Capcom just announced its most recent financial results for the nine month period ending on December 2016. From the looks of it, Capcom may be in trouble.
Sales were down to 6% with $472 million in 2016 as compared to 2015's $503 million. Moreover, operating income is at $4.5 million which is a fall of around 51% from 2015.
According to gamespot.com Capcom will be shifting their focus on VR citing that the successive multiple release of VR headsets will be compatible with games. Because of the shift, Capcom has gone some reorganization while strengthened its management structure in order to reform its development division.
The company said that their ventures outside video games allowed them increase their brand value and enhance their presence by creating a synergy with video games. These projects include Monster Hunter Stories animated TV show along with a musical stage production, Resident Evil: Voice of Gaia.
When it comes to games, dualshockers reports that certain games did well. Dead Rising 4 sales were firm while re-releases of popular titles Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 4 performed steadily thanks to the stable fan base of the brand. In addition Monster Hunter X achieved solid sales which is no surprise as the game is a consistent hit.
Meanwhile other games didn't fare so well. Sales were soft for Monster Hunter Stories, a game that targets the younger audience.
As for future plans, Capcom has said that it has plans on an aggressive sales campaign in an effort to reverse their fortunes. Expect the company to heavily market big titled games Resident Evil 7 and Monster Hunter XX for the 3DS.
Resident Evil 7 was just released last January 24 and Capcom has shipped 2.5 million copies in its first week. This was not enough to surpass the franchises previous titles.
Capcom still has a lot of work to do if they want to turn things around. Let's just hope that their shift in focus would benefit them in the long run.
