Income nosedives at Capcom

Japanese publisher Capcom has reported income of YEN 216m for the quarter ending June 30th 2010 – a 94.8 per cent drop on the same period in 2009.

Net income for the period fell 72.6 per cent year-on-year to just over YEN 1 trillion. Net sales fell 2.4 per cent to YEN 19,037m.

The drastic decline of profitability’ was blamed mainly on the commercial failure of PS3 and Xbox 360 shooter Lost Planet 2 and the fact that the period saw the release of lots of new flagship titles” leading to higher development costs than the sequels of 2009 incurred.

The strength of the yen as well the struggling US and European markets were also significant contributors. Licensing royalties were also down by 87.4 per cent.

Capcom added that sales of Wii outing Monster Hunter Tri grew at a sluggish pace” and that DS title Ghost Trick struggled”.

However, Super Street Fighter IV and Monster Hunter Frontier Online were consistent performers for the company. Mobile sales were strong for the period, with sales growing year-on-year and strong performances from Resident Evil 4, Street Fighter IV and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney on iPhone platforms.