Capcom has record breaking financial year after Monster Hunter: World
Capcom announced today that they have reached record breaking profits of 136 743 million yen (roughly 1.6 billion AUD). They state that sales raised 94 515m yen (roughly 1.1 billion AUD), an 8.4% increase from 2017, attributing the success to Monster Hunter: World. The news comes from an official press release from Capcom themselves. Monster Hunter: World broke sales records, selling 1.3 million copies in three days and, now having sold 7 million copies, is Capcom's highest selling game ever. Capcom also named Monster Hunter XX and Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers as significant contributors.
There are many factors that contributed to Monster Hunter: World's success. Monster Hunter's popularity as a series and this being the first title on PS4 and Xbox One is a factor. However, Monster Hunter was mostly big in Japan, seen in the 140 000 PS4's sold domestically in MH:W's launch week. Another explanation is the quality of the game, receiving a score of 90 on metacritic.com.
On top of the generous amount of launch content, Capcom have continuously added free DLC and events. This includes the crossover events for Horizon: Zero Dawn and Devil May Cry. While this doesn't directly drive sales, it has kept Monster Hunter: World in the media, further promoting it. The timing of its release is also a big factor, being the first big AAA title in 2018's first quarter. All of this has contributed to making Monster Hunter: World Capcom's best selling title.
In their financial statement, Capcom have also outlined plans moving forward. They are looking to increase their digital downloads through improving its pipeline of major title releases. Capcom note the growth of the eSports scene and the specific attention they have in the Japanese market. Due to this, they are investing in business resources and dedicated facilities for an eSports division. The release states "Capcom aims to monetize this business at an early stage through leveraging its popular content and brands" specifically naming Street Fighter as their flagship eSports product.
Capcom are forecasting a continued increase of profit well into 2019.
Indeed an achievement for which capcom should be proud off.
Yup, Capcom was my childhood go to games (Mainly street fighter!). Thanks for dropping by :)