Capcom Q1 sales down, profit up

Capcom has released its first-quarter financial report covering the three months ended June 30, and the publisher came out with a healthier bottom line than it did last year despite lagging sales.

In the first quarter of last year, Capcom reported sales of 11.43 billion yen ($99.25 million), with a profit of 608 million yen ($5.28 million). For this fiscal year's opening three months, the publisher saw a nearly 8 percent slide in net sales to 10.57 billion yen ($91.79 million), while profits spiked almost 33 percent to 808 million yen ($7.02 million).

The publisher noted a number of external factors that had an impact on its numbers for the quarter, including a rebounding Japanese economy, growing demand for portable systems, and strong markets overseas as complementary factors. However, it didn't manage to meet the previous first quarter's net sales figure because the majority of games it sold consisted of "small-scale titles" and games developed in collaboration with other companies.

On the positive side, Okami and Mega Man ZX for the Nintendo DS were both cited as strong sellers in the Japanese market, as was Monster Hunter Freedom for the PSP. Outside of Japan, Mega Man Battle Network 6 for the Game Boy Advance posted solid sales. The company also noted a decrease in development costs for the quarter.