Capcom Delays Titles, Slashes Earnings Forecast

Publisher Capcom has pushed four key titles back into its next fiscal year, forcing the company to slash its financial projections for the current year from a slight expected gain to a considerable year-on-year decline. In a statement today, Capcom said the North American and European releases of Monster Hunter Tri, as well as the launches of Lost Planet 2 and Super Street Fighter IV have been moved from fiscal 2009 into fiscal 2010, which for Capcom begins in April of next year. Along with Dead Rising 2, the games will be "spread across all four quarters of the fiscal year," which suggests at least one of them won't be on store shelves until calendar 2011. Capcom's 2009 earnings will take a major hit as a result of the delays. While the company originally expected to see modest year-over-year revenue growth of 3.4 percent to 95 billion yen ($1.04 billion), it now expects a year-over-year decline of 29.3 percent to 65 billion yen ($711.62 million). Similarly, its initial projection of a 5.4 percent profit growth to 8.5 billion yen ($93.06 million) has been revised to a massive 75.20 percent projected year-over-year profit decline to 2 billion yen ($21.90 million). That profit adjustment is actually not as bad as it might have been; it was softened by a 1.8 billion yen ($19.70 million) U.S. tax refund that Capcom said came about due to "a mutual agreement with U.S. tax authorities concerning a revision disposition based on the transfer pricing tax system." The company will also lose an additional 4.5 billion yen ($49.27 million) on "restructuring expenses" in its upcoming third fiscal quarter, largely due to a waning pachinko business. Capcom will close "consistently unprofitable" pachinko locations, and will take losses on parts and materials no longer needed for previously-planned development.