Capcom Q1 sales soar 19%

Capcom's last fiscal year was a strong one. Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV boosted the publisher's 12-month take 10 percent year-over-year to nearly $1 billion, with profit creeping up 3 percent to $81.6 million. Today, the publisher revealed that the good times continue to roll in Osaka, as first-quarter revenues for its current fiscal year, jumped 19.2 percent over the previous year to ¥19.5 billion ($204 million).

Though revenue was clearly up for Capcom during the three-month period ended June 30, profit was more of a mixed bag. Operating income climbed 23 percent during the period to ¥3.66 billion ($38.3 million), boosted by Capcom's successful home video game business. However, the publisher's arcade business continues its inconsistent performance, dragging net income--or profit--down 6.4 percent to ¥2.23 billion ($23.3 million) during the period.

According to the publisher, a number of titles performed well during the period. Capcom said that Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, which is set for release in North America on February 16, "showed a favorable sales increase," as Resident Evil 5 and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite continued to perform. In June, Capcom pegged RE5 sales at 5 million, while the PSP-exclusive Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has sold 3.5 million units in Japan alone.

Capcom also touted the first milestone of Monster Hunter 3(tri-) for the Wii. Capcom said that retailers have ordered 1 million units of the latest installment in the action role-playing franchise in advance of the game's August 1 street date in Japan. Notably, the game will be available solo or as part of the first third-party game bundle for Nintendo's console.

It wasn't all good news, though. Capcom said that its Bionic Commando reboot, which was created by Swedish studio GRIN, "underperformed its expected sales," selling just 550,000 units during the quarter. The publisher also noted that Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has not been able to duplicate its performance outside of Japan. The PSP title was released in the US on June 22, and Capcom called its performance thus far "weak," with continued sales in Japan bolstering the game to 600,000 units during the period.

Capcom also said today that it would be delaying Airtight Games' Dark Void out of the holiday release window, due to fears that the game would be lost in the holiday shuffle. The publisher now expects to ship the game during its January-March fiscal quarter.