Capcom Rules Out Merger, Hints At Acquisitions

While discussing the company’s fiscal 2006 consolidated financial results, Capcom executives have outlined their projections for the next financial years and suggested that while they do not plan any mergers with Japanese companies they are looking to acquire Western businesses. Speaking to shareholders, company director and managing corporate officer Kazuhiko Abe attributed the strong sales of Dead Rising, Lost Planet and Monster Hunter Freedom 2 to changes in the company’s structure, which has seen the closure and/or reorganization of internal studios including Clover Studio, Flagship and Studio 8. Abe further commented that marketing processes had been changed to allow the company’s American and European subsidiaries to have more say on game content. These comments came as part of a general drive to focus more on Western markets, as well as use successful video game products as a springboard for other products such as movies, cartoons and mobile content. In underlining the success of its three primary titles during the year, Abe indicated that Lost Planet: Extreme Condition on Xbox 360 has now sold 1.37 million units worldwide, as of the end of March. Dead Rising has sold 1.22 million units worldwide, Monster Hunter 1.22 million units and the budget priced re-release of Resident Evil 4 660,000 units. For the coming financial year the company’s main titles are Devil May Cry 4 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, which is projected to sell 1.8 million units worldwide. Resident Evil 4 on the Wii is predicted to sell 420,000 units worldwide and the forthcoming Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles for Wii 620,000 units worldwide. In addition six unnamed Wii titles (presumably including the above two Resident Evil games) and fourteen unspecified Nintendo DS titles are also scheduled – apparently confirming earlier reports of Capcom’s decision to increase support for Nintendo formats. Abe also spoke of plans to increase the use of external, particularly Western, studios, with company president and CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto emphasizing that overseas markets represented the majority of growth in the current home video games and mobile content market. Although he ruled out a merger between Capcom and any Japanese games company or toy maker, Tsujimoto indicated that mutual shareholding in, business partnerships with, or acquisition of companies that create content popular around the world is something Capcom is actively pursuing.