Capcom just released its financial report, which announced the long-running company’s results for the 2019 fiscal year. For the second year in a row, the developer and publisher behind Devil May Cry 5 and the highly-praised Resident Evil 2 remake, reported a record-high increase in major profitable areas. This comes after its very successful 2018 fiscal year, in which Monster Hunter: World broke the company’s previous record for sales of a single title. (It shipped over 12 million units!)
Capcom explained, “[The] core Digital Contents business, in addition to the great success of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5 also performed well, backed by its established popularity overseas.” The company also noted that it plans to bolster its digital game sales to increase the company’s profitability. Being that a larger percentage of a game’s sale goes back to the publisher when sold as a digital product, it is a way to improve its profit margins. Add-ons and expansions for games could also help with this sales initiative.
With the rise in esports, Capcom plans to invest more effort into growing the market in Japan. It noted, “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.” If this is something that is successful overseas, we could very well see Capcom exert more influence in the North American esports scene.
In Capcom’s Arcade Operations sector, which consists primarily of arcade machine sales, the company faced challenges such as increased competition in Capcom’s target regions. Even with that hurdle, the company reported an 8% increase over the previous year’s sales. Capcom’s Amusement Equipment overall suffered a 56% decrease in sales. The company believed that “sales struggled due to a downturn in consumer confidence and dampening investment by the Pachinko/Pachislo hall operators.” This decrease came after the lackluster sales of the slot machine games Biohazard: Into the Panic and the Street Fighter V arcade cabinet.
The report ended with the announcement that Capcom merchandise sales were up 10%, although operating costs in that area were down 28%. All of you who have been buying Mega Man phone cases and Monster Hunter: World t-shirts are helping, even if only a little.
[Source: Capcom Investor Relations]
