the Japanese market, Capcom is redoubling its commitment to making this sector a priority area, and aims to grow the player base worldwide through running leagues that utilize Street Fighter," says Capcom in their latest earnings report.
Resident Evil 2 exceeded Capcom's expectations having shipped 3 million copies in its first week and 4 million as of March 1. Devil May Cry 5 is also noted to have performed strongly having moved over 2 million copies last we heard while Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and Mega Man 11 did well in the eyes of their makers.
The company released new pachislot games centered around Street Fighter 5 an Resident Evil last year, but that market appears to be taking a bit of a dive in Japan dropping over 56 percent in net sales from the prior year.
Looking forward, Capcom forecasts a 15 percent dip in sales for the current fiscal year but expects income to rise another 10 percent to keep up their seemingly growing momentum going into perhaps what will be the start of the next generation of video games with the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles on the horizon.
Devil May Cry 5's launch had one of the publisher's CEO's exclaiming that "Capcom is back," so hopefully these positive trends continue for fans especially in the fighting game realm which seemingly hasn't seen as much success as the other divisions this generation.
