Capcom must be grateful for Monster Hunter.
The Japanese developer and publisher revealed its financial results for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2016 today, and it revealed that net sales for the company rose 19.8 percent from last year to 77,021 million yen ($711 million). Operating income was up 13.7 percent to 12,029 million yen ($111 million).
Capcom attributed the increase in sales to the success of Monster Hunter Generations for the 3DS, the latest entry in its popular, action role-playing game series. It’s out in Japan, and it’s coming out this summer in the U.S. It sold more than 3 million copies, while Capcom had planned for it to sell closer to 2.5 million. It also noted that Street Fighter V saw “steady” sales (mostly overseas).
For next year, Capcom is expecting net sales of 85,000 million yen ($785 million). It plans to focus on improving penetration of its brand outside of Japan. During the year, it will release major games like Umbrella Corps (a multiplayer shooter set in the Resident Evil franchise), Monster Hunter Stories, and Ace Attorney 6. Capcom also plans to increase sales of digital games.
“In order to keep up with changing business models amid increasingly diverse distribution methods, the company will focus its efforts on expanding digital download sales, which promise stable revenues as well as reduced distribution costs and no inventory risk, in addition to stocked package games,” Capcom noted in its financial report.
Capcom also said that is plans to expand its offerings on mobile devices, noting that its current mobile business is under-performing. However, it did point out that Monster Hunter Explore, the mobile release for that series, received over 3 million downloads. The game isn’t even out in the U.S. yet, so that number could improve quickly. That franchise is certainly pulling its monster-sized weight for Capcom.
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