Capcom to 'aggressively' seek overseas partnerships

Even with the recent success of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD on the most recent Japanese Media Create chart, Capcom doesn't seem to be content to rest on its laurels. According to a recent public memo on the mergers and acquisitions objectives tabs on Capcom's official investor relations site, the company is planning to increase its game sales outside of Japan via partnerships and acquisitions.

The note states that Capcom plans to "aggressively seek the opportunities of acquisitions and partnerships for the purposes of creating game content with universal market appeal and acquiring technologies and know-how required for [the company's] 'Single Content Multiple Usage' strategy." Capcom is neither planning nor considering a merger with local game manufacturers and publishers as this may limit its licensing potential and will not increase sales outside of Japan, according to the note.

The stance is essentially identical to the one Capcom previously expressed in its 2010 annual report. One potentially noteworthy change is that the publisher's revised position states it is "aggressively" pursuing acquisitions and partnerships, where the annual report statement only described the company as "actively" going after them.

The most notable Capcom partnership with a Western company in recent years was its acquisition of Blue Castle Games, which led to the creation of Dead Rising 2. The studio is now called Capcom Game Studio Vancouver. Capcom is also letting the Vancouver-based studio Slant Six Games develop Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and teamed with Washington-based Airtight Games for last year's Dark Void.