Capcom

Capcom Co., Ltd.

Type	Public TYO: 9697
Industry	Video games, entertainment
Founded	June 11, 1983[1]
Headquarters	Osaka, Japan San Mateo, California, USA
Key people	Kenzo Tsujimoto[2] (Chairman and CEO) Haruhiro Tsujimoto[2] (President and COO) Hiroshi Tobisawa[3] (Director in charge of Overseas Business) Katsuhiko Ichii[4] (Head of R&D Management Group)
Products	Complete list of games
Revenue	¥66.8 billion / US$728.1 million (2010)[5][6]
Net income	¥2.2 billion / US$23.6 million (2010)[5][6]
Employees	1,930 (2010)[7]
Website	Global Capcom site

Capcom Co., Ltd. (株式会社カプコン, Kabushiki-gaisha Kapukon^?) is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games,^[7] known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Ghosts'n Goblins, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom also developed and published Bionic Commando, Ace Attorney, Lost Planet and Dark Void, but they are less known. ^[8] Its head office is in Chūō-ku, Osaka. Originally established in 1983,^[9] it has since become an international enterprise with branches and subsidiaries in North America, Europe, and East Asia.^[10]

Contents 1 History 2 Company structure 2.1 Development studios 2.2 Branches and subsidiaries 2.3 Former subsidiaries 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

History

The original companies that spawned Capcom's Japanese branch were I.R.M Corporation founded on May 30, 1979,^[1] as well as its subsidiary Japan Capsule Computer Co., Ltd., both of which were devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines.^[9] The two companies underwent a name change to Sambi Co., Ltd. in September 1981,^[9] while Capcom Co., Ltd. itself was first established on June 11, 1983,^[1] for the purpose of taking over the internal sales department.^[11]

In January 1989, the old affiliate company Capcom Co., Ltd. merged with Sambi Co., Ltd., resulting in the current Japanese branch.^[9] The name Capcom is an abbreviation of "Capsule Computer", a term coined by the company to describe the arcade machines it solely manufactured in its early years, designed to set themselves apart from personal computers that were becoming widespread at that time.^[12] The word capsule alludes to how Capcom likened its game software to "a capsule packed to the brim with gaming fun", as well as to the company's desire to protect its intellectual property with a hard outer shell, preventing illegal copies and inferior imitations.^[12]

While Capcom's first product was the coin-operated Little League from July 1983, its first real video game, the arcade title Vulgus, was released in May 1984.^[9] Beginning with a Nintendo Entertainment System port of 1942 published in December 1985, the company started to venture into the market of home console video games,^[9] which became its main business segment a few years later.^[13] Since then, Capcom created 15 multi-million-selling game series, the most successful of which is Resident Evil.^[8]

In addition to the development and publishing of home, online, mobile, arcade, pachinko, and pachislo games, the company publishes strategy guides,^[9] maintains its own arcade centers, and licenses its franchise and character properties for use in tie-in products, movies, television series, and stage performances.^[13] Suleputer, an in-house marketing and music label established in cooperation with Sony Music Entertainment Intermedia in 1998, publishes CDs, DVDs, and other media based on Capcom's games.^[14] An annual private media summit called Captivate, renamed from Gamers Day in 2008, is traditionally used as a platform for new game and business announcements.^[15]

Company structure

Development studios

In the first few years after its establishment, the Japanese branch of Capcom had three development groups referred to as "Planning Rooms", led by Tokuro Fujiwara, Takashi Nishiyama and Yoshiki Okamoto, respectively.^[16][17] Later, games developed internally used to be created by several numbered "Production Studios", each assigned to different games.^[18][19] Starting in 2002, the development process was reformed to better share technologies and expertise, and all of the individual studios were gradually restructured into bigger departments responsible for different tasks.^[19] While there are self-contained departments for the creation of arcade, pachinko and pachislo, online, and mobile games, the Consumer Games R&D Division instead is an amalgamation of subsections in charge of various game development stages.^[19][20][21] In addition to these internal teams, Capcom also commissions outside development studios to ensure a steady output of titles.^[22][23] However, following bad sales of Dark Void and Bionic Commando, the company's management has decided to limit outsourcing to sequels and newer versions of installments in existing franchises, reserving the development of original titles for its in-house teams.^[24] The production of games, budgets, and platforms supported are decided upon in development approval meetings, attended by the company management and the Marketing, Sales, and Quality Control Departments.^[19]

Branches and subsidiaries

Apart from the head office building and the R&D building of Capcom Co., Ltd., both located in Chūō-ku, Osaka,^[10] the Japanese parent company also has a branch office in the Shinjuku Mitsui Building in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo.^[25] It also has the Ueno Facility. a branch office in Iga, Mie Prefecture.^[10] The international Capcom Group currently encompasses 15 subsidiaries in Japan, North America, Europe, and East Asia.^[10][19] Affiliated companies include Koko Capcom Co., Ltd. in South Korea, Street Fighter Film, LLC in the United States, and Dellgamadas Co., Ltd.^[19]

Subsidiary	Established[9]	Location[10]	Details[10]
Capcom U.S.A., Inc.	August 1985	San Mateo, California[26]	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd. holding company administering subsidiaries in the United States
Captron Co., Ltd.	February 1991	Osaka	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd.[9] renting, leasing, and operating real estate properties originally a related company known as Yunika Co., Ltd.[9]
Capcom Asia Co., Ltd.	July 1993	Hong Kong	selling home video games
Capcom Entertainment, Inc.	June 1995	San Mateo[26]	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.[9] established to enhance and maximize management, distribution, and R&D in the United States[9]
CE Europe Ltd.	November 2002	9th floor George House Hammersmith London [27][28]	selling home video games
Capcom Philippines., Inc.	August 2012	Cebu, Philippines[26]	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd. holding company administering subsidiaries in the Philippines
CEG Interactive Entertainment GmbH	February 2003	Hamburg[27]	selling home video games
Capcom Interactive Canada, Inc.	May 2006[29]	Toronto	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Interactive, Inc.[9] developing and distributing mobile phone games originally an unrelated developer known as Cosmic Infinity, Inc. before it was acquired by Capcom[9][29]
Capcom Interactive, Inc.	June 2006	Los Angeles[26]	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.[30] distributing mobile phone games and integrating the wireless, online and console sectors[30]
Daletto Co., Ltd.	October 2006	Tokyo	co-founded by Capcom Co., Ltd. and Dwango Co., Ltd.[9] managing a virtual theme park website, and operating and developing online games[9][19]
Capcom Entertainment Korea Co., Ltd.	March 2007	Seoul	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd.[9] selling home video games, and operating and developing online games[9]
Blue Harvest LLC	FY 2007[31]		wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd.[32] developing video games[32]
K2 Co., Ltd.	May 2008	Osaka	developing home video games originally an unrelated developer before it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd. through a stock exchange[9]
Capcom Entertainment France, SAS	July 2008	Saint-Germain-en-Laye[27]	wholly owned subsidiary of CE Europe Ltd.[9] selling home video games[9]
Enterrise Co., Ltd.	July 2008	Tokyo	90% of shares owned by Capcom Co., Ltd.[9] developing, manufacturing and distributing arcade machines[9]

Former subsidiaries

Subsidiary	Established[9]	Closed/acquired	Location[10]	Details
A.C.A. Co., Ltd.			Mito[14]
Status Co., Ltd.		FY 2003[33]	Osaka[33]	non-life insurance agency also responsible for financial activities[33] closed for the purpose of achieving a sound financial structure[33]
Capcom Europe GmbH	February 1992[14]	FY 2002[34]	Düsseldorf[14]	managed sales in Europe[14] closed[34]
Capcom Mexico S.A. DE C.V.	October 1993[14]	FY 1997[14]	Mexico City	sold products in Mexico, Central and South America[14] closed for the purpose of improving the company's financial balance[14]
Capcom Coin-Op, Inc.	June 1995[14]	March 2004[35]	Sunnyvale, California[14]	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.[14] sold arcade game machines and operated amusement facilities[14] closed[35]
Capcom Studio 8, Inc.	June 1995	March 2007[19]	Sunnyvale[36]	originally established as Capcom Digital Studios, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.[9] also known as Production Studio 8[37] developed video games[33] acquired by Capcom Entertainment, Inc.[19]
Flagship Co., Ltd.	April 1997	June 2007[9]	Osaka[38]	co-founded by four people, among them game designer Yoshiki Okamoto and screenwriter Noboru Sugimura[39] established for the purpose of enhancing the quality of game scenarios with the help of screenwriters experienced in the creation of film and television scripts[14] Okamoto and some other staff members left the company in 2003 to form Game Republic, Inc.,[40] while Sugimura died in early 2005[41] company employed about 30 people and was acquired by Capcom Co., Ltd.[9][39]
Capcom Eurosoft, Ltd.	July 1998[42]	April 2007[43]	London[42]	was the main base for the sale of home video games in Europe[42] wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Entertainment, Inc.[42] closed with all operations transferred to CE Europe Ltd.[43]
Capcom Charbo Co., Ltd.	September 2001[21]	January 31, 2009[19]	Osaka[21]	wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd. before its closing[21] offered support services for communication tools like mobile phones[21]
Clover Studio Co., Ltd.	July 2004[33]	March 2007[21]	Osaka[21]	spun off from the R&D department of Capcom Co., Ltd.[33] originally known as Production Studio 9[44] developed video games[33] closed[21] notable personnel, including Atsushi Inaba, Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, moved on to found Seeds Inc.[45]

See also

• List of Capcom games
• Arika
• Inti Creates
• Game Republic
• Crafts & Meister
• Platinum Games
• Ignition Entertainment
• CyberConnect2

References

External links

• Global Capcom site
• Capcom Store
• Capcom-Unity

Franchises by Capcom 19XX Ace Attorney Bionic Commando Breath of Fire Darkstalkers Dead Rising Devil May Cry Dino Crisis Final Fight Ghosts 'n Goblins Lost Planet Mega Man Monster Hunter Onimusha Power Stone Resident Evil Rival Schools Sengoku Basara Star Gladiator Street Fighter Strider Versus Viewtiful Joe