Resident Evil and Mega Man drive Capcom revenues up

Japanese publisher Capcom has announced its financial results for the first half of its current financial year, with strong growth in the USA and Europe in particular driving healthy revenue and income figures.

Net sales for the six month period, which ended on September 30th, amounted to 28.5 billion Yen (212 million Euro), an improvement of 27 per cent over the same period last year, while ordinary income rose 5.4 per cent to 1.49 billion Yen (11 million Euro).

Much of the company's success during the period came from two of its biggest franchises, Mega Man and Resident Evil, with Resident Evil Outbreak performing particularly well in the USA, although sales of Resident Evil Outbreak 2 in Japan were disappointing.

The Mega Man franchise, known as Rockman in Japan, continues to go from strength to strength thanks to the company's strategy of linking up game titles and various popular Rockman TV series.

Mega Man Zero 3 and Mega Man Battle Network 4.5, both GBA titles, were among Capcom's most popular titles in Japan during the period (along with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which it published in the Far East), while Mega Man Anniversary Collection and Mega Man Battle Network 4 did well overseas.

For the full year, Capcom is projecting revenues of 65.5 billion Yen (487.5 million Euro) and net profits of 3.9 billion Yen (29 million Euro) - with the strong projections helped along, no doubt, by the impending release of the eagerly awaited Resident Evil 4, which will appear on both GameCube and PS2, although the PS2 version is not expected to arrive within the current financial year.