Monster Hunter Boosts Capcom 17 Percent, Arcades 'Struggle'

Although it's invested considerable effort in reaching a Westernized audience, Capcom's top-selling title in its second quarter was still fan-favorite PSP title Monster Hunter Freedom 2nd G -- the title has sold more than 2.5 million copies in Japan since launch, helping drive the publisher to a 16.8 percent revenue increase for the three months ending September 30th. In addition to its ¥1.87 billion ($18.9m) revenues, the company's sales saw a marginal .4 percent boost year-over-year to ¥31.24 billion ($326.0m). Operating income was up 9.8 percent to ¥3.36 billion ($34.0m). While Capcom's home video game business saw sales rise to ¥16.32 billion, its languishing arcade segment continued to decline -- it saw a 66.1 percent fall in operating income. Capcom described its arcade operations as continuing to "struggle in the severe business environment." As a result, the company's forecasts for the full fiscal year remain unchanged, with expectations of net sales of ¥95.30 billion ($963.6m) and net income of ¥8.60 billion ($87.0m).