According to a press release added to Capcom's website today, the company has experienced a growth in profit attributed heavily to brisk sales of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, which released on September 6th, 2019. In the press release, Capcom states while net sales were down 37.272 million yen year-over-year, both operating and ordinary incomes are up 36% and 43.7% respectively.
The increase is attributed to major releases, such as Devil May Cry 5 and the Resident Evil 2 remake, selling well in 2019. The report also mentions that digital releases were a driving factor for profits this year, with Monster Hunter World: Iceborne selling over 2.8 million copies and driving the company towards its highest ever profits for a second-quarter in company history. This is on top of the original Monster Hunter World shipping 13.1 million copies, with 70% of sales coming from outside Japan, since its release in January of 2018. This makes Monster Hunter World the best selling game in Capcom's long history which includes the likes of various Resident Evils, Mega Mans, Phoenix Wrights, and many many others. Do note that Capcom has a slightly weird version of counting sales though, as they inconsistently count different SKUs separately, for example Street Fighter II's different versions appear on their million seller list 4 times, with a combined total of over 14m.
Beginning with the simply titled Monster Hunter in 2004 for the Playstation 2, the franchise has grown to include titles across multiple consoles, handhelds, and PC releases that have collectively sold 55 million titles worldwide. This marks the franchise as the second best selling Capcom's line up of games, with only the long-running Resident Evil series selling more copies. The latest entry, Monster Hunter World was released in January 2018 for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. As of 2019, a movie based on the franchise is set to be released in 2020.
What do you think of Capcom's success as of late? Do you have a favorite Capcom title or franchise? Let us know in the comments below what you think.