Capcom has told investors that “given that a significant number of end users demand physical games we currently do not expect to eliminate physical products”. All of the company’s major AAA games are released as physical and digital games, although some of the more recent AA games have been released as digital-only titles.
Capcom’s digital game sales are rising
The publisher refuses to ditch physical games despite the majority of its sales coming from digital games. During the 2023 financial year, Capcom reported that 90.1% of its software unit sales were digital and this is expected to grow to 93.2% for the 2024 financial year. The result is that some of Capcom’s more recent AA and indie games, like Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, have only been released digitally.
As video game market analyst Daniel Ahmad explained, “the “significant demand” part of the quote only applies to their new AAA releases. Not necessarily AA games or catalog games.” Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will be the next game to be released from Capcom and the standard edition will be available digitally and at retail. On the other hand, the Deluxe Edition will only be available digitally. The upcoming Resident Evil 9 will also likely have digital and physical versions although details on this game are much more vague at the moment.
Digital sales techniques have also increased the sale period of the company’s catalog titles. In the investors Q&A, Capcom describes how it would typically sell its games at physical retail stores for a period of around six months. However, digital marketplaces allow for different sales strategies such as “discounts on past series titles in conjunction with the launch of a new release.” As such, games like Resident Evil 7 and Monster Hunter: World continue to sell well despite being released more than five years ago.
